---
title: Do Pilates exercises help women with PMS manage emotions and stress?
description: Yes. Pilates exercises significantly improved emotion regulation and stress tolerance in women with PMS, with benefits lasting at follow-up.
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/the-effectiveness-of-pilates-exercises-on-emotion-regulation-and-distress-2024/
---

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- Do Pilates exercises help women with PMS manage emotions and stress?

Randomised trial, 2024

# Do Pilates exercises help women with PMS manage emotions and stress?

Yes. Pilates exercises significantly improved emotion regulation and stress tolerance in women with PMS, with benefits lasting at follow-up.

 Moderate study design

30 female university students with PMS

## What they did

Thirty female university students with PMS were randomly assigned to either a Pilates group or a control group. The Pilates group attended classes taught by a professional instructor at the university gymnasium. Emotion regulation and stress tolerance were measured for both groups at baseline, after the intervention, and at follow-up using standardized scales.

## What they found

The Pilates group showed significant improvements in emotion regulation. Emotion suppression increased from 12 to 15.33 after intervention and 16.8 at follow-up. Emotion reappraisal increased from 22.4 to 26.26 to 26.06. Distress tolerance increased from 40.93 to 47.06 to 47 (all p less than or equal to 0.05).

## What it means for you

Pilates may help women with PMS better manage emotions and tolerate stress, with improvements that persist over time. This is a small study from one university, so results may not apply broadly to all women with PMS.

30

female students with PMS

16.8

emotion suppression score at follow-up

47

distress tolerance score at follow-up

## About the study

Original title The Effectiveness of Pilates Exercises on Emotion Regulation and Distress Tolerance in Students with Premenstrual Syndrome Authors Azadeh Niroomand, کورش گودرزی, Mehdi Roozbahani et al. Journal Health and Development Journal Year 2024 Study design Randomised trial Participants 30 What was tested Pilates exercises taught by a professional instructor Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.34172/jhad.92357](https://doi.org/10.34172/jhad.92357)

## Topics

[Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Mood swings and emotion regulation](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-emotional-regulation/)[Exercise and yoga](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-exercise/)[Students and academic performance](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-education/)

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