Having Period Sync with Your Close Friend!?

Girls! Do you remember having your period/ menstrual cycle sync with your close friend? This is known as menstrual synchrony or the "McClintock effect".

It started when Martha McClintock published a study, she found out that women living together in college dorms seemed to have more synchronized cycles over time. She theorized that this could be due to pheromones, which is a chemical signal that influence people close to us. Ever since, this has led to us in believing that women who spend a lot of time together start “syncing up” in the period.

But, is period syncing really a thing? Mix results is seen in research. Some were positive while the rest were negative and suggested that synchronization is just statistical coincidence.

So, what might explain why people believe in period syncing?

1.      Natural Cycle Variation: Since menstrual cycles can range from 21 to 35 days, it’s likely that at some point, two people will have cycles that overlap eventually.

2.      Psychological Influence: Close friends or roommates may become more aware of each other’s cycles, which can make overlapping cycles seem more intentional than random.

3.      Environmental and Hormonal Influences: Factors like stress, diet, and exercise can affect cycle timing. Shared living conditions could lead to temporary alignment, though this isn’t exactly “synchrony” in a biological sense.

In a nutshell, menstrual synchrony remains an interesting theory that still draws attention, but as of now, it lacks consistent scientific backing.