It might be World Sleep Day, but if you’ve got PMS or your period, you might feel like it’s World Struggling-to-Sleep Day. That’s because, for many people, periods don’t just come with mood changes, cramps and inconvenience, they also mess with your sleep, and it turns out, there’s a bunch of science behind it. This World Sleep Day we’re digging under the duvet to find out just how and why your period impacts your sleep…you know, just so you know you’re not alone. 

For decades, young women have been taught that a painful period is simply an initiation into womanhood. Girls are warned that the first time they engage in sexual intercourse will be a painful experience and irregular menstrual cycles can be “fixed” by taking birth control pills. In reality, symptoms that are too often labelled as “normal” or “just feminine problems” are often indicators of a much more serious medical condition: endometriosis. 

Here at Modibodi we don’t just #choosetochallenge for International Women’s Day. We #choosetochallenge to promote gender equality every day. From our ‘Give a Pair’ charitable program to auditing our supply chain to ensure fair work conditions for our factory workers, to lobbying to abolish the tax on sustainable menstrual products to school education programs to provide free period products to students – making a positive impact on people’s lives is at the heart of our business.  

There’s a moment in every gym class I dread. The instructor suddenly decides to add a burst of cardio to a usually safe weights class, a sudden ‘let me see 20 star jumps’ or ‘let’s swap our regular squats for jump squats’. How about let’s not. You see I choose my classes carefully because since having three (unreasonably large) babies, my bladder’s been, well, pretty temperamental. I haven’t set foot on a trampoline in 18 years, I don’t do aerobics (does anyone?), I avoid boot camp (sprints and burpees aren’t leaky bladder friendly) and I don’t run. 

We asked leading Sex & Relationship Coach, Rosie Rees, for her top tips to enjoy sex on your period…"For me, there’s never been separation between pleasure and menstruation (in my mind!). Stereotypically, period sex has always had a squeamish, negative stigma attached to it, however there is no need to avoid sexual play during your period