--- title: Does exercise reduce how much stress affects women before their period? description: It is unclear. Exercise reduced how much heart rate increased in response to stress, but mood changes in response to stress were actually greater in exercisin url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/stress-responsivity-in-exercisers-and-non-exercisers-during-different-phases-of-1995/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does exercise reduce how much stress affects women before their period? Study, 1995 # Does exercise reduce how much stress affects women before their period? It is unclear. Exercise reduced how much heart rate increased in response to stress, but mood changes in response to stress were actually greater in exercising women. The menstrual cycle did not affect how much stress changed performance. Moderate study design 40 women: 20 who exercised regularly and 20 who were sedentary ## What they did Researchers tested 20 regularly exercising women and 20 sedentary women. Each woman completed a stressful laboratory task at three times during her cycle: premenstrual, menstrual, and postmenstrual phases. Heart rate, blood pressure, and mood were measured. ## What they found Exercising women had smaller heart rate increases in response to the stress task than sedentary women. However, exercisers showed larger mood changes in response to stress. The menstrual cycle phase affected baseline heart rate and baseline mood but did not change how much the stress task affected heart rate response, mood response, or performance. ## What it means for you Exercise and the menstrual cycle appear to affect the body and mood separately. The idea that women are especially vulnerable to stress before menstruation was not clearly shown in this study. The timing in the cycle did not change how much stress actually affected performance or immediate physical responses. The study is small. 20 exercising women 20 sedentary women ## About the study Original title Stress responsivity in exercisers and non-exercisers during different phases of the menstrual cycle Authors Choi PY, Salmon P Journal Social science & medicine (1982) Year 1995 Study design Study Participants 20 What was tested Comparison of regular exercisers and sedentary women Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00043-7](https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(95)00043-7) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[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, 2026 Are stress, physical activity, and diet linked to premenstrual symptoms? Cohort study, 2022 What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated? Survey study, 2021 Does physical activity or age at first period affect how much PMS a teenage girl experiences? Study, 2018 Does a relaxation exercise help reduce physical stress responses in women with PMS? Study, 2003 Does the stress response system work differently in women with PMS across the menstrual cycle? Study, 2026 How can lifestyle changes help reduce premenstrual syndrome? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗