Join our quest for sleep #periodsomnia | Saba

Every night millions and millions of us experience Periodsomnia.

We lay down towels, wear extra underwear, hug hot water bottles, run baths at 2 am. And kill the 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

74%

74% of women+ have worse sleep on their period.*

7 months

Women+ lose 5,070 hours/211 days (around seven months) of sleep due to their period over their lifetime.**

37%

Over a third of women+ (37%) struggle to sleep while on their period due to anxiety around their sanitary product leaking and staining their bed sheets.*

1/3

Around a third of women+ sleep in certain positions (34%) and wear old (54%) or more supportive underwear (35%) because they’re anxious about their sanitary product leaking.*

78%

78% (around two-thirds) of women+ experience the most sleep disturbance during the menstruation stage, losing 2 hours of sleep per night or 10 hours of sleep each period, on average* – that’s approximately five days (or 130 hours) of sleep each year.

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.

Saba® makes you feel #CómodaContigo.

NOTES TO EDITORS

*Research conducted by Ketchum Research and Analytics, on behalf of Essity and Saba, Libresse Bodyform, Nosotras, Nana and Nuvenia. A total of 10,871 women+ were surveyed across: US, UK, Italy, France, Sweden, China, Argentina, Australia, Columbia, Russia, Malaysia, and Jordan. Fieldwork, conducted by Dynata, ran for UK, Italy, France, Sweden, China, Argentina, Australia, Columbia, Russia, Malaysia and Jordan from 24th of December 2021 to 24th of January 2022. US fieldwork took place in July 2022.

**Calculated average based on NHS data, which states the average number of periods experienced in a year is 13 and last for an average of 5 days, and that menstruators experience periods for an average of 39 years (from ages 12-51).

Women+ explanation:

Saba®, an Essity brand, 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 recognizing and including the full range of underrepresented groups who use its products, such as trans and nonbinary people.

Our product:

Saba® Buenas Noches™ Maxi offers overnight protection so you can sleep comfortably and live every day to the fullest. It has Triple Protection Technology (absorbs, distributes, and protects), fast absorption, anti-leak barriers, and an anatomical super absorbent center. It has SecureFit™ Technology, with a different shape front and back that molds to your body.