---
title: Do thinking and movement skills change during the menstrual cycle?
description: Yes, some skills change across the cycle. Tasks measuring speed of hand movements, speaking speed, and spatial thinking varied, possibly due to hormone level
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/variations-in-sex-related-cognitive-abilities-across-the-menstrual-cycle-1990/
---

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- Do thinking and movement skills change during the menstrual cycle?

Study, 1990

# Do thinking and movement skills change during the menstrual cycle?

Yes, some skills change across the cycle. Tasks measuring speed of hand movements, speaking speed, and spatial thinking varied, possibly due to hormone level changes.

 Early or limited evidence

Women with normal menstrual cycles (specific number not stated)

## What they did

Women with normal menstrual cycles completed a wide range of thinking and movement tests during two different phases of their cycle.

## What they found

Changes were found on tests of quick hand movements, speaking speed, and some spatial or visual-thinking tests. The results support the idea that high hormone levels in the second half of the cycle may improve skills that typically favor women but make skills that typically favor men harder.

## What it means for you

Sex hormones may affect thinking skills differently depending on the cycle phase. The study does not specify which skills changed most, by how much, or how many women were studied.

## About the study

Original title Variations in sex-related cognitive abilities across the menstrual cycle Authors Hampson E Journal Brain and cognition Year 1990 Study design Study What was tested None (observation only) Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/0278-2626(90)90058-v](https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-2626(90)90058-v)

## Topics

[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)

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