Period FAQs

is period syncing a thing

by Taryn Waters Published 1 year ago Updated 1 year ago
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The study concluded that period syncing was a real thing that people who menstruate experience when they’re in close contact with other people who menstruate. This confirmed the belief many people held from a wives’ tale regarding this topic.

Period syncing is the idea that women who spend a lot of time together will have their menstrual cycles align. However, scientific studies have been unable to prove that period syncing actually occurs. Pure mathematical probability is the likeliest reason why women's periods sync up.Oct 22, 2020

Full Answer

Is period syncing a real thing?

There’s actually been a lot of research on this topic. The whole idea started when a college student did a research study in the 1970s on 135 students living in her dorm. The study concluded that period syncing was a real thing that people who menstruate experience when they’re in close contact with other people who menstruate.

What to do if your period does not stop?

This is what you need to do:

  • Mix some amounts of lavender oil and sage oil
  • Into the mixture, add three some amount of warm almond oil
  • Use the oil to massage the abdominal and pelvic area
  • Do this twice or thrice to stop your period

Why do women synchronize periods?

  • Period syncing is the idea that women who spend a lot of time together will have their menstrual cycles align.
  • However, scientific studies have been unable to prove that period syncing actually occurs.
  • Pure mathematical probability is the likeliest reason why women's periods sync up.
  • This article was medically reviewed by Olivia P. ...

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Do women synchronize periods?

Period syncing is the idea that women who spend a lot of time together will have their menstrual cycles align. However, scientific studies have been unable to prove that period syncing actually occurs. Pure mathematical probability is the likeliest reason why women's periods sync up.

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Is it possible for periods to sync?

Given that menstruation can last 5 days, overlapping periods are a common occurrence. That women synchronize to each other, however, is a myth."

Why do females sync periods?

The theory behind the syncing of menstrual cycles is that women's pheromones interact when they are in close proximity, causing them to have their period at the same time.

Can your period sync with your best friend?

Most women have experienced having the same period schedule as their friends. You have probably heard that all the hours you spend together caused your menstrual cycle to sync up. However, there is no scientific evidence based on chemicals or hormones to support this theory.

How do you tell a guy you're on your period without saying it?

Most popularAunt Flo/Auntie Flow.Time of the month.On the rag.Red tide/army.Code Red.Monthly visitor.Lady time.Surfing the crimson wave/tide.More items...•

What is cycle syncing?

Cycle syncing is the practice of changing your diet, exercise, and lifestyle habits to align with the stages of your menstrual cycle. The idea is that by changing these factors during each stage of your cycle, you're able to meet the hormonal needs of your body making the menstrual phase easier to manage.

Do women's periods sync with the moon?

We show that women's menstrual cycles with a period longer than 27 days were intermittently synchronous with the Moon's luminance and/or gravimetric cycles. With age and upon exposure to artificial nocturnal light, menstrual cycles shortened and lost this synchrony.

Is period syncing a thing Reddit?

Scientifically and medically, there is no conclusive evidence (yet) of this, nor any evidence as to a cause for this (no, alpha females don't release pheromones to make all women around them change over to their cycle), and any anecdotal experiences are most likely co-incidences.

Does being around guys affect your period?

A new study found exposure to male pheromones can boost a woman's mood and stimulate the release of a hormone that regulates the menstrual cycle.

Why do periods sync up?

The left-brain part of me hates to say it, but the most likely reason that periods sync up is because of…math. It’s statistically likely that menstruators who live together will have some amount of period overlap, especially if one person’s cycle is three weeks long and the other person’s is five weeks.

What percentage of women believe in period synchrony?

Fahs found, in fact, that “women overwhelmingly endorsed the occurrence of menstrual synchrony both for themselves (90%) and for other women (95%).” She also uncovered four key themes that menstruators most often associated with their belief in period syncing: 6

What is the term for menstrual cycles that are in close proximity to each other?

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s break down the term ‘menstrual synchrony .’ Menstrual synchrony is the idea that when people who menstruate live in close proximity to one another, their menstrual cycles will eventually start to line up—thus, their periods arrive right around the same time each month.

Why do we band together during periods?

Perhaps banding together with your HBIC during your period helps us come to terms with some of those pent-up emotions. Fahs writes, “Menstrual synchrony offers one possible avenue to feel collective anger, and it highlights women’s feelings about mysticism, science, and close female relationships.”

Does period synchrony have anything to do with pheromones?

Sorry, Martha: Period syncing has absolutely nothing to do with the release of pheromones. 4

Is period synchrony a coincidence?

However: More recent studies do not support scientific evidence behind menstrual synchrony and today , most OB/GYNs would probably attribute any period synching to coincidence. 2

Is it rare to have a regular menstrual cycle?

With the world we’re living in today, it seems like a perfectly regular menstrual cycle is becoming increasingly rare. Even as far back as 2004, variability in cycle length was found to be pretty widespread. A study performed that year found that 46% of participants had a cycle range (i.e. variability in length) of 7 days or more, and 20% had a cycle range of 14 days or more. 3

Why is the period syncing myth so popular?

No matter how inaccurate the myth of period syncing may be, the idea that women’s bodies can fall into collective rhythms carries a certain mysterious, otherworldly appeal and, lending the myth more inertia, gives women a way to feel connection, empathy, and collective empowerment with other women.

Why does menstrual synchrony happen?

Fahs wrote that some of the women she interviewed believed “that menstrual synchrony happens because of biological, animal-like, or hormonal reasons” —in other words, that it was a natural, primal phenomenon programmed into humans to promote the survival of the species. Other women in Fahs’s study believed that menstrual synchrony was real and simply transcended scientific explanation. Some, she wrote, even likened it to a mystical, invisible connection between two women.

How far apart are menstrual cycles?

On average, the onsets will be 7 days apart. Fully half the time they should be even closer. Given that menstruation often lasts 5 days, it is not surprising that friends commonly experience overlapping menses, which is taken as personal confirmation of menstrual synchrony.

How long did women live together during their period?

Her study on the menstruation patterns of students at a women’s college, published in the journal Nature, tracked the period start dates of 135 women who lived together in a dormitory over a time frame of about six months.

Is period synchronization real?

For a phenomenon that’s highly unlikely to be real, period syncing has enjoyed an impressively long life in the popular imagination. Every now and again, news stories and listicles pop up to inform the public that no, actually, period synchronization as a result of prolonged proximity is not a thing, but the fictional story lines and offhand jokes persist nonetheless.

Do people believe in menstrual synchrony?

For decades, researchers have been poking holes in the study that introduced the concept of “menstrual synchrony.” Many people believe in it anyway.

Do women have periods at the same time?

In other words, as Strassmann explained to me in an interview, women have their periods at the same time as other women an awful lot, so it’s common to mistake menstrual overlap for menstrual synchrony: “A quarter of the time, [two] women’s menses should be overlapping, based on random chance,” she said.

What causes menstrual synchrony, supposedly?

A researcher called Martha McClintock studied the menstrual cycles of 135 women in an American college. Martha’s research found that friends and flatmates had more similar period cycles than random pairings of women.

What else could impact your period?

Preconception and weight – being under or over weight can impact your cycle, sometimes making it shorter or longer, or stopping your periods altogether.

Do friends have periods?

Friends always have periods at the same time. It’s likely we are simply looking for patterns where they don’t exist. The idea that our periods sync undoubtedly creates closeness and a bond. But a theory of synchrony, collaboration and sisterhood is certainly more interesting.

Do women's periods synchronize?

A recent study by Oxford University and the period tracker Clue – thought to be the largest of its kind – has found data showing women’s periods do not synchronise when they live together after all. They followed 360 pairs of women.

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Is Period Syncing A Myth?

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In recent years science has been skeptical that period syncing is a thing. A recent study by Oxford University and the period tracker Clue– thought to be the largest of its kind – has found data showing women’s periods do not synchronise when they live together after all. They followed 360 pairs of women. Analysing three consec…
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What Causes Menstrual Synchrony, supposedly?

  • The idea actually started with research findings published in Nature, a scientific journal, in 1971. A researcher called Martha McClintock studied the menstrual cycles of 135 women in an American college. Martha’s research found that friends and flatmates had more similar period cycles than random pairings of women. The main theory explains this phenomenon as an evolutionary strat…
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So, Do Periods Sync Up?

  • In a word – no. It’s clear that science doesn’t back up these theories – yet, at least. Then, why do friends have periods at the same time? I can hear you yelling (and I agree). But this happens all the time! Friends always have periods at the same time. It’s likely we are simply looking for patterns where they don’t exist. The idea that our periods sync undoubtedly creates closeness a…
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What Else Could Impact Your period?

  1. Preconception and weight– being under or over weight can impact your cycle, sometimes making it shorter or longer, or stopping your periods altogether.
  2. Stress and fertility– stress can impact your cycle too.
  3. Too much exercise – very intense exercise can also impact your period. Either because you have very low body fat, or because your body is under such intense stress from the exercise.
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Want to Find Out More About periods?

  • We recently held a digital meetup all about fertility with leading gynaecologist and fertility expert Dr Jess Farren. Where the topic of period syncing came up – sadly Jess reconfirmed it is all a myth. We also talk all about PCOS, endometriosis and more! Understand period health; find out if you might have common conditions like endometriosis, fibroids and PCOS. Take a short quiz to …
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