Does your menstrual cycle stop you from starting a meditation practice?

Abstract Objectives The menstrual cycle has multifaceted influence. Potential effects on the adoption of healthy behaviors are unclear. Therefore, we examined how cycle phases are related to daily meditation duration in novices. We assessed associations between daily app-based meditation, menstruation cycle and health-related outcomes in meditation novices. Methods This eight-week study captured two consecutive menstrual cycles. Participants meditated using the 7mind app and reported basal temperature, onset of menstruation, health, motivation, and effort daily. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) and linear mixed models (LMM) analyzed cycle and health effects on meditation duration. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests assessed pre-post-effects. Correlation analyses examined associations between meditation duration and outcomes. Result 41 participants (mean age 29.85 years; 97,7% identified as female) meditated a mean of 10.02 minutes daily. GLMMs showed no significant influence of cycle phases or health ratings on meditation duration, whereas motivation did (b = 0.02, 95% CI [-.004, .040], p = .018). Post-intervention self-compassion (p = .005, r = .40), mindfulness (p = .023, r = .31) and self-efficacy (p = .001, r = .57) were higher than baseline. Longer meditation correlated with less negative premenstrual symptoms (τ β = −.25, p = .014) and higher self-compassion (τ β = .19, p = .042). LMMs showed no significant association between cycle phases and effort. Conclusions Adoption of a new positive behavior might not be affected by cycle phases as expected. App-based meditation appears to enhance self-compassion, mindfulness and self-efficacy. Relatively longer meditation duration could reduce premenstrual symptoms. Future research on cycle-effects should consider PMS/PMDD.

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