Medical, menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers

menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers

Author	Message
Toni Deri #1 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming coincident? I have never seen any hard data, but I've gotten anecdotal reports from 2 female friends (in different workplaces) who say that their periods seem to occur at the same time every month as the other women they work with. One friend mentioned that she had only one period in a 2-month span (she is 35 and not menopausal nor is she on any meds) and swears that the other women in her office are attempting to "regulate" her periods. Thanks in advance to anyone who can enlighten me. T. Derion
Tue, 03 Jan 1995 04:57:45 GMT

Ingrid Borec #2 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported >phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming >coincident? I once ran across a paper while doing a literature search on a related topic: McClintock MK: "Menstrual synchrony and supression" Nature 229:244-245, 1971. I have no idea whether there are other papers or if anything has been published since - but its a lead. -- \|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\|~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\| \| Ingrid Borecki \| Washington University \| \| Division of Biostatistics \| School of Medicine, \|
Wed, 04 Jan 1995 02:51:51 GMT

Butch Katigb #3 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers There was a published report on this by the New England Journal of Medicine. It was reported out by Time magazine. The research was done out of the Harvard School of Medicine, by a female medical researcher and it was used to reinforce their studies that Phenormones(sp?) actually regulated the mestrual cycle. This was about seven years ago...but it could have been eight. It started because this researcher was already studying this phenomena in groups of rats where their menstrual yclec would gravitate towards a mode depending on which pack they were in. The phenomena would start occurring within 45 days after moving from one pack to another. Well, the researcher was checking out some goods from a Boston grocery store together with a nun who was buying about five dozen sanitary napkins. The nun was in conversation with the grocery clerk about how everyone would get their periods at the same time. This led the research to review how the cycles affected women in dormitories and noted that their cycles would be scattered over a calendar period at the beginning of a school year but their cycles would start confluencing to within three days of the mode by the third month of the school year. /
Wed, 04 Jan 1995 11:09:04 GMT

Alice Sande #4 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >There was a published report on this by the New England Journal of Medicine. >It was reported out by Time magazine. The research was done out of the >Harvard School of Medicine, by a female medical researcher and it was >used to reinforce their studies that Phenormones(sp?) actually regulated >the mestrual cycle. They're called 'pheromones'. I'd be interested in this article if there is a reference. Thanks. Alice
Wed, 04 Jan 1995 14:53:16 GMT

Len Howa #5 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported >phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming >coincident? I have never seen any hard data, but I've gotten >anecdotal reports from 2 female friends (in different workplaces) >who say that their periods seem to occur at the same time every >month as the other women they work with. One friend mentioned >that she had only one period in a 2-month span (she is 35 and >not menopausal nor is she on any meds) and swears that the other >women in her office are attempting to "regulate" her periods. >Thanks in advance to anyone who can enlighten me. >T. Derion Hi Toni.... I have seen the synchrony of cycles in my own family between my daughter and my wife......as long as my daughter was at home. When she married, they went their own separate menstrual ways. I suspect office workers who are closely associated during the day may well tend to all have their periods at the same time. My understanding is that this is due to the stimulatory effect of phremones present in menstrual {filter}, that are perceptable by women with intact ovaries, but not by men nor women with no ovarian function. Teleologically, I believe it comes from primitive 'herd' behavior which would make it helpful from a survival standpoint if all the females had their babies at the same time, and were 'in heat' at the same time.... It would be an interesting study to look at some all-female military training units, and see if they also synchronize their periods. I am not aware of any such studies that have been done. Interesting topic.... Len Howard
Wed, 04 Jan 1995 07:04:17 GMT

Glenn Sto #6 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >function. Teleologically, I believe it comes from primitive 'herd' >behavior which would make it helpful from a survival standpoint if all >the females had their babies at the same time, and were 'in heat' at >the same time.... That IS potentially teleological, although I'd be surprised if you meant to say that. If you say the trait exists because it is adaptive, and also that it must be adaptive because it exists, that is a teleology. I can think of more disadvantages than advantages of synchronized birthing, likewise synchronized estrus. But most people who deal with this think the "hidden" ovulation and perpetual {filter} availability go WAY back. But who knows. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu, 05 Jan 1995 19:45:15 GMT

David Ri #7 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >That IS potentially teleological, although I'd be surprised if you >meant to say that. If you say the trait exists because it is >adaptive, and also that it must be adaptive because it exists, that >is a teleology. Are you sure you don't mean tautology? I seem to be getting involved in word definitions here lately. Teleology is the philosophical belief that natural processes are explained by end goals. This is certainly what the original poster intended to say -- explaining synchronised menses as being benficial for the group. By the way, your example is not actually a tautology, either (of course you may not have meant tautology at all -- I'm just putting words in your "mouth"). -- David Rind
Fri, 06 Jan 1995 06:40:26 GMT

Bob Ya #8 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers \| Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported \| phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming \| coincident? It's real, it's natural and it's caused by pheremones -- substances made by the body, released into the air and detected nasally by others. It happens when women live in close proximity to each other. In fact, there are tribal societies where all the women cycle in sync with each other and the moon. (This makes all manner of personal or family events become societal ones, including what day to start taking birth control pills on.) Often in such groups of women, one of them is the "leader". I don't know what this means is happening chemically, but women I know have reported this perception many times. I've never gotten a clear answer as to what it is that so often makes all the women in such a group see the same one as the "leader" in this regard, but I've heard it too often to disbelieve it. So, if your friend feels that other women are "controlling" her cycling, she's probably right. I've seen women become a little worried over this, not understanding what was happening. If your friend can discuss it with her co-workers, I'd think any concerns she had would be alleviated. You can probably get more info by asking this question over on soc.women; possibly it's even a FAQ. Best Wishes == Bob Yazz == -- "You can put lipstick on a hog, and call it Monique, but it's still a pig." -- Texas Governor and Democratic Convention Chair Ann Richards
Wed, 04 Jan 1995 10:20:36 GMT

Glenn Sto #9 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >Are you sure you don't mean tautology? I seem to be getting >involved in word definitions here lately. Teleology is the whoops...that's what happens when I get on usenet late at night when I'm already half asleep. "Never mind" - roseanne roseannadanna ------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sat, 07 Jan 1995 05:21:48 GMT

Carl Wittho #10 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported >phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming x There was similar anecdotal evidence reported on a NOVA show many years ago about pheromones (sp?). I'd dig for research in that area for more reliable info. -- 54 CambridgePark Drive, Cambridge,MA 02140 617-864-0201 Just say NO to HMOs
Sat, 07 Jan 1995 23:12:12 GMT

Paul Rober #11 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >\| Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported >\| phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming >\| coincident? >It's real, it's natural and it's caused by pheremones -- substances >made by the body, released into the air and detected nasally by >others. It happens when women live in close proximity to each other. What I've never understood is: since there is apparently a force/influence that causes women to synchronise like this, then why don't all the women in the world become and stay synchronised? This would seem to be the only "stable" solution, and it seems as if there should be a trend toward it.
Sun, 08 Jan 1995 02:21:58 GMT

Mary Shaf #12 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >\| Can anyone give me info or tell me where to find info on the purported >\| phenomenon of menstrual cycles in female co-workers becoming >\| coincident? >It's real, it's natural and it's caused by pheremones -- substances >made by the body, released into the air and detected nasally by >others. It happens when women live in close proximity to each other. PR> What I've never understood is: since there is apparently a force/influence PR> that causes women to synchronise like this, then why don't all the women PR> in the world become and stay synchronised? This would seem to be the only PR> "stable" solution, and it seems as if there should be a trend toward it. Because you have to be exposed to sweat, etc., for a while. A quick sniff won't do it. Until now, I'd never heard of it happening at work. I'd only heard of it happening in dorms and barracks (supposedly, everyone has her period at the same time by the end of Basic Training, leading to a lot of jokes about how good the training really is). -- Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all." Unknown US fighter pilot
Sun, 08 Jan 1995 11:50:26 GMT

kl.. #13 / 13	menstrual cycle "regulation" with co-workers Quote: >>There was a published report on this by the New England Journal of Medicine. > They're called 'pheromones'. I'd be interested in this article if there > is a reference. Try _Science_ (AAAS) for the winter of 1974-75. Probably December or January. Sorry I can't be more specific, but it was a while back... Kay Klier Biology Dept UNI
Wed, 11 Jan 1995 09:16:06 GMT

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