--- title: Is sleep quality worse before your period? | Niyora description: 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 wa url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/sleep-quality-and-the-menstrual-cycle-2015/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Is sleep quality worse before your period? 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. Moderate study design 76 women aged 18-42 years from the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, not seeking help for menstrual issues ## 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](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sleep.2014.12.001) ## Topics [Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/) 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, 2008 How do eating, sleep, and sexual activity change across the menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2021 Does managing stress, emotions, diet, exercise and sleep help PMS in female athletes? Randomised trial, 2017 Does yoga help with PMS symptoms? Survey study, 2010 Does sexual interest change across the cycle and what role do pain, sleep and hormones play? Survey study, 2026 What dietary, lifestyle, and psychological factors are associated with PMS in young women? Survey study, 2026 Does exercise help college women with period problems and mental health? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗