Baumgartner · Psychiatry research 1993 · within-subject repeated-measures laboratory study · n=10

Influence of partial sleep deprivation on the secretion of thyrotropin, thyroid hormones, growth hormone, prolactin, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, and estradiol in healthy young women.

Cited 103 times in the scientific literature.

Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study

non-randomized within-subject experimental laboratory study

PubMed 8416024 · doi:10.1016/0165-1781(93)90039-j · record verified 2026-08-26

What was done

Ten healthy young women underwent continuous hourly blood sampling over a 64-hour period spanning three consecutive days and nights. On the second night, subjects experienced partial sleep deprivation by being awakened at 1:30 a.m. Blood concentrations of TSH, T4, fT4, T3, prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), LH, FSH, and estradiol (E2) were measured throughout the study.

What was found

The abstract reports directional shifts without exact numerical values, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. TSH concentrations increased significantly during partial sleep deprivation and remained elevated throughout the next day. Levels of T4, fT4, and T3 were increased only during the sleep deprivation hours. PRL concentrations decreased, while LH and E2 concentrations increased. GH and FSH secretion remained unchanged. Chronobiological profiles of the hormones were not altered.

Why it matters

The findings demonstrate that second-half partial sleep deprivation induces endocrine responses across multiple axes comparable to total sleep deprivation.

Limits

The sample size is very small (n = 10) and restricted to healthy young women. No randomized control condition or parallel non-deprived group was used, the abstract reports no numerical values or dispersion metrics, and menstrual cycle phase standardization was not described.

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