From sharing tampons, heat packs and paracetamol, to accompanying each other to the supermarket for that chocolate fix, there’s no better bonding experience than being ‘synced up’ with your best friend.

Alone, you might feel bloated, tired and grumpy; but together, you’re powerful force of femininity, embracing your inner goddesses!

The idea that women’s menstrual cycles can sync up with those who we spend the most time with has been around for centuries – a whopping  80% of us believe that our periods do synchronise with the women around us.

Whilst the myth has been around for hundreds of years, the phenomenon was first examined in 1971 in a study of female college students by Martha McClintock.

McClintock speculated that menstrual synchrony is more than just a myth. In fact, her study concludes that there is a correlation between matched cycles and the amount of time spent with other women, and it’s all down to the pheromones that we produce.

While you will find there are many arguments backing menstrual synchrony, academics like McClintock have been criticised for poor research methods and a lack of hard evidence. If you ask Professor Frederick Naftolin, he’ll tell you that we will never be able to find a definitive answer to the science of syncing.

Just by looking at each other’s Emgoddess charts, we can clearly see that every woman has a unique cycle. Some women have a three-day period and others may have to wait out a whole ten days! So, it is very unlikely that two women’s cycles could actually meet up for more than a couple of months at a time – unless, of course, you are using the contraceptive pill.

But hey, let’s not let this myth busting get in the way of a good Netfilx and chocolate binge-sesh with your best friends.

Synced or not, let’s have each other’s backs, girls! Give your bestie that back tickle she so desperately needs and let your roommate borrow your favourite heat pack. Together we are a sisterhood of over-sharers. And why not?

Let’s kick period-pain butt, together!

Bibliography

MCCLINTOCK, M. K. (1971). Menstrual Synchrony and Suppression. Nature, 229.

Newcomber, L. (2016, February 10). Do Women’s Periods Really Sync Up? Retrieved from Greatist : https://greatist.com/health/womens-periods-sync/amp

Weller, L. (1995). The impact of social interaction factors on menstrual synchrony in the workplace. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 21-31.

Weller, L. (2000). Menstrual synchrony and cycle variability: a reply to Schank . Psychoneuroendocrinology, 519-26.