r/psychology MD-PhD-MBA | Clinical Professor/Medicine 18d ago

Research found no evidence to support myth that women’s cognitive abilities change across menstrual cycle. Given physiological changes that occur across menstrual cycle, the changes to the brain are either small enough that they don't influence performance or women compensate for these changes.

https://www.scimex.org/newsfeed/womens-menstrual-cycles-dont-change-the-way-our-brains-perform
1.2k Upvotes

218 comments sorted by

365

u/cointoss3 18d ago

I had multiple men tell me they couldn’t vote for Kamala because “she still has periods” and it “affects her cognition.”

259

u/AiAkitaAnima 18d ago edited 18d ago

How would they even know that? The woman is 60, so she likely is already done with that.

People are looking for the weirdest reasons to rationalise their choices if they do not have any good arguments.

119

u/Exact_Fruit_7201 18d ago

My friend said he wouldn’t vote for Hillary because ‘she seemed like she expected to win and that’s so off-putting.’

30

u/Herry_Up 18d ago

Is it off-putting because he thinks women don't deserve to win?

76

u/Guilty-Company-9755 18d ago

Which is insane because she's definitely already dealt with menopause.

77

u/poo-brain-train 18d ago

I'm not sure those people even know what menopause is.

1

u/raznov1 18d ago

"definitely"

72

u/aphosphor 18d ago

I know conservative women who have used the same argument. Like I cannot believe how brainwashes they are lol

52

u/Hi_Jynx 18d ago

Yikes. Do these men not realize men also have hormonal cycles?

24

u/nasbyloonions 18d ago edited 18d ago

And btw men are having plenty of hormonal problems as well

Pollution and stress affect e.g. testosterone.

Symptoms: Low mood, difficulties with concentration and memory, hot flashes

People take this hormone to feel better.

I wonder what would be the percentage of men who are eating hormones to cure health issues or&and to compensate for their perceived lack of performance.

EDIT: it says 2% of population have low testosterone, but that data is old.

But yeah, of course: only women’s issues affect the world in a negative way or smh

8

u/ZenythhtyneZ 18d ago

No, they absolutely do not

13

u/andreasmiles23 18d ago

I had multiple men tell me

Multiple men went on TV and said this and then became elected officials.

3

u/PlsNoNotThat 18d ago

The problem with this study is it takes the dumbest perspective - period = loss of cognition - and then reviews that. It’s pandering to the dumb - the worst kind of science.

1

u/Ausaevus 17d ago

If it helps, they didn't come up with that argument on their own. They were told that by social media.

The same social media that keeps dividing people and harking in the profits from doing so, by the way.

1

u/babyybilly 17d ago

Lol well my female family members definitely tell me these changes are quite severe

-19

u/Bignuckbuck 18d ago edited 18d ago

Funny enough I think the only people I’ve seen pushing this were my exs. Whenever it was their time of the month they would blame anything on it

Edit: how is it my fault they blamed everything on their period? Why the downvotes tf 😭

6

u/bbyxmadi 18d ago

They do affect women, they hurt and make us crabby, but they’re talking about cognitive changes. Men also believe she would’ve made harsh and dumb decisions because she’s a woman (who doesn’t even get her period anymore), when that’s literally not how it works.

12

u/Tambug21 18d ago

I mean, periods are still very painful. If a man is sick, we excuse his behavior but people never want to give women who get sick on their periods a break. That's probably why you're getting downvoted.

-2

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

No woman excuses any man for anything.

0

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 17d ago

In fact, when men are sick, they are mocked and called babies and told to man up. If they express pain, they are told that they don't know real pain only women do and then lectured on childbirth and periods.

-9

u/Bignuckbuck 18d ago

But on the comment above they’re upvoting for saying it has no effect on women 😭🤣

10

u/urbutttroll 18d ago

It has no effect on cognition or mental abilities. They’re still painful af, and you should have some empathy for that.

9

u/AngryAngryHarpo 18d ago

COGNITIVE ABILITY.

They have no effect on COGNITIVE ABILITY. Not “no effect at all”.

-2

u/Bignuckbuck 17d ago

But my exes complained it did have an effect, that’s precisely what I’m saying, I’m agreeing with everyone yet no one understands me ahahah

8

u/kimmymoorefun 18d ago edited 17d ago

My roommate blames my period when I’m stressed 🙄. I do know I’m a terrible test taker when I’m on my period 😂.

-1

u/BlackGoldSkullsBones 18d ago

I’ve had multiple women apologize to me for not thinking straight due to their periods. This isn’t something men just made up out of the blue lol.

1

u/freethenipple23 16d ago

Honestly pmdd is a thing

0

u/narkahticks 16d ago

As a woman, I’ve never heard that in my life.

1

u/BlackGoldSkullsBones 16d ago

I mean, there are even memes women post frequently on Instagram “don’t talk to me I’m PMSing.”

1

u/narkahticks 16d ago

I’m not gonna say it doesn’t exist, but I’ve definitely never seen it before.

1

u/BlackGoldSkullsBones 16d ago

I’ve never seen anyone say they aren’t voting for Kamal because of PMS but that comment has 361 upvotes.

1

u/narkahticks 16d ago

I’ve seen it 🤷🏽

1

u/BlackGoldSkullsBones 16d ago

You’re 17 so no offense but it is hard to use your life experience as any metric.

1

u/narkahticks 16d ago

You act like 17 year olds don’t have any access to social media lmfao

1

u/BlackGoldSkullsBones 16d ago

They probably shouldn’t.

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u/Adept-Gur-1726 18d ago

I’ve never once heard that. You are blatantly lying to make men look bad. I’ve never ever heard anything close to that

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u/Potential_Being_7226 18d ago

divided a nominal 28 day cycle into five phases: Phase 1 – menstrual (days 1-5), Phase 2 – follicular (days 6-11), Phase 3 – periovulatory, days 12-16, Phase 4 – luteal (days 17-23), Phase 5 – premenstrual (days 24-28). This division of the cycle has been used in subsequent meta-analyses [38,59].

It would help if the study had accurately timed menstrual phases, but it does not. Not all women have a 28 day cycle—this is a myth. Some women who have predictable cycles can be a bit shorter or longer than 28 days. Their rationale is that “other studies did it this way,” but that doesn’t mean it’s scientifically sound. It’s certainly not precise. 

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u/Salty-Blacksmith-391 18d ago

Let alone they confirmed to find changes in motor skills, and verbal ability in such a small § inconsistent sample.

149

u/WritingNerdy 18d ago

Well. As a woman with adhd, this is bullshirt.

32

u/Kat_ri 18d ago

This is kind of a "the exception proves the rule" type of thing.❤️ I have ADHD plus presently controlled pmdd. Realizing that my experience is NOT normal and I SHOULDN'T just grit my teeth and push through feeling like I'm suicidal and losing my mind every month was huge when it came to obtaining proper treatment. Also both my ADHD and pmdd got a lot worse after my first bout of covid (pre vaccine rollout). Before that the neurological affects of pmdd were a lot more manageable.

-7

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

She's not the exception.

6

u/Kat_ri 18d ago

She and other people who deal with fluctuations in cognitive capabilities as a symptom of adhd. That's why there's an overlap but you're at the far end not the middle of the bell curve. It's not about intelligence. It's about the ability to execute.

-6

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Cognition includes intelligence. Do research a term before confidently being incorrect. Many women are in denial of their issues due to wanting to be feminist when all the people around them can clearly see the differences. There are plenty of women on here saying they disagree with the statement because they have awareness of themselves.

5

u/Kat_ri 18d ago edited 18d ago

Yes, that's because when something is relevant to someone they stop and comment on it. Do you feel like your intelligence fluctuates with your cycle? Do your own research on the relationship between ADHD and pmdd.

-2

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

I see it in many women. They get irrational and illogical even more that usual and yes that absolutely affects their intelligence when responding to things. It's not an insult to aknowlege that. I research everything I talk about and I'm sure I could tell you far more about ADHD than you would even want to know.

2

u/Kat_ri 17d ago

Girl I have it too relax 🙄

1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 17d ago

I'm not stressed. I'm just explaining. A lot of people don't know about all of the different types of intelligence and therefore give knee jerk reactions to perceived insults about them.

1

u/Kat_ri 17d ago

Different personality types has nothing to do with hormonal fluctuations.

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u/ZenythhtyneZ 18d ago

Cognition isn’t the only way you experience the world around you. My cognition isn’t changed by my period personally even if other aspects of my experience may be.

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u/bananahaze99 18d ago

Honestly, I hate to agree and put this out there, but yes. I have pmdd too (often presents in ADHD/autistic women), and while I basically do all the things to make sure I’m mostly functional the week before my period, it’s still rough.

6

u/Ayzmo Psy.D. | Clinical Psychology 18d ago

There's always going to be individual variation. I think the idea is that, on average, women don't have a statistical impact from it.

-1

u/Unfair_Advisor_9633 18d ago

Does that mean that for every woman who is impacted negatively, there is a woman getting supercharged during her period? Like wtf does your statement even mean?

1

u/Ayzmo Psy.D. | Clinical Psychology 17d ago

A distribution doesn't have to be even. It can be skewed. But there is always going to be a distribution. So most women don't experience any cognitive changes while some do.

1

u/Unfair_Advisor_9633 17d ago

So it's skewed towards women being affected, on average.

2

u/Ayzmo Psy.D. | Clinical Psychology 17d ago

No. The study says that the average woman isn't affected. Studies show PMDD affects somewhere around 5-8% of women.

1

u/Unfair_Advisor_9633 17d ago

Study says no evidence found, except for 5-8% of women who are evidently affected. If we just leave the "exceptions" out then no one is affected by anything

1

u/Ayzmo Psy.D. | Clinical Psychology 17d ago

If you need a lesson on statistics, I encourage you to go look at how that works.

Here's a link to the actual metanalysis which doesn't use the same title.

They looked at multiple studies covering 3,943 women to get this data. They note that there were differences in aggregate, but nothing statistically significant.

-1

u/Unfair_Advisor_9633 17d ago

Yeah i better, it's not like i can learn anything from some psychology major lmao.

1

u/BrattyBookworm 17d ago

Mode, not mean.

13

u/SoFierceSofia 18d ago

Yupp. I haye being a stereotype because most women aren't. Maybe they get a little grumpy but most women i see on a daily basis i cannot tell if they are in their period or not - unless they are a make-up + nice clothes wearer. They always go for less around that time.

10

u/lle-ell 18d ago

I was thinking the same thing lmao

6

u/Famous-Ad-9467 18d ago

Exactly. Going through it now and my focus, speed, and performance is absolutely impacted. Laying in since the morning for a person who is usually up and about bright and early, yes, there is a change. 

I hate this narrative. I'm a woman, I'm not a man with boobs. I'm vastly different, I need accommodations and allowances for certain things. I've trained my entire family to understand that when I'm on my period, things slow down, I will not be pushing myself past any limits.

2

u/mmm_I_like_trees 14d ago

I hate this narrative that there's no cognitive changes...it's like how strength doesn't decrease either. I need more support around my period.

2

u/[deleted] 17d ago

I don’t think the study is taking into account how mental or reproductive disorders such as ADHD, PMDD, endometriosis, etc affect cognition during the menstrual cycle. The research is looking at the baseline for the average person. (I have ADHD and PMDD myself)

You can apply this to any other study on the human body. For example, a study on the way the skin typically responds to a certain element for the average person will not take into account those of us with skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis, acne. It is to look at the typical response. As someone with eczema I represent a sizable amount of people but I don’t represent the average or baseline.

This isn’t to say these disorders don’t matter or shouldn’t be included in certain studies, but that they are looking into the baseline excluding additional factors.

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

Same. I can barely read for like 10 days out of the month.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

13

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

Well, I guess this conversation at least supports the claim that anecdotal evidence is not reliable.

5

u/WritingNerdy 18d ago

Anecdotal evidence isn’t reliable. But all the studies that point to women with adhd struggling during their cycles and during peri- and menopause probably are. I have a feeling this study didn’t take into account how much neurodivergent women will mask when we need to.

3

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

Entirely possible

-3

u/WritingNerdy 18d ago

That’s great for you! However, I would have said the same thing about myself five years ago, until I learned more about my adhd symptoms and how to manage them. It’s also a lot more obvious to me now that I’m no longer on stimulant adhd medication.

4

u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

2

u/WritingNerdy 18d ago

I’m just saying that you may change your mind. Anyways, again, that’s great for you.

0

u/favouritemistake 17d ago

Yeah it interacts with my neurodivergence as well. Racing and/or sticky thoughts before my period every time. My productivity is not totally stable through my cycle, but probably averages above average still.

69

u/cosmicdicer 18d ago

Does this study address the second hand psychologically based disregulation of cognitive abilities because of the mood changes during periods? Like anxiety, irritability and depression do affect performance in cognitive tasks. I think that is where this myth was originally relied

27

u/Greenfacebaby 18d ago

It’s not a myth. I have ADHD which comes with PMDD and my mental is really bad before my period. Even having suicidal thoughts.

19

u/jblackbug 18d ago

I would hypothesize the myth is more rooted in people who have been around women with PMDD who do have severe versions of those side effects you mention.

17

u/Idont_thinkso_tim 18d ago

Ya I think my ex who had bad PMDD would find the claim of this article offensive in that in implies she’s faking it.

2

u/Hi_Jynx 18d ago

Do you think this happens to men? They also go through hormonal cycles.

5

u/cosmicdicer 18d ago

I'm not qualified to really answer this. The thing is that the main hormone for men is testosterone and its cycle is daily. While women have this more complicated, volatile and spaced in time cycle of hormones. Actually this is a valid question that i am very curious to find out

5

u/Hi_Jynx 18d ago

"Volatile." Maybe it's just me, but as someone who experiences periods, I wouldn't describe my experience as remotely volatile. I know people have worse periods than mine, but I think even calling it a mild inconvenience would be a great exaggeration for me. Maybe when I was prepubescent or dehydrated, but typically it is just business as usual. Just going off of my anecdotal experience I seriously doubt periods have much if any influence on anxiety and depression. If anything, immense stress can suppress one's period. I would be curious what a study would find, but I strongly suspect the results would be pretty negligible if there are any, or it would be select women with specific issues relating to their periods/uteri.

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u/cosmicdicer 18d ago edited 18d ago

I am also experiencing periods and i actually have experienced repeated fibroids and resulted prolonged metrorraghia and i can tell you it can get too volatile, as also for women who have endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. Now afaik, there have been studies on the impact during hormonal phases in women's cycle on mood disorders like anxiety and additionally there is the evidence of what happens when we get into menopause. Either way should be added, even as an additional group to the "normal period" women in any such studies, as this issues are not uncommon at all

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u/Hi_Jynx 18d ago

Right - my point wasn't that periods can't be volatile for some which is why I was very specific to only talk about my experience with mine. My point was that it's not a universal experience of periods. You having endometriosis and PCOS makes yours an outlier and I could see with those your periods may have a greater effect on your mental health - but I've had severe anxiety issues throughout my life and have never felt like my period exasperated that. I do think with conditions like you have, your periods could have a strong effect on your mental health - but I also think with someone with periods like mine they really do not. I both want women with conditions like yours to be treated with empathy and proper mental health and medical treatment, but also don't want to be generalized like that when I don't personally relate.

1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

It absolutely does. Their cycles are actially daily so they experience way more emotional instability and pain than women but in a more regular and uniform way so that they get used to it. Also, men have been conditioned from tiny to accept and not complain about pain and not to express emotion so of course your not seeing their hormonal fluctuations as extreme.

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u/Ankit1000 18d ago

I didn’t even realize this was a myth…

21

u/-milxn 18d ago

I didn’t realise anyone even thought this

1

u/CHEY_ARCHSVR 18d ago

Isn't the "myth" about the (obviously true) emotional changes?

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u/-milxn 18d ago

Emotional changes are real but I don’t think they’re so extreme that they change cognitive ability. Ik this is anecdotal but I’m around a lot of women and they don’t act stupider on their periods.

-1

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

Cognition and emotion are largely considered part of the same body of research these days

1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Exactly. You can't have emotional changes and say your cognition isn't affected. Tears, aggression, paranoia, sadness, are all your cognition.

1

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

The linked study suggests otherwise

-1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Yes, because it is biased nonsense cherry-picking data to fit a narrative. This happens all of the time when anything about women or girls are studied. Most female based studies are a mockery of science these days. So desperate to be feminist that they trample all over the actual data. Saying it's a scientific study and therefore flawless is unfortunately naivety now. Always research more than the study. There will be people put there exposing the real data.

2

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

Which part of the data was cherry-picked?

-1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

The conclusion is false, so you tell me.

-2

u/CHEY_ARCHSVR 18d ago

Not quite sure what you're saying. Do you mean to say this study could also indicate PMS doesn't cause emotional changes? Or that the study is wrong?

3

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

What I’m saying is the “myth” is not about “emotional” changes because emotion is a part of cognition. So what the study is claiming is that the emotional changes do not have a significant effect on overall cognitive function.

-2

u/CHEY_ARCHSVR 18d ago

I don't see how emotions being part of cognition make the statement "the 'myth' is about emotional changes" untrue

2

u/CrispyHoneyBeef 18d ago

I’m sorry to hear that

2

u/julmcb911 18d ago

Did IQs drop sharply while I was away?

-20

u/Hypnot0ad 18d ago

Right? Anyone who’s been in a relationship with a women knows it’s not a myth at all.

21

u/jblackbug 18d ago edited 18d ago

No, other than physical symptoms that might be distracting, only my partners who were diagnosed with PMDD or other disorders had any symptoms that would truly affect cognition.

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u/Hypnot0ad 18d ago

TIL 2 out of 3 of the women I’ve been in long term relationships with have PMDD.

6

u/[deleted] 18d ago

You sound exhausting to date

1

u/julmcb911 18d ago

Based on your comments, I think they all pretended to have PMDD to get a break from you.

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u/-milxn 18d ago

I have relationships with several women and it’s still a myth

17

u/needlesstosay7 18d ago

These are the author affiliations:

  • Melbourne Business School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,
  • Nanyang Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang, Singapore,
  • Olin Business School, Washington University in St Louis, St Louis, Missouri, United States of America

So... no background in neuroscience, endocrinology, cognitive science, or anything remotely related... why are they writing a paper about menstruation?

They frame the study as "debunking myths" but menstrual cycle effects on cognition haven't been a dominant mainstream claim in scientific literature. They seem to be arguing against a strawman.

5

u/andrewfenn 17d ago

why are they writing a paper about menstruation?

Because they need something to point to when they refuse to give women the day off of work.

9

u/Google_Knows_Already 18d ago

I honestly did not know that people thought this. WTF

9

u/saratonin86 18d ago

Yeah, no. The changes in my cognitive abilities show that my period is on its way (along with sore boobs, BO in one armpit etc). I forget words, lose my train of thought, brain fog, stumble over my speech. Granted, I have ADHD but still, it’s been happening for years. Heck, even my medication is less effective too!

1

u/[deleted] 17d ago

I don’t think the study is taking into account how mental or reproductive disorders such as ADHD, PMDD, endometriosis, etc affect cognition during the menstrual cycle. The research is looking at the baseline for the average person. (I have ADHD and PMDD myself)

You can apply this to any other study on the human body. For example, a study on the way the skin typically responds to a certain element for the average person will not take into account those of us with skin disorders such as eczema, psoriasis, acne. It is to look at the typical response. As someone with eczema I represent a sizable amount of people but I don’t represent the average or baseline.

This isn’t to say these disorders don’t matter or shouldn’t be included in certain studies! But that they are looking into the baseline excluding additional factors.

0

u/Ausaevus 17d ago

Is it not because of ADHD in your case?

I don't think scientific claims like this involve disorders unless they specify them.

16

u/mvea MD-PhD-MBA | Clinical Professor/Medicine 18d ago

I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0318576

Abstract

Does a woman’s cognitive performance change throughout her menstrual cycle? Menstruation continues to be a taboo topic, subject to myths about how it affects women. Despite the considerable number of empirical studies, there have been few quantitative summaries of what is known. To address this gap, we conducted a meta-analysis of cognitive performance across the menstrual cycle, including the domains of attention, creativity, executive functioning, intelligence, motor function, spatial ability, and verbal ability. We included studies that measured women’s performance at specific points in the cycle for tasks that have objectively correct responses. Our analysis examined performance differences across phases using Hedges’ g as the effect size metric. Across 102 articles, N =  3,943 participants, and 730 comparisons, we observe no systematic robust evidence for significant cycle shifts in performance across cognitive performance. Although two results appeared significant with respect to differences in spatial ability, they arise from a large number of statistical tests and are not supported in studies that use robust methods to determine cycle phase. Through the use of Egger’s test, and examination of funnel plots, we did not observe evidence of publication bias or small-study effects. We examined speed and accuracy measures separately within each domain, and no robust differences across phases appeared for either speed or accuracy. We conclude that the body of research in this meta-analysis does not support myths that women’s cognitive abilities change across the menstrual cycle. Future research should use larger sample sizes and consistent definitions of the menstrual cycle, using hormonal indicators to confirm cycle phase.

From the linked article:

Australian-led research has found no evidence to support the myth that women’s cognitive abilities change across the menstrual cycle. The researchers looked at 102 studies covering close to 4000 women and looked at changes in everything from attention, intelligence and executive functioning to motor function, spatial ability, verbal ability and creativity. The authors say although menstruation is often treated like a disease that impairs women’s ability to function, they found no evidence for significant changes in cognitive performance across the cycle. The authors say that while this is somewhat surprising given the physiological changes that occur across the menstrual cycle, the changes to the brain are either small enough that they don't influence performance or women compensate for these changes in ways we don't yet understand.

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u/Blue-Phoenix23 18d ago

or women compensate for these changes in ways we don't yet understand.

This seems most likely to me, as somebody with ADHD and going through perimenopause. My meds work less effectively at different times of my cycle, and brain fog is real. It's not so much that I'm less intelligent at those times, but performance is definitely affected, so maybe that is the hair they're splitting?

12

u/kimmymoorefun 18d ago

And walking up 3 flights of stairs is exhausting when you are heavily bleeding 🩸😑

7

u/Blue-Phoenix23 18d ago

Right, the cramps alone are debilitating and I'm not at my best lol.

1

u/kimmymoorefun 18d ago

Wait a minute 🤔 what’s the lifestyle of these 4000 women living in Australia compared to other countries? Are they less stress? Do they eat healthier?

13

u/Coidzor 18d ago

TIL a new stereotype I'd never heard before.

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u/hyperlight85 18d ago

Lol explain my extreme brain fog that seems to happen every time it's the week before my period

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u/BoredPanache 18d ago

Does a bad tooth physiology change your mood, concentration, social or cognitive performance...? No.

Does a bad toothache affect your mood, concentration, social or cognitive performance...? Yes.

2

u/Thrawnsartdealer 18d ago

Is a menstrual cycle the same as a bad tooth…? No.

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u/pruchel 18d ago

Does your tummy cramp and do you feel like shit? Guess what. It influences your mood. 

7

u/Thrawnsartdealer 18d ago

Does it change the way our brains perform?

No, not according to this study.

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u/scienceworksbitches 18d ago

more sophisticated actual studies with scientific tests and all that fancy stuff say something different.

https://www.mpg.de/20964081/1013-nepf-the-menstrual-rhythm-of-the-brain-149575-xCentral

The menstrual rhythm of the brain

In the female brain, regions important for memory and perception are remodeled in the course of the menstrual cycle

learning and memory hubs change in response to sex hormones. A new study in Nature Mental Health by Rachel Zsido and Julia Sacher of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences and the University Clinic in Leipzig, Germany, links rhythmic oscillations in ovarian hormone levels in women during the menstrual cycle to changes in brain structure.

0

u/Thrawnsartdealer 18d ago

It says something different because it studied something different, and what it says doesn't contradict the OP study.

The study you linked looks at changes in the brain structure but doesn't draw conclusions about cognitive ability.

The OP study is peer reviewed and uses accepted methodology. I don't see why you are suggesting it's not an "actual study".

5

u/scienceworksbitches 18d ago

The OP study is peer reviewed and uses accepted methodology. I don't see why you are suggesting it's not an "actual study".

because what i posted is a scientific study done by scientists that used bleeding edge technology in one of the most prestigious research institutes.

OP "study" is a meta analysis where some business majors cherry picked data to further their agenda....

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u/Thrawnsartdealer 18d ago

Meta analysis is accepted and legitimate. 

I’m far more inclined to trust the peer reviewed work shown by academics over a random redditor who makes unsubstantiated claims. As most reasonable people should.

Regardless, it doesn’t change the fact that the study you linked doesn’t refute the OP study. 

3

u/scienceworksbitches 18d ago

i didnt make any claims, i just linked a more sophisticated study that was actually done by actual scientists and not as a statistics exercise for economists.

1

u/Thrawnsartdealer 18d ago

You claimed “more sophisticated studies” showed something different.

Sure, it shows something different, but that something is irrelevant so not sure what you’re getting at.

It seems like you just don’t want to accept the findings and are looking for ways to dismiss them.

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u/Ayzmo Psy.D. | Clinical Psychology 18d ago

I see multiple people bringing up PMDD. PMDD is a disorder because it is beyond what most women experience when on/around their period. Obviously people with PMDD will experience changes that other women don't.

This article isn't saying that no women experience cognitive changes, but that the average women doesn't. There is always going to be individual variation.

1

u/Flickeringcandles 17d ago

I have PMDD. I don't experience any cognitive changes, but I do get very short tempered, prone to crying, and prone to being really pissed.

3

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Bullshit. There's huge evidence both anecdotal and studies that say otherwise. I say this as a woman. Just another biased psychology report written by women for women. Amd if you don't believe me go research how study data gets manipulated to suit the agenda it is pushing.

3

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Does anyone here know what cognition means? It is literally your thinking, learning, language, processing, attention, memory and perception.

6

u/HookiMonster 18d ago

Never heard of this

4

u/throwaway1231697 18d ago

So I guess this study is saying having periods is no excuse for subpar performance? It’s not supposed to affect your ability to do cognitive work, right?

I’m gonna take that with a pinch of salt.

7

u/spongebobismahero 18d ago

Just pure anecdotal, from my own experience: 2 days prior my period, i can't park my car. Just not happening. And its striking to me bc normally i park my car into the tiniest spots without even having to look. So on those two days, i park my car on empty parking lots with no other cars around. Its been getting worse with heading into menopause. So there must be something going on but the only thing i guess is lack of hormones.

3

u/mmm_I_like_trees 18d ago

Same I can't park at all near period.

1

u/Ausaevus 17d ago

I can't park my car period.

2

u/Flickeringcandles 18d ago

It may not affect me cognitively but it sure pisses me off

2

u/No_Interest1616 17d ago

If you want to see a change in cognitive ability, catch me during allergy season. 

2

u/vendettaclause 16d ago

Sounds like feminist propaganda go me. As a man I'll have a bad case of the shits and admit that it totally effects my decision making skills. And women play up periods to often be super uncomfortable to debilitating. So i can't understand how something like that wouldn't effect someone's cognitive ability.

1

u/GreenGrassConspiracy 16d ago

Do you even know what happens during a period. We loose blood some of us so much with blood clotting over days that we feel faint and get anaemic as our body is unable to work fast enough to replace the blood that is being lost. What is happening? Flesh inside our uterus is shedding away and it can feel like something is clawing at our insides as we are curled up on the bed in pain that medication can’t fix. Imagine having a drip attached to your arm taking blood out of your body while you are working and see how your brain handles that. And that’s just the physical side of it!

3

u/UnavoidableLunacy25 15d ago

Jesus.

That was deeeeep.

1

u/themiracy 18d ago

I would have to read the article carefully, but I thought these differences were very small and also not just in the specific areas where the findings didn’t hold up to robust comparison but within very specific subareas within those areas (like clustering/switching frequency in phonemic fluency)

Anyway I don’t know who believed a myth that any really substantial cognitive differences were driven by this, but I’m also not sure that the study is appropriately designed to analyze the very small differences that had been of interest in the scientific literature.

2

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Anyone who understands hormones will know that literally everything physical and mental is affected and caused by them. Menopause literally can give you biploar symptoms so don't keep minimising the effects of it at the same time as expecting special treatment for going through it.

1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Pain affects cognitive ability on its own without anything else added. I can only assume that no one here has ever had that level of pain and hormonal changes to think it doesn't affect your abilities. Male hormones also affect their abilities. It's not gendered.

1

u/josh145b 16d ago

Notably, they used multiple comparison corrections in their meta analysis. If the original studies did due diligence and applied multiple comparison correction to the initial studies, then it would be extremely difficult to find that there was actually a difference in cognitive performance in the meta analysis. Additionally, applying multiple comparison corrections to small sample and effect sizes significantly increases the chance of false negatives as well. In a meta analysis, effect size matters more than significance testing, so strict significance testing in a meta-analysis will often lead to misleading conclusions.

It would appear that they did find differences in memory, spatial ability and verbal ability, but in arbitrarily applying correction methods to their findings, they artificially created a false negative result.

1

u/spooky_upstairs 18d ago

I beg to dither.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

[deleted]

27

u/volvavirago 18d ago

Emotional changes are not the same as cognitive changes. PMS can still make you pissed off or suicidal, it just doesn’t make you stupid or illogical.

1

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

Cognition is not just your IQ.

2

u/volvavirago 17d ago

Yeah, the article lists all of factors the tested. None of them are about emotions.

0

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 17d ago

Women do this. Jump on trigger words and react illogically. The irony. Perhaps they are on their period. Ha.

1

u/volvavirago 17d ago

Cool story bro. When is the last time your mother gave you a hug?

0

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 17d ago

Suicidal thoughts are not logical, they are emotional. Emotion destroys logic. So yes, it can make you illogical, and being illogical is stupid in terms of rational thought.

2

u/volvavirago 17d ago

There is not a single human being alive or dead who does not occasionally have irrational thoughts. What matters is the ability to recognize irrationality and not act on impulses. Any rational person would know that. But you don’t. Figures.

0

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 17d ago

Of course. I didn't say otherwise. Weird response with uncalled for insult.

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u/zolralfonso 18d ago

being stupid sometimes leads you to "emotional" reactions such as making trivial things worse, isnt it? corrent me if wrong.

24

u/volvavirago 18d ago

The point is that periods don’t make you stupider, so that is irrelevant.

15

u/Guilty-Company-9755 18d ago

I mean, presumably you are a man and posted this so are you on your period and this "stupider" or does it just come to you in a stream?

1

u/GreenGrassConspiracy 16d ago

men are more violent than women and the emotion anger always precedes that so by your reasoning that would make them more stupid in addition to not being able to multitask. No wonder our government is in the shithole lol

-22

u/Mega_Bond 18d ago

Ha Ha ha there is always a loophole.

13

u/volvavirago 18d ago

Loophole? I am describing facts.

3

u/bbyxmadi 18d ago

Always a loophole with men, who think anger isn’t being emotional.

2

u/Lopsided-Ticket-4062 18d ago

They are taught that from young. It shouldn't be a surprise.

6

u/[deleted] 18d ago

That’s already been studied and proven to be a symptom of PMS (the same hormones as pregnancy). Cognitive would be reasoning, mental acuity, remembering, etc. good try though. We’ll still freak out over something once a month. You’ll be just fine. 

-4

u/VisitingSeeing 18d ago

Maybe it's one of those "speak for yourself" things.

0

u/tenclowns 18d ago

This at the same time shoots you in the foot. At the same time you can say my judgement is not infected with rabies you cannot make claims for sick leave

Is there a study on rational decision making during menstruation? If you have the cognitive ability then you should be master over your emotions and not really have an excuse for irrationality