--- title: Can menstruation cause extreme sleepiness? | Niyora description: One 16-year-old girl experienced 1 to 2 weeks of extreme sleepiness linked to her menstrual cycle. The sleepiness completely stopped when she took a birth con url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstruation-related-periodic-hypersomnia-a-case-study-with-successful-treatment-1982/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Can menstruation cause extreme sleepiness? Case report, 1982 # Can menstruation cause extreme sleepiness? One 16-year-old girl experienced 1 to 2 weeks of extreme sleepiness linked to her menstrual cycle. The sleepiness completely stopped when she took a birth control pill that prevented ovulation. Early or limited evidence One 16-year-old girl with menstruation-related excessive sleepiness ## What they did Doctors studied one 16-year-old girl who experienced extreme sleepiness around her menstruation. They measured hormone levels in her blood and certain brain chemicals. They checked whether the sleepiness occurred during all periods or only certain ones. Then they treated her with a birth control pill containing ethinylestradiol and lynestrenol. ## What they found Her hormone levels were normal. Certain brain chemicals were lower in her spinal fluid during sleep periods than during periods when she was awake normally. The extreme sleepiness occurred only during menstrual cycles with ovulation. When she took the birth control pill, ovulation stopped and the sleepiness ceased completely. ## What it means for you In this one case, extreme sleepiness during menstruation was linked to ovulation and lower levels of certain brain chemicals. This suggests that for some women, extreme sleepiness during the menstrual cycle might be preventable with an ovulation-blocking birth control pill. The main limit is this describes one person's experience, so we do not know if this would work for other women. 16 years old 1 to 2 weeks of sleepiness per menstrual cycle ## About the study Original title Menstruation-related periodic hypersomnia: a case study with successful treatment Authors Sachs C, Persson HE, Hagenfeldt K Journal Neurology Year 1982 Study design Case report What was tested Birth control pill containing ethinylestradiol and lynestrenol Read the paper [doi.org/10.1212/wnl.32.12.1376](https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.32.12.1376) ## Topics [Dysmenorrhea and period pain](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-dysmenorrhea/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/) 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 Survey study, 2025 Do menstrual problems and poor sleep affect mood and thinking in teenage girls? Cohort study, 2026 Do sleep, exercise, and diet quality affect period pain, heavy bleeding, and PMS in midlife? Cohort study, 2026 Does sleeping longer improve mood and fitness in elite athletes? Randomised trial, 2025 Does exercise reduce menstrual symptoms and sleep problems? Cohort study, 2024 Does psychological distress in adolescence predict menstrual symptoms in adulthood? Randomised trial, 2024 Does estetrol/drospirenone birth control improve PMS symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗