--- title: Do mood and body changes happen at the same time in the menstrual cycle? description: Women experience more pain and water retention during their period and just before it, but their mood problems and stress responses are more strongly tied to url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/daily-self-reports-on-activities-life-events-moods-and-somatic-changes-during-1976/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do mood and body changes happen at the same time in the menstrual cycle? Study, 1976 # Do mood and body changes happen at the same time in the menstrual cycle? Women experience more pain and water retention during their period and just before it, but their mood problems and stress responses are more strongly tied to what's happening in their lives than to their cycle. Men have more stable emotions and less pain throughout. Moderate study design 33 students (11 men, 11 women on birth control, 11 women not on birth control) ## What they did 33 students (11 men, 11 women using birth control, and 11 women not using birth control) filled out daily reports for 35 days on what they were doing, stressful events, mood, and body changes like pain and water retention. The researchers compared the three groups across three phases of the menstrual cycle. ## What they found Men reported more stable but less positive experiences than women. Men had low, stable pain and water retention throughout. Both groups of women reported increases in pain and water retention during their period and the week before. Negative mood, trouble concentrating, and stressful events were similar across all groups. However, stressful life events explained more of the negative mood changes than the cycle phase did, but the cycle phase better explained the pain and water retention. ## What it means for you Physical symptoms like pain and water retention are tied to the menstrual cycle, but negative mood seems more affected by what's happening in your life. This suggests treating emotional symptoms may need to focus on stress and life events, not just on cycle biology. 33 total students 35 days of tracking 11 in each group ## About the study Original title Daily self-reports on activities, life events, moods, and somatic changes during the menstrual cycle Authors Wilcoxon LA, Schrader SL, Sherif CW Journal Psychosomatic medicine Year 1976 Study design Study Participants 11 What was tested Comparison of groups with different birth control use and daily tracking of activities, mood, and symptoms Read the paper [doi.org/10.1097/00006842-197611000-00005](https://doi.org/10.1097/00006842-197611000-00005) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Bloating, breast tenderness and physical symptoms](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-physical-symptoms/)[Pain and headache](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-pain/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Oral contraceptives and drospirenone](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-hormonal-contraceptives/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/) 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 Do overweight or obese women have worse PMS than normal weight women? Cohort study, 2006 How should severe period pain in teenagers be treated? Study, 2026 What are premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder? Survey study, 2025 Do menstrual problems and poor sleep affect mood and thinking in teenage girls? Survey study, 2023 What factors make premenstrual syndrome worse in nursing students? Randomised trial, 2021 Does hypnotherapy reduce pain and emotional distress in women with PMDD? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗