Relationships between the Amount of Sleep, Stress, and Ovarian Function in Women

The incidence of ovulation was studied in a group of 33 normal young women by means of changes in basal body temperature (BBT) and by the pattern of pregnanediol glucuronide and LH concentrations in morning urine specimens. Blood was also drawn for progesterone and LH assays on 10 consecutive days of one cycle in each of 15 of these women. Perceived stress and hours of sleep were recorded daily. Ovulation occurred by hormonal criteria in only 22 of 33 cycles studied, and only 14 of the ovulatory cycles had a detectable midcycle rise in BBT. Anovulatory subjects had significantly less sleep than subjects in the ovulatory groups. The frequency of ovulation was not influenced by the stress of blood withdrawal, nor was it related to the level of perceived stress. However, the perception of stress was significantly reduced during the luteal phases of ovulatory cycles in subjects having a clear rise in BBT.