Study, 2006
Does tracking your mood closely make premenstrual mood changes feel worse?
Yes. Women who closely monitored their mood reported worse happiness and calmness before their period compared to those who didn't closely track.
What they did
22 women with self-reported PMS tracked their mood and emotions every 2 hours for 31 days, and researchers compared women who monitored closely versus those who didn't.
What they found
Women who closely tracked their mood had lower happiness and calmness during the premenstrual phase. They also used more reappraisal (reinterpreting their feelings) to manage emotions. However, the worse mood was not caused by changes in emotion management itself. Women who didn't closely monitor actually had enhanced happiness and calmness before their period.
What it means for you
Paying close attention to your mood changes before your period might make them feel worse and more noticeable. This is based on a very small study of only 22 women who self-reported having PMS.
22
women
31 days
tracking period
About the study
- Original title
- Moderating effects of mood monitoring on premenstrual dysphoria
- Authors
- Terri. Van-Leeson, Peter Totterdell, Brian Parkinson
- Journal
- Cognition & Emotion
- Year
- 2006
- Study design
- Study
- What was tested
- mood monitoring every 2 hours
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1080/02699930500387519
Topics
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