Do all menstruators have their period at the exact same time of the month?
Umm defintiely not! Don't worry, if you're not a menstruator, or you're a first time menstruator, this is a valid question. But for those of you who have been menstruating, and talking about it, for a while now, you'll probably know that each individual has a slightly different cycle. Some cycles are 40 days while others are around 28. Some people bleed for 5-7 days while others only bleed for 2-3. Syncing is really hard to prove because of the logistics of period cycles.
Defintiely not! First of all, it may take a while for your body to get things going smoothly and regularly. Period syncing is difficult to prove because of the logistics of period cycles. The standard menstrual cycle lasts for 28 days —beginning with 5 to 7 days of your “period” during which your uterus sheds and you experience bleeding. But, cycle lengths are considered normal for up to 40 days, and then some menstruators have shorter cycles with only two or three days of bleeding.
Also, Martha McClintock conducted a study of 135 college students living in a dorm together to see if their menstrual cycles aligned. The study didn’t test other cycle factors, like when the participants ovulated, but it did track when the each person's monthly bleeding began. McClintock concluded that the periods were, indeed, syncing up. After that, period syncing was referred to as 'the McClintock effect'.
