Believe it or not, men also have "that time of the month". At least a quarter of men in the UK reported experiencing what is called a "man period", based on responses on an online survey at vouchercloud.com.
The survey responses assessed lifestyle habits and behaviors of more than 2,400 people, with 50 percent of respondents being male and the other, women.
Among men respondents, 26 percent said that they believe they were experiencing a regularly monthly period. Among these men, 56 percent said they felt irritable, 51 percent reported feeling more tired than usual and 47 percent said that they experienced increased cravings for sweets like ice cream and chocolates.
Other symptoms felt were those commonly associated with menstruation like bloating (15 percent) and having cramps (5 percent).
"PMS (Pre-menstrual syndrome) may well be a biological effect for women only, but clearly a lot of men have their own monthly ups and downs to handle too," said Chris Johnson, head of operations at Vouchercloud.
Some experts believe that hormones can be blamed for these periods in men, pretty much the same with women except for obviously not having the organs that facilitate menstruation.
"It is assumed that women are hormonal and men are moved more by logic," Jed Diamond, founder of men's health website MenAlive, wrote in his book, The Irritable Male. "But men have a number of hormonal cycles and these affect their level of energy, anger, sex drive and irritability."
Calling it the Irritable Men Syndrome, it was first observed in Scotland by the country's medical research council last 2001, while observing the mating cycle of the Soay sheep. Based on observations, the ram's testosterone levels would decrease after mating season, making them more irritable.
However, the validity of the condition is still under question alongside andropause, or the decrease in testosterone levels in men and the counterpart to women's menopause.
Interestingly enough, more women actually believe that men experience their own "periods", as 48 percent of the female respondents in the survey said they believed that the men they knew do experience these periods on a regular basis.
