Survey study, 2024
Do athletes understand their menstrual cycle and how it affects their performance?
Most athletes feel their menstrual cycle affects their performance, but most cannot correctly identify the different phases. Many feel tired or unmotivated during certain phases.
What they did
A survey of 105 competitive female athletes from 12 sports asked about their understanding of the menstrual cycle and how they manage symptoms to improve performance.
What they found
Although 65.8% of athletes said they knew the menstrual cycle phases, only 53.5% could actually identify them. 60% felt unmotivated or unwilling to exercise during certain phases. 72.4% felt tired or experienced worse performance during certain phases, with the follicular phase most commonly reported. The use of nutritional aids seemed to be influenced by hormonal contraceptive use, feelings of fatigue, and the number of weekly workouts.
What it means for you
Athletes feel their menstrual cycle affects their performance but don't understand it well. This may lead them to use nutritional supplements without really understanding their cycle. The findings apply to competitive athletes only and may not represent all women.
105
competitive athletes
65.8%
reported knowing menstrual cycle phases
72.4%
felt tired or worse performance during certain phases
About the study
- Original title
- Is menstrual cycle misunderstanding a bias for ergogenic aids use? A cross sectional study
- Authors
- Géssyca Tolomeu de Oliveira, Laura Hora Rios Leite, Hiago Leandro Rodrigues de Souza et al.
- Journal
- Cuadernos de Educación y Desarrollo
- Year
- 2024
- Study design
- Survey study
- Participants
- 105
- Open access
- Yes
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.55905/cuadv16n2-064
Topics
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