Period syncing myth debunked

Menstrual cycles do not actually sync up between women who spend a lot of time together, new research has found. 

Despite the fact that no scientific studies have been able to prove the theory that those with uteruses can experience synced cycles, the idea has become almost fact. However, a new joint study performed by period tracking app Clue and Oxford University has debunked the myth of syncing periods.

Clue sent users of its app a survey asking about their experiences of synced periods with other app users. The poll included questions about their relationship, whether they live together and what hormonal birth control is used by both, if any.

Out of 1,500 responses, there were 360 pairs of users who had at least three cycles over the same time period that could be reviewed. Researchers analysed a minimum of three cycles per pair, revealing that 273 of the pairs actually had larger gaps between the start and end dates of their cycles at the end of the study compared to its beginning.

Of the 360 pairs analysed, just 79 had cycles that featured start dates getting closer together throughout the course of the study. 

For the full sample used, the average difference in terms of the start of a cycle at the beginning of the study was ten days. This increased to 38 days at the end of the study, showing that periods did not sync.

The study also showed that living together did not increase the likelihood of periods syncing. Some 37 per cent (100 out of 273) of the pairs with cycle start dates that were different lived together, whereas just 24 per cent (19 out of 79) of those with converging start dates lived together.

Not only did the study find that periods will not sync over time between those who spend a lot of time together and those who live together, it actually revealed that they are more likely to become more separate.