---
title: Do all women experience mood changes the same way across their menstrual cycle?
description: No. About 61% of women follow the classic PMS pattern, 13% show mood peaking mid-cycle instead, and 26% have no regular pattern.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/one-woman-s-low-is-another-woman-s-high-paradoxical-effects-of-the-menstrual-2011/
---

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- Do all women experience mood changes the same way across their menstrual cycle?

Survey study, 2011

# Do all women experience mood changes the same way across their menstrual cycle?

No. About 61% of women follow the classic PMS pattern, 13% show mood peaking mid-cycle instead, and 26% have no regular pattern.

 Early or limited evidence

213 female university students

## What they did

213 female university students completed daily questionnaires about depression and anxiety for two menstrual cycles.

## What they found

Three different patterns emerged: 61% showed the classic PMS pattern, 13% showed a mid-cycle pattern where symptoms peak mid-cycle instead of before the period, and 26% showed no cyclical pattern. Women with strong PMS patterns had lower average depression and anxiety than women with no cyclical pattern.

## What it means for you

Not all women experience mood changes the same way across their cycle. Some women actually feel better before their period and worse mid-cycle, the opposite of what PMS looks like. The main limitation is that this studied only university students, so results may not apply to all women.

213

university students

61%

with classic PMS pattern

13%

with mid-cycle symptom peak

## About the study

Original title One woman's low is another woman's high: Paradoxical effects of the menstrual cycle Authors Kiesner J Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Year 2011 Study design Survey study Participants 213 What was tested None Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.06.007](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2010.06.007)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Anxiety and tension](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-anxiety/)[Major depressive disorder](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-major-depression/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

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.

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