Mohamed, Abdalla Z, Andersen, Thu, Radovic, Sanja et al. · Sleep medicine reviews · 2023 · DOI
This study looked at 24 research papers that measured sleep objectively (using devices and tests, not just patient reports) in people with ME/CFS. The researchers found that ME/CFS patients do indeed have real, measurable sleep problems—they take longer to fall asleep, wake up more during the night, and don't get good-quality sleep. Interestingly, these sleep problems looked slightly different in teenagers compared to adults with ME/CFS.
This meta-analysis provides robust evidence that sleep dysfunction in ME/CFS is objectively measurable and not simply perceived by patients. Understanding the specific patterns of sleep architecture disruption helps explain why ME/CFS patients experience unrefreshing sleep and supports the biological basis of the condition, which is crucial for validation and future treatment development.
This study does not establish whether abnormal sleep causes ME/CFS symptoms or results from them—the relationship could work both directions. It also does not identify the specific biological mechanisms driving these sleep changes, nor does it prove that correcting sleep architecture would improve ME/CFS symptoms. The findings are correlational observations only.
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
Mohamed, Abdalla Z, Andersen, Thu, Radovic, Sanja, Del Fante, Peter, Kwiatek, Richard, Calhoun, Vince, et al. (2023). Objective sleep measures in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.. Sleep medicine reviews. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101771
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-mohamed-2023-objective-sleep,
author = {Mohamed, Abdalla Z and Andersen, Thu and Radovic, Sanja and Del Fante, Peter and Kwiatek, Richard and Calhoun, Vince and Bhuta, Sandeep and Hermens, Daniel F and Lagopoulos, Jim and Shan, Zack Y},
title = {Objective sleep measures in chronic fatigue syndrome patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.},
journal = {Sleep medicine reviews},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1016/j.smrv.2023.101771},
note = {PubMed: 36948138},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mohamed-2023-objective-sleep},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-26. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/mohamed-2023-objective-sleep
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