Cited by 127Stress Responses and CortisolSleep and Work-Related FatigueSleep and Wakefulness Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 43 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 78 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Adverse Effects of Two Nights of Sleep Restriction on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Healthy Men

Open access
Guyon, A., Balbo, M., Morselli, L. L., Tasali, E., Leproult, R., L'Hermite-Balériaux, M., Van Cauter, E., Spiegel, K.·2014·The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism

Abstract

CONTEXT: Insufficient sleep is associated with increased cardiometabolic risk. Alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis may underlie this link. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the impact of restricted sleep on daytime profiles of ACTH and cortisol concentrations. METHODS: Thirteen subjects participated in 2 laboratory sessions (2 nights of 10 hours in bed versus 2 nights of 4 hours in bed) in a randomized crossover design. Sleep was polygraphically recorded. After the second night of each session, blood was sampled at 20-minute intervals from 9:00 am to midnight to measure ACTH and total cortisol. Saliva was collected every 20 minutes from 2:00 pm to midnight to measure free cortisol. Perceived stress, hunger, and appetite were assessed at hourly intervals by validated scales. RESULTS: Sleep restriction was associated with a 19% increase in overall ACTH levels (P < .03) that was correlated with the individual amount of sleep loss (rSp = 0.63, P < .02). Overall total cortisol levels were also elevated (+21%; P = .10). Pulse frequency was unchanged for both ACTH and cortisol. Morning levels of ACTH were higher after sleep restriction (P < .04) without concomitant elevation of cortisol. In contrast, evening ACTH levels were unchanged while total and free cortisol increased by, respectively, 30% (P < .03) and 200% (P < .04). Thus, the amplitude of the circadian cortisol decline was dampened by sleep restriction (-21%; P < .05). Sleep restriction was not associated with higher perceived stress but resulted in an increase in appetite that was correlated with the increase in total cortisol. CONCLUSION: The impact of sleep loss on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity is dependent on time of day. Insufficient sleep dampens the circadian rhythm of cortisol, a major internal synchronizer of central and peripheral clocks.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Two nights of sleep restriction to 4 hours in bed increased daytime HPA-axis activity in healthy young men, with higher overall ACTH and a trend toward higher total cortisol. The effect varied by time of day: morning ACTH rose without cortisol, while evening total and free cortisol rose without ACTH, dampening the circadian cortisol decline.

Key findings

  • Sleep restriction increased overall daytime ACTH by 19% (P < .03) and total cortisol by 21% (P = .10); the ACTH increase correlated with the amount of sleep loss (rSp = 0.63, P < .02).
  • Morning ACTH was 10% higher after sleep restriction (P < .04) without a significant morning cortisol elevation, whereas evening total cortisol increased by 30% (P < .03) and evening free cortisol by 200% (P < .04) without an evening ACTH increase.
  • The circadian decline in total cortisol was dampened by 21% (P < .05); pulse frequency was unchanged for ACTH and cortisol, though ACTH pulse trough and peak values were higher (both P < .05).
  • Perceived stress did not differ between conditions, but increased appetite correlated with increased total cortisol (rSp = 0.67, P < .04; hunger rSp = 0.60, P < .06).

Methods

  • Thirteen healthy young men (median age 21 [20; 23] years; BMI 24.6 [21; 25] kg/m²) completed a randomized crossover study with two laboratory sessions: 2 nights of 10 hours in bed vs 2 nights of 4 hours in bed, spaced at least 6 weeks apart.
  • After the second night of each session, blood was sampled every 20 minutes from 9:00 am to midnight for ACTH and total cortisol, and saliva every 20 minutes from 2:00 pm to midnight for free cortisol; participants received constant glucose infusion and remained recumbent.
  • Analyses used Wilcoxon exact rank tests, mixed-effects ANOVA for serial hormone data, Spearman correlations, and the ULTRA algorithm for pulse detection.

Limitations

  • The paper states: small sample size; only young men, so findings cannot be extrapolated to the general population; constant glucose infusion instead of meals does not mimic real-life conditions; and sleep restriction lasted only 2 nights, so results may not translate to chronic sleep debt.
  • Evident from the text: the controlled laboratory setting and exclusion of women, smokers, and medicated individuals limit generalizability to everyday sleep restriction contexts.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1210/jc.2013-4254

Cites

43 of 43 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

43 Own result · 28 Not checked yet · 12 Own method · 11 Own interpretation · 3 No basis given

Verify all 78 references — free account

Show all 54 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 24
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 28
43 of 43
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The role of ACTH levels in the evening elevation of cortisol secretion after sleep loss has not been elucidated.

    “The role of ACTH levels in this evening elevation of cortisol secretion has not been elucidated.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Cortisol is a major internal synchronizer of central and peripheral clocks.

    “Insufficient sleep dampens the circadian rhythm of cortisol, a major internal synchronizer of central and peripheral clocks.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Sorted by citations

See all 127

Metadata

Authors
Guyon, A., Balbo, M., Morselli, L. L., Tasali, E., Leproult, R., L'Hermite-Balériaux, M., Van Cauter, E., & Spiegel, K.
Affiliations
  • Lyon 1 Université (FR)
  • Azienda Ospedaliera Nazionale SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo (IT)
  • University of Chicago (US)
  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
  • Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, 1050 Belgium and Faculté de Médecine (M.L.-B.), Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, 1070 Belgium
  • Sleep, Metabolism, and Health Center (L.L.M., E.T., R.L., E.V.C.), Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Corresponding author
Spiegel, K.
Venue
The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Published
2014-08-01
Volume
99
Issue
8
Pages
2861-2868
ISSN
  • 0021-972X (ISSN-L)
  • 1945-7197
OpenAlex
W2102478373
Cited by
127
References
46
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 4
FWCI
6.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Chicago
  • National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000430)
  • National Institute on Aging (P01-AG11412., P01AG011412)
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (P60DK20595, P60DK020595)
  • National Center for Research Resources (P41RR013642)
  • NIH Clinical Center
  • National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Sleep and Work-Related Fatigue
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
Keywords
sleep restriction, sleep deprivation, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, ACTH, cortisol, free cortisol, circadian rhythm, perceived stress, appetite, hunger, cardiometabolic risk, healthy men
MeSH terms
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Adult, Circadian Rhythm, Health, Humans, Hydrocortisone, Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System, Male, Pituitary-Adrenal System, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Time Factors, Cross-Over Studies, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-09, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).

A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-09 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review