Sex-specific effects of naturally shorter sleep on experimental pain perception

Pain Rep. 2026 Mar 3;11(2):e1418. doi: 10.1097/PR9.0000000000001418. eCollection 2026 Apr.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Experimental sleep loss has been linked to sex-specific alterations in pain perception, with women exhibiting greater impairment in pain inhibition.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether habitual short sleep (<6 hours) affects pain processing in a sex-dependent manner.

METHODS: A total of 81 participants (44 self-reported shorter sleepers, 37 longer sleepers) completed a night of home-based EEG sleep monitoring, followed by next-day quantitative sensory testing. A General Linear Model assessed the effects of sleep duration (shorter vs. longer sleepers), sex (male vs. female), and their interaction on pain perception.

RESULTS: A significant sleep × sex interaction (F [1, 76] = 9.06, P = 0.004) emerged for conditioned pain modulation; shorter-sleeping women showed reduced pain inhibition, while men showing enhanced pain inhibition. This effect was moderated by non-rapid eye movement sleep (B = 0.065, P = 0.017). While no other pain measures showed a sleep duration × sex interaction, a significant main effect of sleep was found for cold pain threshold, with shorter sleepers of both sexes showing decreased cold threshold (lower pain response). A significant main effect of sex was observed in heat, and pressure thresholds, with women showing increased pain responses.

CONCLUSION: Habitually short sleep is associated with impaired conditioned pain modulation in women but not in men, suggesting a sex-specific vulnerability to the effects of chronic sleep deficiency on pain regulation. These findings highlight the importance of maintaining adequate sleep duration, particularly in women, to mitigate the negative effect on pain.

PMID:41788788 | PMC:PMC12959763 | DOI:10.1097/PR9.0000000000001418