---
title: Does the menstrual cycle affect sleep? | Niyora
description: Yes, women with PMS or period pain often have poorer sleep quality during the premenstrual phase and menstruation. Even women without these symptoms show chan
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-menstrual-cycle-and-sleep-2023/
---

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- Does the menstrual cycle affect sleep?

Review, 2023

# Does the menstrual cycle affect sleep?

Yes, women with PMS or period pain often have poorer sleep quality during the premenstrual phase and menstruation. Even women without these symptoms show changes in sleep brain activity during the luteal phase when progesterone is high.

 Moderate study design

Literature review of various populations

## What they did

A literature review examining research on how sleep changes across the menstrual cycle in women.

## What they found

Women with premenstrual symptoms or painful periods report poorer sleep quality during the premenstrual phase and menstruation. In women without symptoms, the amount and continuity of sleep stays the same throughout the cycle, but brain activity during sleep changes. Sleep spindle activity, a specific brain wave pattern during sleep, increases in the luteal phase after ovulation when progesterone is high compared to the follicular phase.

## What it means for you

The menstrual cycle affects sleep quality, particularly for women with premenstrual symptoms. Doctors should ask about menstrual cycle when women report sleep problems. For women without PMS symptoms, the cycle still changes how the brain works during sleep, which might explain why some people sleep differently across their cycle even without obvious symptoms.

Luteal phase

When sleep spindles increase

## About the study

Original title The Menstrual Cycle and Sleep Authors Alzueta E, Baker FC Journal Sleep medicine clinics Year 2023 Study design Review What was tested None Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.06.003](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsmc.2023.06.003)

## 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/)

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