Study, 1995
When during the menstrual cycle do women with PMS feel their best?
Around day 11 of their cycle, during the natural estrogen surge before ovulation. Women with PMS show clear peaks at this time, while women without PMS don't show this pattern.
What they did
44 women with PMS and 48 women without PMS kept daily mood records for multiple menstrual cycles (133 cycles for the PMS group and 100 cycles for the non-PMS group). Researchers analyzed when positive moods peaked.
What they found
Women with PMS showed clear clustering of positive mood around day 11 of their cycle (days 10-12), which is when estrogen naturally rises before ovulation. Women without PMS did not show mood clustering at a particular time. The average cycle length was 27.6 days in the PMS group and 26.7 days in the non-PMS group.
What it means for you
Women with PMS appear very sensitive to the natural estrogen surge that happens before ovulation, with moods peaking at that time. Women without PMS do not show this sensitivity. This suggests hormone changes affect mood in women with PMS in a specific way, but the study was observational.
44
women with PMS
48
women without PMS
11
day of peak positive mood in PMS group
About the study
- Original title
- Distribution of positive moods in women with the premenstrual syndrome and in normal women
- Authors
- Metcalf MG, Livesey JH
- Journal
- Journal of psychosomatic research
- Year
- 1995
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 48
- What was tested
- None. Women recorded their moods daily.
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/0022-3999(94)00167-7
Topics
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