I Surveyed 5000 Women on Their Menstrual Cycles - Even as an Expert, I Was Shocked at the Findings

I’m a former NHS doctor, a registered nutritionist, and an author who's always been really interested in the link between nutrition, lifestyle and medicine. That's why I set up The Food Medic about thirteen years ago, back in 2012.

My interest in women’s health really grew during my time working in the NHS, where I noticed how often women’s symptoms were dismissed or not taken seriously – whether that was painful periods, chronic fatigue, or conditions like endometriosis and PCOS.

When I started digging into the research, I realised that a lot of the medical evidence we rely on today has historically been based on male bodies - something we never spoke about at medical school. That really opened my eyes to the gaps in women’s health research - we were basically leaving much of what we know about women up to guesswork. It’s what led me to write my first book, The Female Factor, in 2022, and later Not Just a Period, which came out in 2025. Now much of my work focuses on women’s health, both through my writing, research and in clinic, where I work with women to support their health through nutrition and lifestyle.

Last year, I decided to take matters into my own hands, undertaking my own research study and really diving deep into how women feel about their own menstrual cycles. Menstrual cycles are a natural part of many people’s health, yet are subject to stigma and misinformation, which can affect the experience of menstrual-related symptoms and overall well-being.

Getting to the bottom of how women are really feeling about their cycles

We had quite a bit of emerging research looking at how female physiology - for example, our hormones - impacts things like exercise, performance and strength. But there’s much less research exploring the real-life lived experience of the menstrual cycle and how symptoms and our perception of the cycle affect day-to-day life.

We quizzed nearly 5,000 women over the age of eighteen who had menstruated in the previous twelve months. What I was really interested in understanding was whether the way someone feels about their menstrual cycle might shape how they experience it. For example, if someone has a more positive perception of their cycle, does that influence how severe their symptoms feel, or how much those symptoms impact their life?

We also wanted to explore how menstrual symptoms affect real areas of daily life, such as work, social activities, and relationships, because there’s very little research that explores those lived experiences.

Interestingly, in total, over 7,000 women accessed the survey from only one Instagram story, which really shows how keen women are to have their voices heard and to contribute to research in this space. In the end, we had just under 5,000 complete responses that we could analyse.

Our findings

The findings showed that menstrual cycles impact many areas of our life.

• 90.7% said menstrual symptoms disrupted their work in some way.
• 31.8% had taken time off work or university in the past year because of their cycle.
• 76.2% said their concentration was affected when working or studying while experiencing symptoms.
• 59.4% said they feel the need to hide or downplay symptoms at work.
• 84.3% said their cycle disrupted intimate relationships.
• 92.4% said symptoms affected intimacy with a partner in the past 12 months.

90% of women feel their periods disrupt work in some way

Perhaps the most shocking finding was that over 90% of participants (women) said their symptoms disrupted their work in some way, and around one in three had taken time off work or university in the past year because of their cycle. That really highlights how big the impact can be, yet it’s something we still don’t talk about very openly.

The other interesting finding was the link between perception and experience. Women who viewed their menstrual cycle more positively actually reported lower levels of pain (about 18% lower on average) and fewer mental health symptoms. While we can’t say one causes the other, it does suggest that how we understand and talk about the menstrual cycle may influence how we experience it.

One area that stood out (and isn’t talked about nearly enough) was the impact menstrual symptoms can have on relationships. In our survey, over 84% of respondents said their menstrual cycle disrupted their intimate relationships, and many reported that symptoms affected intimacy or their comfort during intimacy. What was particularly interesting was that people who felt more comfortable seeking support from their partner reported less disruption to intimacy.

When it comes to periods, they’re often framed as something we just have to “put up with” or brushed off as a minor inconvenience, but the data really showed the opposite. For many women, their periods and menstrual cycles have a significant impact on their lives, affecting work, concentration, relationships and mental wellbeing. It also confirmed that many women still feel uncomfortable discussing their cycles. Many said they still feel the need to hide or downplay their symptoms, particularly at work, which shows there is still a lot of stigma around menstruation.

The gap between what we know and how seriously menstrual health is taken

We also hosted a focus group that helped shape my most recent book, Not Just a Period. While that research isn’t published yet, it was built on the findings from this study and gave us deeper insight into women’s lived experiences.

One anonymous quote from the focus group really stayed with me because it highlights the power of open conversation and support when it comes to the menstrual cycle: “I basically learned about my period in my late 20s, early 30s, and on social media - because none of us were taught it at school. And now we finally understand our bodies. It's one of our favourite things to talk about (because it means) we're able to support each other better. I feel like it's made my friendships deeper, and (even) my partner can support me better - I feel like it's actually brought us closer. It's definitely helped being able to talk about it with each other. It's really scary to think that we all just learned about it on social media."

Improving menstrual health education and literacy is a key priority

One of the questions I’m most interested in exploring next is whether improving menstrual health education and literacy can actually change how people experience their cycles. If people better understand what’s happening in their bodies and feel more comfortable talking about it, could this influence how they perceive and manage symptoms? I think this could be especially powerful for younger girls coming up after us, so they can have a better experience of their cycles

Policymakers, workplaces and healthcare providers, menstrual health isn’t just a personal issue; it has wider impacts on productivity, careers and relationships. We need better education, more supportive workplace policies, and healthcare systems that take menstrual symptoms seriously and provide people with the support they need.

In future, I'd love to see future research which explores whether improvements in the above - better menstrual health education, introducing workplace policies, or reducing stigma - can positively influence how people experience their cycles. (Our findings suggest that perceptions of the menstrual cycle may be linked to how people experience their symptoms and how much those symptoms affect their lives, but because this was a survey, we can’t determine causation).

Bottom line? It's never *just* a period

I hope this information encourages more open conversations. Our research showed that when people feel more comfortable talking about their symptoms and seeking support, whether from healthcare professionals, partners or friends, it can make a real difference to how supported they feel.

Next time you find yourself in a doctor's office not being listened to, or a colleague or companion undermimes your symptoms, please remember: Its not just a period.

This research highlights the gap between what we know and how seriously menstrual health is often taken in practice. Too often, period-related issues are still dismissed as “just a period,” which is actually where the title of my book comes from. Many people experiencing severe pain, heavy bleeding or mood changes are told it’s something they simply have to put up with. I hope this work changes that narrative.

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