ArticlePerspectives on sexual and reproductive health2025
Sync or Swim: Navigating the Tides of Menstrual Cycle Messaging on TikTok.
Article in Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Physical Activity Misinformation on Social Media: Systematic Review.JMIR infodemiology · 2025Pooled it
- Methodological Considerations for Studies in Sport and Exercise Science with Women as Participants Part II: Guidance for Applied Studies in Elite Female Athletes.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- [Menstruation on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok: a content and quality analysis].Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo understand messaging about cycle syncing on TikTok, a trend that involves harmonizing daily activities and self-care rituals with various stages of the menstrual cycle.
methodsWe conducted a quantitative content analysis of TikTok videos (N = 100). In January 2023, we collected TikTok videos from content creators using the hashtag #cyclesyncing.
resultsAbout one-third of creators provided credentials. However, very few mentioned scientific evidence. More than half of the creators recommended aligning diet and exercise with the four menstrual cycle phases. Creators specifically recommended diets and exercises for each menstrual cycle phase.
conclusionCycle syncing content on TikTok oversimplifies a complex literature involving tailoring diet and exercise to the menstrual cycle. Our findings also have implications for previous research pointing to negative discourse about hormonal contraception on social media and problematic messaging about women's reproductive health. More expert voices surrounding women's reproductive health are needed in the evolving social media landscape.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.