--- title: Does how women think about their period affect how their nervous system responds to stress? description: Yes. How women view their period (as bothersome or predictable) affects their nervous system response. Women with PMS also show delayed recovery from stress d url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstrual-attitude-and-social-cognitive-stress-influence-autonomic-nervous-2022/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does how women think about their period affect how their nervous system responds to stress? Case-control study, 2022 # Does how women think about their period affect how their nervous system responds to stress? Yes. How women view their period (as bothersome or predictable) affects their nervous system response. Women with PMS also show delayed recovery from stress during the premenstrual period. Moderate study design 277 women with and without PMS (mean age 24); then 50 with PMS (mean age 23) and 46 without (mean age 23) in stress task ## What they did Two parts. First, 277 women completed questions about how they view their period and their PMS severity. Second, 50 women with PMS and 46 without did a stressful math task during different menstrual cycle phases while researchers measured heart rate changes. ## What they found How women thought about their period was linked to their nervous system response. Women with PMS showed less nervous system activation and slower recovery after the math task during the late luteal phase (just before their period). This was not seen in women without PMS. ## What it means for you Both attitude toward menstruation and stress response during the premenstrual period may affect PMS. Addressing how women think about their period and managing stress might help with symptoms. The main limitation is that this is from one study; it's not yet clear if changing attitude actually helps. 277 women in menstrual attitude study 50 women with PMS in stress task 46 women without PMS in stress task ## About the study Original title Menstrual attitude and social cognitive stress influence autonomic nervous system in women with premenstrual syndrome Authors Meng Y, Chang L, Hou L et al. Journal Stress (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Year 2022 Study design Case-control study Participants 277 What was tested Mental arithmetic task during different menstrual cycle phases Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2021.2024163](https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2021.2024163) Original abstract The autonomic nervous system (ANS) is activated by stress and is closely related to the female menstrual cycle. Women with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) have an imbalanced ANS response in their premenstrual period. However, no studies have explored the reasons for the differences in ANS response among women. In this study, we investigated how the female menstrual attitude and acute social stress influence the ANS response in women with PMS. First, 277 women [24.35 ± 2.1] were selected to measure the mediating role of women's menstrual attitude between PMS severity and perceived ANS response. Second, participants' (50 women [23.23 ± 1.25] with and 46 women [22.92 ± 2.00] without PMS) heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV; reflecting the functioning of ANS) under social stress were measured during various menstrual cycle phases. The results indicated that menstrual attitude (bothersome and predictable) had mediating effects between the degree of PMS and perceived ANS response; when undergoing a high cognitive load (e.g. mental-arithmetic) task, the ANS of the PMS group demonstrated hypo-arousal and delayed recovery in the late luteal phase; Therefore, menstrual attitude could influence female perceived ANS response, which may be a risk factor for PMS. When women with PMS experience high-strength cognitive pressure in the premenstrual period, their ANS showed hypo-arousal and delayed recovery, which may be another risk factor for PMS. Reproduced under CC-BY. ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Stigma, attitudes and culture](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-stigma-culture/) 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 Review, 2003 How do menstrual cycle hormones affect the brain and cause mood disorders like PMDD? Survey study, 2025 Do menstrual problems and poor sleep affect mood and thinking in teenage girls? Lab study, 2020 Does anxiety sensitivity change during different parts of the menstrual cycle? 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