long time vs period

long time and period both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
long time	Yes	No	No	No
period	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, period is a hypernym of long time; that is, period is a word with a broader meaning than long time:

Other hypernyms of long time include period of time, time period.

long time (noun)	period (noun)
a prolonged period of time	a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations
	the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause
	an amount of time
	the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon
	a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed
	the end or completion of something
	(ice hockey) one of three divisions into which play is divided in hockey games