Blog8 January 2026
A report from the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) revealed that ‘students who menstruate miss, on average, six weeks of educational learning time over a three-year degree programme’. That’s 30 days of learning lost – the equivalent of two weeks missed every academic year.
Now imagine taking two weeks of sick leave each year at work, without HR ever acknowledging it. Hard to picture, isn’t it?
In 2024, I wrote a blog post about the lack of attention given to how menstruation shapes students’ experiences in higher education and the barriers it creates. Progress is now emerging. HEPI’s survey of undergraduates provides valuable, experience-led data to inform more equitable policy responses across the sector.
Key findings from the survey show
- Period poverty – the lack of access to menstrual products, hygiene facilities, and menstrual health education – affected 16% of menstruating students in the past year. Among them, 71% resorted to alternative products like toilet paper or cloths. Certain groups were disproportionately affected: 35% of care-experienced students, 27% of young carers, and 24% of those who received free school meals experienced period poverty.
- Absenteeism was mainly driven by menstrual pain (61%) and premenstrual symptoms (PMS). Half of the respondents cited physical symptoms such as fatigue and bloating, while 42% reported mood or mental health challenges due to their menstrual cycle.
- Not all menstrual cycle effects are negative. Fifteen percent of students reported a boost in focus or performance.
- Concentration loss was common. Before their period, 57% of students reported loss of concentration from physical PMS symptoms, and 48% from PMS-related mood or mental health challenges. During menstruation, 70% reported difficulty focusing because of period pain, and 45% because of heavy bleeding.
Where things stand
Culturally, the menstrual cycle and menstruation are still often treated as private matters – something for individuals to manage, rather than an area where society, or in this case institutions, share accountability. The report makes this clear: with 90% of providers not recognising menstrual symptoms as valid grounds for assessment extensions, support is treated as optional. That mindset leaves students to carry the burden alone.
That said, institutions are not ignoring the issue entirely. Bath Spa and Nottingham universities provide free period products across campus, while the University of East London’s Shine Project raises awareness of heavy menstrual bleeding and its link to iron deficiency and anaemia.
London South Bank University has introduced a flexible assessment policy, allowing submissions up to five days late without penalty. Anglia Ruskin University’s reasonable adjustment policy recognises menstrual health conditions, such as period pain, as a potential driver of short-term disability. However, these remain isolated examples, and efforts across the sector remain fragmented and inconsistent.
How universities could respond
The findings highlight clear opportunities for universities to take more coordinated action. This includes ensuring consistent access to free menstrual products both on campus and for off-campus students, embedding menstrual literacy training for staff to reduce stigma and normalise menstrual health conversations, and creating rest spaces for students managing pain or fatigue.
Still, the menstrual cycle is not solely a story of doom and gloom. As research in menstrual sport science highlights – and the HEPI report echoes – some students experience phases of heightened focus, engagement and wellbeing, depending on the stage of their cycle.
Improving menstrual literacy could help students better understand these fluctuations, allowing them to prepare for challenges and make the most of periods of enhanced focus. With this knowledge, students could build resilience and self-compassion rather than internalising shame.
Looking ahead: embedding menstrual equity
This survey offers much-needed evidence to support the concerns I raised in my 2024 blog post and demonstrates encouraging steps towards a more inclusive university environment. However, progress remains uneven, and there’s a lot more to be done. There is still considerable room for improvement if institutions are to move on from simply acknowledging that menstruation creates barriers.
Embedding menstrual equity within policy, practice, and culture will require institutions to consider further adjustments, from short-term menstrual-related absences, to adaptations to the physical spaces that menstruating students occupy.