As humans, we generally tend to like the winter time less. It's cold, it's dark, you get sick more easily, and your mood seems to plummet along with the length of the days. And just in case all that wasn't bad enough, it seems the winter months can wreak havoc with your menstrual cycle, too. Oh, goody.
According to Dr Preethi Daniel, Clinical Director at London Doctors Clinic, it's a known thing for women to complain about their periods getting worse in winter. The main change, explains Dr Daniel, is how long your bleeds will last. "Winter can have an effect on the cycle length," she said.
"One paper published in 2011 discovered increased hormone secretion, increased frequency of ovulation and shorter cycles by 0.9 days in the summer compared with winter. This was also demonstrated in women who lived in warmer climates compared with those that lived in colder temperatures," the doctor added.
And if you're the kind of person who suffers troublesome periods, any prolonging of the pain isn't what you want.