Findings challenge the commonly held belief that menstruation negatively affects women’s performance in tasks requiring quick reactions and accuracy. The study, conducted by UCL and the Institute of Sport, Exercise & Health (ISEH) and published in Neuropsychologia, focused on assessing sport-related cognition during the menstrual cycle, as part of a FIFA Research Scholarship. The results showed that participants actually reacted faster and made fewer mistakes during menstruation, despite their preconceived notions that their performance would suffer.The study’s results demonstrate that certain cognitive functions vary throughout the menstrual cycle, which could have an impact on women’s health, particularly in relation to injuries. Sports medicine research has suggested that women may be more susceptible to sports-related injuries during the luteal phase, the period between ovulation and menstruation. This increased risk could be linked to the hormonal fluctuations that occur during the menstrual cycle, although the exact connection is not yet understood. The study was conducted by researchers at UCL and ISEH.The study involved 241 participants who took a series of cognitive tests and completed a mood scale and symptom questionnaire twice, 14 days apart. Period-tracking apps were used to determine the participants’ menstrual cycle phase during the tests.
The cognitive tests were designed to simulate mental processes common in team sports. In one test, participants had to press the space bar only when they saw a smiling face, testing inhibition, attention, reaction time, and accuracy. In another test, they had to identify mirror images in a 3D rotation.The study included a spatial timing task to evaluate participants’ spatial cognition. In this task, participants had to click when two moving balls collided on the screen. The results showed that during menstruation, participants felt worse and believed that it negatively affected their performance. However, their reaction times were actually faster and they made fewer errors. For instance, they were 10 milliseconds (12%) more accurate in the moving balls task on average, and they made 25% fewer errors in the inhibition task. It was also observed that participants’ reaction times were slower during the luteal phase, which occurs after ovulation.Ovulation occurs and lasts for 12-14 days until the start of menstruation. During this phase, female athletes were, on average, 10-20 milliseconds slower compared to any other phase. However, the study found that they did not make more errors during this time. Dr. Flaminia Ronca, the first author of the study from UCL Division of Surgery and Interventional Science and ISEH, stated that previous research had suggested that female athletes are more prone to certain types of sports injuries during the luteal phase. The assumption was that this was due to biomechanical changes as a result of hormonal variation. However, Dr. Ronca was not convinced that physical changes alone could explain this association.
“We were curious if changes in athletes’ timing of movements throughout the menstrual cycle could result in injuries, considering the inhibitory effect of progesterone on the cerebral cortex and the stimulating effect of estrogen on it, causing slower or faster reactions.”
“It is surprising that the participants actually performed better during their period, challenging the assumptions about women’s abilities at this time of the month, and perhaps challenging societal perceptions as well.”
“I hope that this study will encourage positive conversations between coaches and athletes about the relationship between perceptions and performance, and how our feelings may not accurately reflect our abilities.”
It is always important to consider how our performance is affected.” The authors of the study explain that the variability in timing could significantly impact the risk of injury. Previous studies have demonstrated that even a 10-millisecond difference can determine whether an injury is severe or minor. In the experiment involving colliding balls, participants were found to be 12 milliseconds slower on average during the luteal phase compared to other phases, representing a 16% difference. Dr. Megan Lowery, one of the study’s authors from UCL Surgery & Interventional Science and ISEH, stated, “There is a lot of anecdotal evidence suggesting the impact of hormonal changes on athletic performance, and our study provides scientific evidence to support these claims.”from women reporting that they may experience clumsiness just before ovulation, as demonstrated by the results of our study. My goal is for women to gain a better understanding of the changes in their brains and bodies throughout the month, which will enable them to adjust.
“While more research is required in this area, these findings are a crucial initial advancement in comprehending how women’s cognition impacts their athletic abilities at different stages of their menstrual cycle. This, in turn, will ideally encourage open conversations between coaches and athletes regarding performance and overall well-being.”
Professor Paul Burgess, the senior author of the study at UCL’s InThe Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience conducted a study based on feedback from female soccer players and their coaches. They developed specific cognitive tests to simulate the mental demands experienced during the game, especially during certain times of the menstrual cycle when injuries and timing issues were reported.
According to the lead researcher, the data collected from the study supported the claims made by the soccer players. It showed that women who menstruate, regardless of whether they are athletes or not, tend to experience performance variations at different stages of their cycle. The neuroscientist expressed surprise at the lack of existing knowledge on this topic and hopes that more research will be conducted in the future.We hope that our research will encourage more focus on this important area of sports medicine.”
