Estrogen and Sleep: How Female Hormones Shape Sleep and Wakefulness
Official title: Mechanisms Governing the Estrogenic Modulation of Sleep
Funded at University of Maryland Baltimore · NIH-11455495 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant explores how estrogen affects sleep and wakefulness in adults, aiming to understand why sleep problems are more common in women.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Maryland Baltimore NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2015 |
| Project end | May 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $730,061 |
| NIH project number | 2R01HL129138-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11455495 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults 21 years and older, particularly women, who experience sleep disorders or are interested in sex-specific sleep biology.
✕Less likely to help
The findings may not directly improve sleep symptoms in individuals without sleep disturbances or those outside the age range studied.
What this research studies
If you experience insomnia or restless sleep and you are a woman, this research may help explain how ovarian hormones influence your sleep patterns at the cellular level. The study builds on prior findings about estrogen acting in brain regions that regulate sleep, and how estrogen interacts with adenosine signaling to shift sleep and wake states. Researchers will use laboratory models to uncover mechanisms, with an emphasis on differences between sexes and how these pathways could be targeted to improve sleep health in women. The work could inform future treatments that consider a patient’s hormonal status and life stage.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of how estrogen affects sleep could lead to more effective, sex-specific approaches to treating insomnia and other sleep disorders.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work has shown that hormonal signals can alter sleep regulation, supporting the potential relevance of this approach to human sleep health.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Maryland Baltimore
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mong, Jessica Aurora — University of Maryland Baltimore
- Study coordinator: Mong, Jessica Aurora
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.