--- title: Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones? description: Women with PMDD use less helpful emotion regulation strategies. Using better strategies improves daily mood but does not fully prevent the premenstrual mood d url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/effects-of-cognitive-emotion-regulation-strategies-on-mood-and-cortisol-in-daily-2023/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones? Case-control study, 2023 # Do emotion regulation strategies help women with PMDD manage mood and stress hormones? Women with PMDD use less helpful emotion regulation strategies. Using better strategies improves daily mood but does not fully prevent the premenstrual mood drop. Mindfulness may help maintain normal stress hormone levels. Moderate study design 61 women with PMDD and 61 controls ## What they did A case-control study of 61 women with PMDD and 61 controls. Researchers measured emotion regulation strategies, daily mood, and cortisol levels at four phases of the menstrual cycle over two consecutive days per phase. ## What they found Women with PMDD reported lower mindfulness, less reappraisal, and stronger repetitive negative thinking than controls (p values less than 0.027). Women with PMDD who used more favorable emotion regulation strategies still showed stronger mood deterioration in the late luteal phase. Lower mindfulness predicted lower cortisol in the menstrual phase. ## What it means for you Women with PMDD use less helpful emotion regulation strategies, especially lower mindfulness and more negative thinking. Using better strategies improves daily mood but does not fully prevent premenstrual mood drops, suggesting biological factors matter. Mindfulness appears to help maintain normal stress hormone levels. This is observational research, not proof of causation. 61 women with PMDD 61 controls ## About the study Original title Effects of cognitive emotion regulation strategies on mood and cortisol in daily life in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder Authors Nayman S, Beddig T, Reinhard I et al. Journal Psychological medicine Year 2023 Study design Case-control study Participants 61 Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1017/s0033291722002495](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291722002495) Original abstract Background: The psychological risk factors of premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) are not fully understood, but initial evidence points to a potential role of unfavorable cognitive emotion regulation (ER-) strategies. Given the symptom cyclicity of PMDD, ambulatory assessment is ideally suited to capture psychological and physiological processes across the menstrual cycle. Our study examines habitual ER-strategies in women with PMDD and their predictive value for the course of mood and basal cortisol across the cycle in affected women. Methods: Women with and without PMDD ( n = 61 each) were compared regarding habitual mindfulness, reappraisal, and repetitive negative thinking (RNT). Momentary affect and cortisol output were assessed over two consecutive days per cycle phase (menstrual, follicular, ovulatory, late luteal). Results: Women with PMDD reported lower mindfulness, less use of reappraisal and stronger RNT than controls ( p s p s < 0.027). However, women using more favorable ER-strategies displayed stronger mood cyclicity, resulting in stronger mood deterioration in the late luteal phase, thereby resembling women with more unfavorable ER-strategies toward the end of the cycle. Lower mindfulness predicted lower cortisol in the menstrual phase. Conclusions: Protective ER-strategies seem to be generally linked to better momentary mood in women with PMDD, but do not appear to protect affected women from premenstrual mood deterioration. Habitual mindfulness, in turn, seems to buffer blunted cortisol activity in women with PMDD, especially in the menstrual phase. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Mindfulness and meditation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-mindfulness/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Randomised trial, 2022 Do hormone pills prevent suicidal thoughts from getting worse around menstruation? Cohort study, 2022 What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated? Cohort study, 2026 Does brain structure differ between women with PMDD and healthy controls? Non-randomised trial, 2024 Does cognitive-behavioral or mindfulness stress management help reduce PMS in high school girls? Study, 2022 Is there higher DNA damage from oxidative stress before your period if you have PMS or PMDD? Survey study, 2018 Do difficulties handling emotions affect premenstrual symptom severity? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗