Cohort study, 2021
How does the menstrual cycle affect how quickly teenage girls fall asleep?
Yes. Teenage girls took longer to fall asleep when they had PMS. They fell asleep faster if they were 8 to 14 days past their period compared to being within 7 days or 15 to 25 days past it. Interestingly, girls slept better overall than boys when objectively measured.
What they did
156 teenage girls (average age 16.5 years) underwent one night of sleep monitoring in a lab and wore devices to monitor sleep at home for a week. Researchers asked about menstrual cycle timing and whether they experienced PMS.
What they found
Girls took longer to fall asleep than boys in the lab (p<0.05), especially those with PMS symptoms. Girls whose last period was 8 to 14 days before testing fell asleep faster than those who had their period within the previous 7 days (p<0.01) or 15 to 25 days before (p<0.05). Birth control pills did not significantly change sleep patterns.
What it means for you
The menstrual cycle timing affects how quickly girls fall asleep, with PMS linked to longer sleep onset. Girls showed sleep resilience with better deep sleep than boys overall. Findings apply to adolescents and may differ in adults.
156
Teenage girls studied
16.5±2.3
Average age in years
8-14
Days past period for fastest sleep onset
About the study
- Original title
- 178 Sleep Disparities in Adolescent Women: Role of Pubertal Development, Menstrual Cycle and Premenstrual Symptoms
- Authors
- Harsimar Kaur, Tuna Hasoğlu, Hassaan Gomaa et al.
- Journal
- SLEEP
- Year
- 2021
- Study design
- Cohort study
- Participants
- 156
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1093/sleep/zsab072.177
Topics
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