Study, 2010
Does how the body responds to stress change during the menstrual cycle?
Partly. Stress response is slightly different in follicular and luteal phases, and the type of stress matters. Anxiety response to mental stress was higher in the follicular phase.
What they did
78 women aged 18-45 were tested during follicular and luteal phases of their cycle. Each woman completed two different stressful tasks: one involving listening and doing mental arithmetic (PASAT) and one involving putting their hand in ice water. Heart rate, blood pressure, a stress hormone (cortisol), and anxiety were measured during rest, stress, and recovery.
What they found
Heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and cortisol varied more during the luteal phase than the follicular phase. Anxiety response was greater to the mental arithmetic task during the follicular phase. Diastolic blood pressure showed the same response in both phases and with both stressors.
What it means for you
The body's stress response may vary across the menstrual cycle, and different types of stress may be experienced differently depending on the phase. However, this was a lab study with artificial stressors, so findings may not apply to real-world stress in daily life.
78
women studied
18-45
age range in years
About the study
- Original title
- Psychophysiological and neuroendocrine responses to laboratory stressors in women: implications of menstrual cycle phase and stressor type
- Authors
- Lustyk MK, Olson KC, Gerrish WG et al.
- Journal
- Biological psychology
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 78
- What was tested
- Mental arithmetic and ice water stress tests during different cycle phases
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2009.11.003
Topics
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