--- title: Does drinking behavior change across the menstrual cycle? | Niyora description: Yes, clear differences. Women drink more during mid-cycle and are more likely to drink heavily around ovulation and right before their period, especially on w url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/alcohol-use-and-motives-for-drinking-across-the-menstrual-cycle-in-a-psychiatric-2023/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does drinking behavior change across the menstrual cycle? Survey study, 2023 # Does drinking behavior change across the menstrual cycle? Yes, clear differences. Women drink more during mid-cycle and are more likely to drink heavily around ovulation and right before their period, especially on weekends. They also drink more to cope with stress right before their period. Moderate study design 94 women in psychiatric outpatient programs with recent suicidal thoughts ## What they did Cross-sectional study collecting daily reports over multiple cycles. 94 women in psychiatric outpatient programs reported their daily drinking every day. Ovulation was confirmed by measuring hormone levels. Researchers looked at drinking patterns and reasons for drinking across cycle phases, separately for weekdays and weekends. ## What they found Women were more likely to drink during mid-cycle than right before their period. They drank heavily more often on weekends during ovulation and the perimenstrual phase compared to mid-cycle. Social drinking motives were highest on weekends in ovulation, mid-follicular, and mid-cycle phases, but lower around their period even on weekends. Drinking to cope was higher right before their period compared to mid-cycle, regardless of the day of week. ## What it means for you Drinking patterns shift predictably across the menstrual cycle, with increased heavy drinking around ovulation and before the period. Women also use drinking more to manage emotions before menstruation. However, this study included women in psychiatric treatment with recent thoughts of suicide, so findings may not apply to all women. 94 Women in study 3721 Daily alcohol reports collected ## About the study Original title Alcohol use and motives for drinking across the menstrual cycle in a psychiatric outpatient sample Authors Barone JC, Ross JM, Nagpal A et al. Journal Alcohol, clinical & experimental research Year 2023 Study design Survey study Participants 3,721 Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1111/acer.14971](https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.14971) ## Topics [Alcohol, smoking and substance use](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-substance-use/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/) 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 Survey study, 2011 Is premenstrual syndrome related to major depression? Cohort study, 1999 What causes negative mood during menopause? Survey study, 2025 Are premenstrual symptoms linked to depression in teenage girls? Survey study, 2025 Is PMS connected to mental health problems and lifestyle choices? Survey study, 2024 Which lifestyle choices affect PMS symptoms? Systematic review, 2020 Does smoking increase the risk of getting PMS? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗