--- title: Does sleep quality change between the first days of the period and mid-cycle? description: Yes. Female athletes slept less, took longer to fall asleep, and had lower sleep quality during the first 2 days of their period compared to mid-cycle. Women url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/changes-in-the-objective-measures-of-sleep-between-the-initial-nights-of-menses-2020/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does sleep quality change between the first days of the period and mid-cycle? Study, 2020 # Does sleep quality change between the first days of the period and mid-cycle? Yes. Female athletes slept less, took longer to fall asleep, and had lower sleep quality during the first 2 days of their period compared to mid-cycle. Women concerned about sanitary products had even less deep sleep. Moderate study design 45 female collegiate athletes with regular menstrual cycles ## What they did Researchers studied 45 female collegiate athletes with regular cycles. They measured sleep at home using brain wave monitors on three nights: the first night after bleeding started, the second night after bleeding started, and one night between days 7-10 of cycle. ## What they found Total sleep time was shorter and it took longer to fall asleep on the second night compared to mid-cycle. Sleep quality was lower on the first night. Women concerned about sanitary products spent less time in deep sleep. Deep sleep percentage differed between women with and without period symptoms. ## What it means for you Young female athletes sleep worse during their period, falling asleep more slowly and sleeping less overall. Women worried about sanitary products sleep even less deeply. Period sleep problems should be addressed, as they may affect athletic recovery and performance. 45 female collegiate athletes studied 3 measurement periods across menstrual cycle days 7-10 mid-cycle measurement window ## About the study Original title Changes in the objective measures of sleep between the initial nights of menses and the nights during the midfollicular phase of the menstrual cycle in collegiate female athletes Authors Koikawa N, Takami Y, Kawasaki Y et al. Journal Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Year 2020 Study design Study Participants 45 What was tested None - measurements during different cycle phases Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8692](https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.8692) ## Topics [Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Athletes and sport](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-athletes/) 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? Systematic review, 2022 Do athletes' feelings and performance change across the menstrual cycle? Cohort study, 2026 Does sleep change during different phases of the menstrual cycle? Study, 2026 Does the menstrual cycle affect athletic performance, recovery, or sleep despite hormone changes? Cohort study, 2025 How do menstrual cycle phase and birth control type affect sleep and training readiness? Study, 2025 Does the menstrual cycle affect sleep, energy, and injury risk in young female athletes? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗