---
title: Does mood and sleep change during the menstrual cycle? | Niyora
description: Overall, no clear pattern was found across the group as a whole. One woman showed mood dips during her cycle and changes in sleep stages, but the other three
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/mood-and-sleep-i-effects-of-the-menstrual-cycle-1980/
---

- [Niyora](https://niyora.com/)
- [Research](https://niyora.com/research/)
- [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/)
- Does mood and sleep change during the menstrual cycle?

Study, 1980

# Does mood and sleep change during the menstrual cycle?

Overall, no clear pattern was found across the group as a whole. One woman showed mood dips during her cycle and changes in sleep stages, but the other three women showed no cyclic changes.

 Early or limited evidence

4 women

## What they did

Four women were studied during 8 nights each at corresponding days of their menstrual cycle. Researchers measured their sleep patterns and mood.

## What they found

As a group, the women showed no clear changes in sleep with the menstrual cycle. One woman showed a U-shaped pattern of negative mood during her cycle, along with more of a lighter sleep stage (stage 2) and less deep sleep at menstruation. The other three women showed no cyclic variations in mood or sleep.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle may not affect sleep in consistent ways across women, though it might affect mood in some people. The main limitation is the very small sample size of only 4 women, and the different results for each person.

4

women studied

8

nights studied per woman

1

women with U-shaped mood pattern

## About the study

Original title Mood and Sleep. I. Effects of the menstrual cycle Authors Cluydts R, Visser P Journal Waking and sleeping Year 1980 Study design Study What was tested None - this was observational Read the paper [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7281630/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7281630/)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[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

Does sleeping longer improve mood and fitness in elite athletes?

Review, 2024

What do brain wave patterns show about PMS and PMDD?

Systematic review, 2022

Do athletes' feelings and performance change across the menstrual cycle?

Study, 2021

How much does the menstrual cycle affect mood and body signs compared to daily, weekly, and seasonal changes?

Survey study, 2026

How does sleep change across the menstrual cycle in women with psychiatric conditions and suicidal thinking?

Survey study, 2026

How do pain, sleep quality, and appetite change across the menstrual cycle?

Ask AI about this page

Copy prompt

ChatGPT

↗

Claude

↗

Perplexity

↗

Google AI Mode

↗

Grok

↗