---
title: Do women think and solve math problems differently depending on their menstrual cycle phase?
description: Overall performance on math tasks did not clearly differ between menstrual cycle phases. However, how much individual women's performance varied from day to d
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/menstrual-cycle-effects-on-performance-of-mental-arithmetic-task-2002/
---

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- Do women think and solve math problems differently depending on their menstrual cycle phase?

Survey study, 2002

# Do women think and solve math problems differently depending on their menstrual cycle phase?

Overall performance on math tasks did not clearly differ between menstrual cycle phases. However, how much individual women's performance varied from day to day did change with the cycle phase, and this pattern was different for each woman.

 Early or limited evidence

Women tested on a mental arithmetic task during different menstrual cycle phases.

## What they did

Women completed a 20-minute mental arithmetic task on multiple days across their menstrual cycle. Researchers compared their performance at different cycle phases.

## What they found

There was no clear difference in math task performance between menstrual cycle phases. However, when researchers looked at how much each woman's performance varied between attempts, they found that this variation did change with cycle phase. Some women showed small variations across all phases, while others showed different amounts of variation at each phase. The phase that showed the most variation was different for different women.

## What it means for you

Menstrual cycle phase does not appear to affect how well women can do mental math. However, how stable each woman's performance is might be affected by the cycle, and this effect differs between women. This was a single task under laboratory conditions, which may not reflect thinking in daily life.

20

minute task duration

3

menstrual cycle phases examined

2

groups of subjects based on performance variation pattern

## About the study

Original title Menstrual cycle effects on performance of mental arithmetic task Authors Kasamatsu K, Suzuki S, Anse M et al. Journal Journal of physiological anthropology and applied human science Year 2002 Study design Survey study What was tested Mental arithmetic task. Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.2114/jpa.21.285](https://doi.org/10.2114/jpa.21.285)

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[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Relationships and partners](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-relationships/)

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