---
title: What symptoms do women experience before their period, and do they stay the same over time?
description: Women experience five main types of symptoms in the week before their period: mood symptoms, hot flashes, body aches, muscle and nerve symptoms, and sleep pro
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/symptom-experiences-of-midlife-women-observations-from-the-seattle-midlife-women-1996/
---

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- What symptoms do women experience before their period, and do they stay the same over time?

Survey study, 1996

# What symptoms do women experience before their period, and do they stay the same over time?

Women experience five main types of symptoms in the week before their period: mood symptoms, hot flashes, body aches, muscle and nerve symptoms, and sleep problems. Mood symptoms are most consistent over time.

 Moderate study design

301 women ages 35 to 55 in the Seattle area with at least one menstrual period per year

## What they did

A community sample of 301 women ages 35 to 55 kept daily symptom diaries for at least one menstrual cycle each year for 3 consecutive years. They rated 28 common symptoms from zero to four. Researchers focused on the 5 days before menstruation.

## What they found

25 of the 28 symptoms grouped into five types: mood symptoms, hot flashes, body aches, muscle and nerve symptoms, and sleep problems. Mood symptoms were the most reliable and stable over the 3 years. Body aches changed the most. Muscle and nerve symptoms and sleep problems were also stable.

## What it means for you

Different premenstrual symptoms likely have different causes because they change at different rates. Mood symptoms may be related to stress or other life events rather than just hormones. The main limits are that the study focused only on the 5 days before menstruation and was conducted in one community.

301

women studied

25 of 28

symptoms that grouped into five types

3

years of daily tracking

## About the study

Original title Symptom experiences of midlife women: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women's Health Study Authors Mitchell ES, Woods NF Journal Maturitas Year 1996 Study design Survey study Participants 301 What was tested Daily symptom tracking over three years, with focus on premenstrual days Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0378-5122(96)01047-x](https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-5122(96)01047-x)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Sleep and insomnia](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-sleep/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Perimenopause and menopause](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-perimenopause/)

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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