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Survey study, 2021

Does premenstrual syndrome affect sleep quality?

Yes. Women with PMS had shorter total sleep time, took longer to fall asleep, and had worse sleep quality scores than women without PMS.

Moderate study design 265 women

What they did

This cross-sectional study of 265 women measured premenstrual syndrome symptoms and sleep quality using standard questionnaires, and also asked about lifestyle factors including coffee intake, smoking, exercise, and alcohol use.

What they found

Premenstrual syndrome occurred in 57% of participants (150 out of 265). Women with PMS had shorter sleep time, needed more time to fall asleep, and had higher poor sleep quality scores. Women with PMS also reported more coffee intake and more regular exercise.

What it means for you

Premenstrual syndrome is clearly linked to poor sleep quality. Better sleep is one way PMS might affect quality of life. The study measured these factors at one point in time, so we cannot know if PMS causes poor sleep or poor sleep causes PMS.

57%

had premenstrual syndrome

265

total women in study

About the study

Original title
Premenstrual Syndrome as a Sleep Disturbing Factor: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors
Övsen Önay, Canset Aydın
Journal
Acta Medica
Year
2021
Study design
Survey study
Participants
265
What was tested
None - this was an observational study
Open access
Yes
Original abstract

Objective: To evaluate the lifestyle factors possibly related with premenstrual syndrome which were body mass index, coffee intake, smoking, regular physical exercise, and alcohol consumption, and investigate the impact of these lifestyle factors and premenstrual syndrome on sleep quality. Methods and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 265 participants, and all applied Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Premenstrual Syndrome Scale questionnaires. Results: The prevalence of premenstrual syndrome among the participants was 57% (n:150). Participants with premenstrual syndrome had shorter total sleep time (p:0.001). Also, they needed longer time to fall asleep (p:0.001). The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores of the participants with premenstrual syndrome were higher than those without premenstrual syndorme (p<0.001), indicating poor sleep quality. It was observed that the participants with premenstrual syndrome had more coffee intake (p:0.040) and more regular physical activity (p:0.009), which were risk factors of premenstrual syndrome. premenstrual syndrome positivity was associated with increased poor sleep quality in both univariate and multivariate analyses (OR:5.93 95% CI: 3.46-10.15, p<0.001; OR:5.61 95% CI: 3.19-9.88, p<0.001, respectively). The remaining variables, which were risk factors of premenstrual syndrome, didn’t have any statistically significant association with sleep quality. Conclusion: The important relation between premenstrual syndrome and sleep quality is highlighted. Relief of premenstrual syndrome complaints may lead to better sleep quality and enhancement of quality of life for a woman.

Reproduced under CC-BY.

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