Survey study, 1975
Does speaking become less fluent before your period?
Yes, in this small study women had noticeably more speech disfluencies (stumbles, restarts) just before their period than at ovulation.
What they did
Researchers recorded 4 short spontaneous speech samples from each of 12 women, timed to ovulation and to premenstruation, across two menstrual cycles, and counted the types and number of speech disfluencies.
What they found
The total number of speech disfluencies was significantly greater at premenstruation than at ovulation. Most of this difference came from one type of disfluency: revising or restarting an incomplete phrase. The pattern looked similar to a tendency seen in people who stutter.
What it means for you
This suggests the premenstrual phase may affect how smoothly women speak, not just mood or body symptoms. The study is very small (12 women) and old (1975), so it cannot tell us how common or large this effect is in general.
12
Number of women studied
4
Speech samples per woman
2
Cycle timepoints compared
About the study
- Original title
- Speech fluency fluctuations during the menstrual cycle
- Authors
- Silverman EM
- Journal
- Journal of speech and hearing research
- Year
- 1975
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 12
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1044/jshr.1801.202
Topics
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