Cohort study, 2015
Is sleep quality worse before your period?
Yes, but the difference is small. Women reported sleep quality 1.32 points worse on a 1-100 scale before their period, but this gap disappeared when stress was included in the analysis.
What they did
A Canadian cohort study followed 76 women aged 18-42 for 24 weeks. Women recorded their sleep quality, mood, and health daily using electronic data collection.
What they found
Premenstrual sleep quality was 1.32 points worse on a 1-100 quality scale compared with mid-cycle. This difference held when exercise and physical health were added to the analysis but became not statistically significant when perceived stress and social support were included.
What it means for you
Sleep quality is technically worse before your period, but the actual difference is small and can be explained by stress and social support rather than hormones alone. This suggests managing stress might be more helpful than focusing on the menstrual cycle itself.
76
women
24 weeks
study length
1.32
point difference in sleep quality
About the study
- Original title
- Sleep quality and the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Romans SE, Kreindler D, Einstein G et al.
- Journal
- Sleep medicine
- Year
- 2015
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 76
- What was tested
- None (observation only)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2014.12.001
Topics
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