---
title: Does exercise help PMS? | Niyora
description: Exercise was not linked to having less PMS. However, women with PMS who exercised regularly had significantly less anxiety than sedentary women with PMS.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/exercise-is-linked-to-reductions-in-anxiety-but-not-premenstrual-syndrome-in-1998/
---

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- Does exercise help PMS?

Survey study, 1998

# Does exercise help PMS?

Exercise was not linked to having less PMS. However, women with PMS who exercised regularly had significantly less anxiety than sedentary women with PMS.

 Early or limited evidence

19 regularly exercising women and 20 sedentary women

## What they did

Researchers compared 19 women who exercised regularly with 20 sedentary women. They tracked PMS symptoms across the menstrual cycle and measured anxiety levels.

## What they found

The proportion of women with PMS did not differ significantly between the exercise and sedentary groups. Among women with PMS, those who exercised regularly had significantly reduced anxiety compared to those who did not exercise.

## What it means for you

Exercise does not appear to prevent or reduce PMS itself, but may reduce the anxiety that often comes with PMS. The widespread belief that exercise helps PMS may actually come from its anxiety-reducing effects. This study was small and had no intervention group, so we cannot confirm exercise caused the anxiety reduction.

19

regularly exercising women

20

sedentary women

2

menstrual cycle phases studied

## About the study

Original title Exercise is linked to reductions in anxiety but not premenstrual syndrome in women with prospectively-assessed symptoms Authors Robert J. Kirkby, Helen Lindner Journal Psychology Health & Medicine Year 1998 Study design Survey study Participants 20 What was tested Regular exercise vs. sedentary lifestyle Read the paper [doi.org/10.1080/13548509808402237](https://doi.org/10.1080/13548509808402237)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)

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