There’s no strong scientific support for the idea that women’s thinking abilities improve or decline during their menstrual cycle.
That’s the conclusion of a major review analyzing over 100 studies on the topic, according to ScienceAlert.
“This lack of evidence is somewhat surprising, given the many well-documented physiological changes that take place during the menstrual cycle,” the authors note in their paper, published in PLOS One.
Hormone levels like estrogen are known to fluctuate throughout the cycle, and these shifts can affect brain receptors. Still, any changes in cognitive performance observed in the studies were so small and inconsistent that the researchers say they’re not meaningful.
In short, hormonal changes appear to have no noticeable effect on how women think, reason, or focus, according to the findings.
That said, the researchers do acknowledge one possibility: women might be unconsciously adjusting to hormonal changes and maintaining performance levels even if the cycle does have a subtle effect.
If that’s happening, science hasn’t yet figured out how.
And if the conclusion seems at odds with your personal experience, it’s important to note that this research looks at broad statistical averages.
So while the overall data doesn’t show a clear pattern, it doesn’t rule out that some individuals may experience stronger cognitive effects from hormonal shifts than others.
