Study, 2020
Does sleep quality change between the first days of the period and mid-cycle?
Yes. Female athletes slept less, took longer to fall asleep, and had lower sleep quality during the first 2 days of their period compared to mid-cycle. Women concerned about sanitary products had even less deep sleep.
What they did
Researchers studied 45 female collegiate athletes with regular cycles. They measured sleep at home using brain wave monitors on three nights: the first night after bleeding started, the second night after bleeding started, and one night between days 7-10 of cycle.
What they found
Total sleep time was shorter and it took longer to fall asleep on the second night compared to mid-cycle. Sleep quality was lower on the first night. Women concerned about sanitary products spent less time in deep sleep. Deep sleep percentage differed between women with and without period symptoms.
What it means for you
Young female athletes sleep worse during their period, falling asleep more slowly and sleeping less overall. Women worried about sanitary products sleep even less deeply. Period sleep problems should be addressed, as they may affect athletic recovery and performance.
45
female collegiate athletes studied
3
measurement periods across menstrual cycle
days 7-10
mid-cycle measurement window
About the study
- Original title
- Changes in the objective measures of sleep between the initial nights of menses and the nights during the midfollicular phase of the menstrual cycle in collegiate female athletes
- Authors
- Koikawa N, Takami Y, Kawasaki Y et al.
- Journal
- Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 45
- What was tested
- None - measurements during different cycle phases
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8692
Topics
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