#periodsomnia
Every night millions and millions of us experience periodsomnia.
We lay down towels, wear extra underwear, hug hot water bottles, run baths at 2am. And kill pain with pills. Or with pleasure.
Because periods never sleep. Even though we’re desperate to.
With our wombs bleeding, and our bellies bloating, we’re half awake and half asleep.
We’re hot and we’re cold, we struggle, we snuggle. We toss, we turn, we hold still, praying our pads stay in place. For too many a fear of stains stealing our sleep.
We tiptoe to toilets while our partners, babies or pets sleep blissfully – is that awe or envy we feel?
And all the while, lost sleep slips by – two hours a night, four nights a year, and months and months and months over our lives.
It’s time to shine a light on what happens in the dark. For all of us braving the night, united without yet knowing. Because periods never sleep, but why shouldn’t we?
Join our quest for sleep #periodsomnia.
Sleep Fearless.
The Period Sleep Gap
62%
62% of women+ have poorer sleep on their period*
5 months
Women+ lose around 5 months of sleep due to their period over their lifetime*
1/3
A third of women+ are kept awake by the fear of stained sheets*
A good night’s rest is a fundamental part of our health and wellbeing. Just one bad night can leave you feeling on the back foot for the rest of the week.
The problem is a lot of us aren’t able to get the quality of sleep we deserve. In the same way there’s a pay gap, a pain gap and a pleasure gap, there’s also a significant inequality when it comes to our sleep. When we’re on our periods and experience periodsomnia, the gap only widens. The shame and stigma that permeates the experience of having your period in the day doesn’t go away at night. If anything, it’s intensified. This means that many of us go to great lengths to manage our periods before we go to sleep, and throughout the night.
We are on a mission to change this by shining a light on the range of realities that women+ experience at night when they are on their period - allowing women+ to feel better represented, united and more comfortable with who they are and the experience they go through.
Join our quest for sleep by sharing the film #periodsomnia
References
A total of 10,871 were surveyed across four key markets: UK, Italy, France, Sweden, China, Argentina, Colombia, Russia, Malaysia, and Jordan. Fieldwork ran from 24th December to 24th January and was conducted by Dynata.
A note on women+
Essity knows that not everyone who menstruates is a woman, such as those born with a different biological sex to their gender identity, and that not all women menstruate, considering factors such as contraception, health conditions and menopause. By adding '+' to women, Essity is recognising and including the full range of underrepresented groups who use its products, such as trans and nonbinary people.