---
title: Does regular exercise reduce negative mood and pain during the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes. Regular exercisers reported significantly lower scores on negative mood, poor concentration, behavior change, and pain compared to non-exercisers, but si
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/aerobic-exercise-mood-states-and-menstrual-cycle-symptoms-1994/
---

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- Does regular exercise reduce negative mood and pain during the menstrual cycle?

Survey study, 1994

# Does regular exercise reduce negative mood and pain during the menstrual cycle?

Yes. Regular exercisers reported significantly lower scores on negative mood, poor concentration, behavior change, and pain compared to non-exercisers, but similar positive mood levels.

 Early or limited evidence

97 regular exercisers and 159 non-exercisers, all women

## What they did

Cross-sectional comparison of 97 women who exercise regularly and 159 women who don't exercise. All completed mood and menstrual symptom questionnaires at three different times in their cycle: premenstrually, menstrually, and intermenstrually.

## What they found

Regular exercisers obtained significantly lower scores on impaired concentration, negative affect, behavior change and pain. No differences were found between groups on positive affect and other physical symptoms. Effects were significant across all menstrual cycle phases.

## What it means for you

Regular moderate exercise may reduce certain negative symptoms during the cycle, particularly mood and concentration problems. However, this was a cross-sectional study without random assignment, so we cannot confirm that exercise causes these improvements rather than that women who exercise may differ in other ways.

97

regular exercisers

159

non-exercisers

4

symptom categories improved

## About the study

Original title Aerobic exercise, mood states and menstrual cycle symptoms Authors Aganoff JA, Boyle GJ Journal Journal of psychosomatic research Year 1994 Study design Survey study Participants 159 What was tested Regular moderate exercise Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(94)90114-7](https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(94)90114-7)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)

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.

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