Synchronized menstruation: fact or myth?

synchronized menstruation is a recurring question in conversations between women. But it can be a controversial subject. Menstruating at the same time or during a period close to a friend’s period appears to have great sentimental value.

The coincidence becomes a sign that, in fact, there is a very strong connection between these women; and it is precisely this bond of friendship that would make two friends menstruate together. But does synchronized menstruation really exist or is it just a mathematical coincidence? Know more.

A matter of pheromones

You pheromones they are substances that allow the mutual and sexual recognition of individuals. Excreted pheromones are capable of arousing specific physiological and/or behavioral reactions in other members who are in physical proximity, living in the same environment, for example. This is what happens with most animal species, such as rats, whose cycle is synchronized by the fact that females are able to detect pheromones from each other’s urine.

In the case of humans, it would take a large amount of pheromones for the body of women to be able to detect by smell that another woman is also menstruating.

However, according to an article published in Scientific American, the mechanism for detecting pheromones related to synchronized menstruation is weak in humans.

Until now, studies have considered that it would be possible to detect pheromones through sweat, but there are no studies that prove that women respond to another woman’s pheromones through the odor of sweat.

mathematical coincidence

In addition, according to studies, the popular belief of synchronized menstruation would be nothing more than a coincidence.

This is because today’s women – who have fewer children and have increasingly access to contraceptive methods – menstruate around 400 times during their entire lives, even considering the periods of pregnancy and the degree of energy spent during breastfeeding and/or breastfeeding. exercise practice.

That number would be enough to create this perception of sync. Furthermore, the article states that considering that a cycle lasts 28 days (not a rule, but an example), the maximum time two women can be together without menstruating is 14 days. On average, it takes 7 days. In half of the cases, this period is even shorter. Considering that menstruation usually lasts about 5 days, it’s not surprising that friends have menstruation in similar periods.

Therefore, it is not a phenomenon resulting from the proximity between friends, nor is it related to hormonal issues. It’s a coincidence, mathematically speaking.