--- title: Is poor sleep linked to menstrual problems like PMS and painful periods? description: Yes. Thirty-five studies found that PMS and painful periods are associated with poor sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, difficulty sleeping, and short sleep d url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstrual-disturbances-and-its-association-with-sleep-disturbances-a-systematic-2023/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Is poor sleep linked to menstrual problems like PMS and painful periods? Systematic review, 2023 # Is poor sleep linked to menstrual problems like PMS and painful periods? Yes. Thirty-five studies found that PMS and painful periods are associated with poor sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, difficulty sleeping, and short sleep duration. Moderate study design Women with various menstrual disturbances (PMS, dysmenorrhea, abnormal cycles) across 35 studies ## What they did Systematic review of 35 studies (published 1988-2022) examining the link between sleep and menstrual problems. Sleep was assessed across five health domains: satisfaction, alertness, efficiency, timing, and duration. ## What they found PMS and dysmenorrhea were associated with poor sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, difficulty initiating or maintaining sleep, and short sleep duration. Abnormal menstrual cycles and heavy bleeding were linked to sleep satisfaction, efficiency, and duration. ## What it means for you Sleep and menstrual health are connected. Women with PMS, painful periods, or irregular heavy periods often have poor sleep. Improving sleep might help menstrual problems, but research has not yet proven cause and effect. 35 Studies reviewed 4 Sleep domains affected in PMS and dysmenorrhea 3 Sleep domains affected in abnormal cycle/heavy bleeding ## About the study Original title Menstrual disturbances and its association with sleep disturbances: a systematic review Authors Jeon B, Baek J Journal BMC women's health Year 2023 Study design Systematic review What was tested None; observational review of existing studies Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02629-0](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02629-0) Original abstract Background: Menstrual disturbances harm women's health, and general well-being. As growing evidence highlights the relationship between sleep and menstrual disturbances, it is imperative to comprehensively examine the association between sleep and menstrual disturbance considering the multiple dimensions of sleep. This systematic review aims to identify the association between sleep and menstrual disturbances by evaluating using Buysse's sleep health framework. Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, psychINFO, and CINAHL to identify publications describing any types of menstrual disturbances, and their associations with sleep published between January 1, 1988 to June 2, 2022. Quality assessment was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Checklist for Analytical Cross-Sectional Studies. The findings were iteratively evaluated menstrual disturbances and their association with sleep using Buysse's sleep health framework. This framework understands sleep as multidimensional concept and provides a holistic framing of sleep including Satisfaction, Alertness during waking hours, Timing of sleep, Efficiency, and Sleep duration. Menstrual disturbances were grouped into three categories: premenstrual syndrome, dysmenorrhea, and abnormal menstrual cycle/heavy bleeding during periods. Results: Thirty-five studies were reviewed to examine the association between sleep and menstrual disturbances. Premenstrual syndrome and dysmenorrhea were associated with sleep disturbances in sleep health domains of Satisfaction (e.g., poor sleep quality), Alertness during waking hours (e.g., daytime sleepiness), Efficiency (e.g., difficulty initiating/maintaining sleep), and Duration (e.g., short sleep duration). Abnormal menstrual cycle and heavy bleeding during the period were related to Satisfaction, Efficiency, and Duration. There were no studies which investigated the timing of sleep. Conclusions/implications: Sleep disturbances within most dimensions of the sleep health framework negatively impact on menstrual disturbances. Future research should longitudinally examine the effects of sleep disturbances in all dimensions of sleep health with the additional objective sleep measure on menstrual disturbances. This review gives insight in that it can be recommended to provide interventions for improving sleep disturbances in women with menstrual disturbance. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/) 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 Cohort study, 2026 Do sleep, exercise, and diet quality affect period pain, heavy bleeding, and PMS in midlife? 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