Survey study, 2010
Do women in different menstrual phases respond to stress differently than men?
Yes. Men showed stronger hormonal stress responses than women. However, women in the luteal phase reported feeling more stressed and showed greater emotional stress hormone responses than women in the follicular phase.
What they did
Tested 28 men and women in two menstrual phases (29 in the follicular phase, 23 in the luteal phase) using a standardized stress test. Measured stress hormones in saliva and blood.
What they found
Men had greater cortisol responses to stress than women in either phase. Luteal women reported the greatest subjective feelings of stress and showed greater allopregnanolone responses. Follicular women showed reduced noradrenaline responses to stress. People who felt stress most intensely also showed larger hormone responses to stress.
What it means for you
Men's bodies respond more strongly to stress with certain hormones, but women in the luteal phase feel stressed more intensely emotionally. This suggests the menstrual cycle changes how both body and mind react to stress. This is a laboratory study using a single artificial stressor, so real-world stress reactions may differ.
28
men
29
follicular-phase women
23
luteal-phase women
About the study
- Original title
- Cardiovascular, hormonal, and emotional responses to the TSST in relation to sex and menstrual cycle phase
- Authors
- Childs E, Dlugos A, De Wit H
- Journal
- Psychophysiology
- Year
- 2010
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 29
- What was tested
- Trier Social Stress Test and control task
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.2009.00961.x
Topics
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