Women make fewer mistakes while on their periods, despite feeling less capable at this time of the month, research suggests. Experts discovered that women experience fluctuations in mental agility throughout their menstrual cycle, with faster responses and fewer mistakes when they are on their periods. A team from University College London (UCL) and the Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH) studied a group of 241 men and women, who completed online tests and whose mood was recorded, together with their symptoms.
The tests – which covered reaction times, attention, ability to relate to visual information, and anticipation of when something might happen – were carried out twice, 14 days apart. Period-tracking apps were also used to estimate which phase of their cycle women were in when they took the tests. The results showed there was no difference in reaction times and accuracy between men and women, but the findings for women were particularly interesting.
They were found to perform better during their periods compared with during any other phase of their cycle, with faster reaction times and fewer errors. In contrast, women showed slower reaction times and poorer timing anticipation when they were between ovulation and menstruation (luteal phase), alongside more errors around ovulation. This was despite women reporting feeling worse on their periods, including lower mood and suffering physical symptoms.
Writing in the journal Neuropsychologia, the researchers sa.
