--- title: How do work and time off affect women's moods during different phases of their menstrual cycle? description: Work days made women feel more anxious, stressed, and tired compared to days off. Menstrual cycle phase also affected mood, but the effect depended on whether url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/moods-in-everyday-situations-effects-of-menstrual-cycle-work-and-personality-2004/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - How do work and time off affect women's moods during different phases of their menstrual cycle? Study, 2004 # How do work and time off affect women's moods during different phases of their menstrual cycle? Work days made women feel more anxious, stressed, and tired compared to days off. Menstrual cycle phase also affected mood, but the effect depended on whether it was a work or off day and on the woman's personality traits. Moderate study design 203 nurses during two phases of the menstrual cycle ## What they did Researchers asked 203 nurses to report their moods (angry, happy, sad, stressed, tired, anxious) on two work days and two days off during the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycle. They also measured each woman's personality traits including anger expression, anxiety, and hostility. ## What they found On work days compared to off days, women reported higher levels of anxiousness, stress, and tiredness, and lower levels of happiness and sadness. Menstrual cycle phase was linked with mood differences, but these differences depended on whether it was a work or off day and on individual personality traits. Overall, everyday moods are affected by both overall stress levels and menstrual cycle phase. ## What it means for you Work stress strongly affects mood, and the menstrual cycle also affects mood, but the pattern depends on your personality. Understanding mood patterns in PMS requires considering both cycle phase and daily stressors together. The main limitation is that this study was only of nurses, so results may not apply to all women in other jobs or situations. 203 nurses studied ## About the study Original title Moods in everyday situations: effects of menstrual cycle, work, and personality Authors Davydov DM, Shapiro D, Goldstein IB Journal Journal of psychosomatic research Year 2004 Study design Study Participants 203 What was tested Mood tracking across menstrual cycle phases Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00602-0](https://doi.org/10.1016/s0022-3999(03)00602-0) ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Irritability and anger](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-irritability-anger/)[Fatigue and energy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-fatigue/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Borderline personality disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-bpd/)[Work and productivity](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-work/) 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 Study, 2026 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Survey study, 2022 What factors are associated with irregular menstrual cycles and how do irregular cycles affect other symptoms? Survey study, 2025 Can a plant-based supplement reduce PMS symptoms? Cohort study, 2025 How common is PMS in Chinese teenage girls, and what factors are linked to it? Survey study, 2026 Is PMS worse in medical students with higher stress? Study, 2025 Do women have different symptom patterns before, during, and after menopause? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗