Is Menstrual Syncing a Myth or Fact?
Period syncing is the popular talk of the town. It describes that women who live or spend a lot of time together begin to get their periods on the same day every month. Popularly known as menstrual syncing or menstrual cycle synchronization, this phenomenon has been seen among close friends, college dorms, and even coworkers for that matter. But the question is there any real science behind synchronized periods or all of this is just in the air? In this blog post, we will explore the concept of menstrual cycle syncing and whether it holds up to scientific evidence or scrutiny.
The origin behind Menstrual Syncing: How it all started.
The concept dates back to the 1970s era when psychologist Martha McClintock published a study suggesting that women who live in close proximity tend to have synchronized periods. This was dubbed as the McClintock Effect. The analysis suggested that menstrual syncing happened because of pheromones, chemical signals a human body emits that might influence the cycles of other women. This idea gained considerable popularity and became part of women's everyday conversations.
The science behind syncing periods.
Many researchers have tried to prove or disprove the fact of menstrual cycle syncing, but the results have been mixed. A study from 2006 tracked the menstrual cycle of 186 Chinese women living close by and found no statistically considerable evidence to support the phenomena of synchronized periods. This suggests that the findings of McClintock might be more coincidental than biological.
Another study conducted in 2017 by Trusted Source holds the aspect of period syncing alive by indicating that 44 percent of women who were nearby experienced synchronized periods. However, the concept of menstrual cycle synchronization usually overlooks the biological variation in women’s menstrual cycle lengths. Since periods can fluctuate due to several factors like diet, stress, and lifestyle, which may appear as syncing periods.
Why does menstrual syncing feel real?
Even though the phenomena of menstrual syncing is not fully backed by science many women still feel like their periods sync up with those around them. The reason behind this is that our menstrual cycle naturally varies due to changes in diet, other lifestyle factors, and diet. When two cycles overlap it gives the impression of period syncing, but it is usually just a coincidence.
Syncing or not, It's all fine.
Like other health related concerns, period syncing also deserves more research and attention. Until then, menstrual syncing probably will continue to live on as an anecdotally proven phenomenon about periods.
It is usually seen that as humans it is natural to link our physical experiences with our emotional ones, and having a menstrual cycle that “syncs” with a friend or family member adds another layer to the relationships. However, if your cycle does not sync with others it does not mean anything wrong or irregular with your menstrual cycle.
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