Kishi, Akifumi, Struzik, Zbigniew R, Natelson, Benjamin H et al. · American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology · 2008 · DOI
This study examined sleep patterns in people with ME/CFS compared to healthy people by recording brain activity during sleep. Researchers found that people with ME/CFS have disrupted transitions between different types of sleep, particularly trouble maintaining lighter sleep and REM sleep, and instead wake up more frequently. This suggests that the brain's sleep regulation mechanisms work differently in ME/CFS.
Sleep disturbance is a cardinal feature of ME/CFS, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study provides quantitative evidence that CFS involves specific, measurable alterations in sleep architecture and dynamics rather than simply reduced sleep amount, potentially opening new avenues for understanding and treating one of the most disabling symptoms of the disease.
This study does not establish whether the altered sleep transitions cause ME/CFS symptoms or result from them, nor does it identify what mechanism drives these changes. A single night of sleep recording may not fully represent typical sleep patterns, and findings in an all-female sample may not generalize to male patients with ME/CFS.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Kishi, Akifumi, Struzik, Zbigniew R, Natelson, Benjamin H, Togo, Fumiharu, & Yamamoto, Yoshiharu (2008). Dynamics of sleep stage transitions in healthy humans and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.. American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00925.2007
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-kishi-2008-dynamics-sleep,
author = {Kishi, Akifumi and Struzik, Zbigniew R and Natelson, Benjamin H and Togo, Fumiharu and Yamamoto, Yoshiharu},
title = {Dynamics of sleep stage transitions in healthy humans and patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.},
journal = {American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology},
year = {2008},
doi = {10.1152/ajpregu.00925.2007},
note = {PubMed: 18417644},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kishi-2008-dynamics-sleep},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/kishi-2008-dynamics-sleep
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