--- title: Do women who are naturally anxious show bigger stress responses during certain parts of their menstrual cycle? description: Yes. Women who are naturally anxious showed the biggest stress response (more cortisol and higher blood pressure) during the early part of their menstrual cyc url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/neuroendocrine-activation-during-combined-mental-and-physical-stress-in-women-2008/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Do women who are naturally anxious show bigger stress responses during certain parts of their menstrual cycle? Study, 2008 # Do women who are naturally anxious show bigger stress responses during certain parts of their menstrual cycle? Yes. Women who are naturally anxious showed the biggest stress response (more cortisol and higher blood pressure) during the early part of their menstrual cycle, but non-anxious women did not show this pattern. Moderate study design 40 healthy women, some with high trait anxiety and some with low trait anxiety ## What they did Researchers studied 40 healthy women, dividing them into anxious and non-anxious groups based on a personality test. They exposed each woman to stress by having her do a mental task (Stroop test) and grip a hand dynamometer. They measured cortisol levels in saliva, blood pressure, and her performance on the mental task. ## What they found In anxious women during the follicular phase, stress caused a significant rise in cortisol levels. These anxious women also showed greater increases in blood pressure during the hand grip exercise compared to anxious women in the luteal phase and compared to non-anxious women in either phase. In non-anxious women, higher cortisol levels were linked with better performance on the mental task, but this link was negative in anxious women. ## What it means for you Women who are naturally anxious may have larger physical stress responses during the early part of their menstrual cycle. This could help explain why some anxious women experience worse symptoms at certain times of their cycle. The main limitation is that this tested stress in a laboratory setting, not real-life stress. 40 healthy women studied ## About the study Original title Neuroendocrine activation during combined mental and physical stress in women depends on trait anxiety and the phase of the menstrual cycle Authors Hlavacova N, Wawruch M, Tisonova J et al. Journal Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Year 2008 Study design Study Participants 40 What was tested Exposure to combined mental and physical stress (Stroop test and hand grip exercise) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1196/annals.1410.030](https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1410.030) ## Topics [Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/) 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 Cohort study, 2022 What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated? Lab study, 2020 Does anxiety sensitivity change during different parts of the menstrual cycle? Randomised trial, 2013 Does yoga reduce PMS symptoms and physical stress markers? Study, 2024 Does menstrual cycle phase affect how exercise changes stress hormones, energy use, or thinking ability? Survey study, 2023 Do women with PMS have slower reaction times and mood changes than others? Randomised trial, 2023 Does a smartphone app for heart rate variability biofeedback reduce premenstrual and depressive symptoms? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗