Survey study, 1991
Does mental and physical performance get worse during the menstrual cycle?
No, most aspects of thinking and physical performance did not get worse during the menstrual or premenstrual phases. Women did report feeling more alert before their period and performed slightly better on one word-matching task premenstrually.
What they did
10 women were tested six times during one menstrual cycle. Testing included heart rate, self-reported alertness, skin conductance, and performance tests for cognitive processing, tracking, reaction time, attention, dual tasks, speed and accuracy, and short-term memory.
What they found
Self-reported arousal increased premenstrually. Performance on semantic processing (a word-matching task) improved premenstrually. There was no significant relationship between mood changes and performance changes. Cognitive processing, tracking, reaction time, vigilance, dual task, speed and accuracy, and short-term memory showed no significant decline during menstrual or premenstrual phases. High individual differences were found between subjects.
What it means for you
Contrary to common belief, the menstrual and premenstrual phases do not impair performance on most tasks. The slight improvement in one task suggests women may try harder when they feel different. The main limitation is the very small sample size (only 10 women) tested in a single cycle.
10
women studied
6
testing sessions across one cycle
1
significant performance result (word matching)
About the study
- Original title
- Performance and state changes during the menstrual cycle, conceptualised within a broad band testing framework
- Authors
- Ussher JM, Wilding JM
- Journal
- Social science & medicine (1982)
- Year
- 1991
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 10
- What was tested
- None (observational testing)
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(91)90286-l
Topics
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