---
title: How does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly teenage girls fall asleep?
description: Yes. Teenage girls took longer to fall asleep when they had PMS. They fell asleep faster if they were 8 to 14 days past their period compared to being within
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/178-sleep-disparities-in-adolescent-women-role-of-pubertal-development-menstrual-2021/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- How does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly teenage girls fall asleep?

Cohort study, 2021

# How does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly teenage girls fall asleep?

Yes. Teenage girls took longer to fall asleep when they had PMS. They fell asleep faster if they were 8 to 14 days past their period compared to being within 7 days or 15 to 25 days past it. Interestingly, girls slept better overall than boys when objectively measured.

 Moderate study design

156 teenage girls (average age 16.5±2.3 years) from a population-based study

## What they did

156 teenage girls (average age 16.5 years) underwent one night of sleep monitoring in a lab and wore devices to monitor sleep at home for a week. Researchers asked about menstrual cycle timing and whether they experienced PMS.

## What they found

Girls took longer to fall asleep than boys in the lab (p<0.05), especially those with PMS symptoms. Girls whose last period was 8 to 14 days before testing fell asleep faster than those who had their period within the previous 7 days (p<0.01) or 15 to 25 days before (p<0.05). Birth control pills did not significantly change sleep patterns.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle timing affects how quickly girls fall asleep, with PMS linked to longer sleep onset. Girls showed sleep resilience with better deep sleep than boys overall. Findings apply to adolescents and may differ in adults.

156

Teenage girls studied

16.5±2.3

Average age in years

8-14

Days past period for fastest sleep onset

## About the study

Original title 178 Sleep Disparities in Adolescent Women: Role of Pubertal Development, Menstrual Cycle and Premenstrual Symptoms Authors Harsimar Kaur, Tuna Hasoğlu, Hassaan Gomaa et al. Journal SLEEP Year 2021 Study design Cohort study Participants 156 Read the paper [doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab072.177](https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab072.177)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Adolescents and young people](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-adolescents/)

Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits.

Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor.

## Related studies

Survey study, 2025

Do menstrual problems and poor sleep affect mood and thinking in teenage girls?

Survey study, 2024

What factors are linked to PMS in school-age girls?

Randomised trial, 2001

Do changing reproductive hormones disrupt the body's internal clock and cause mood disorders?

Cohort study, 2024

Is there a link between sleep and menstrual problems in teenage girls?

Systematic review, 2020

How common is PMS among women of reproductive age in Ethiopia?

Systematic review, 2017

Does Vitex agnus castus help treat premenstrual syndrome?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗