Menstrual cycles don't impact women's cognitive abilities

A new study shows that a woman's cognitive abilities do not change during her menstrual cycle. This conclusion comes from a meta-analysis of over 100 studies that looked at nearly 4,000 menstruating women. The research found no significant differences in attention, creativity, memory, and other cognitive functions throughout the cycle. Many people believe in the idea of "period brain," but the scientific evidence does not support this claim. Daisung Jang, an organizational behaviorist at the University of Melbourne, led the study. The analysis focused only on studies that measured cognitive performance on specific days of the menstrual cycle. It excluded research that could affect the results, like pregnancy and other health conditions. The findings suggest that hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle are too small to impact cognitive performance. The authors noted this was surprising, given the many physiological changes that occur throughout the cycle. However, they acknowledge that individual experiences may vary. Physical changes in the brain during menstruation could affect cognition differently for different women. Past research has also indicated that the experience of premenstrual symptoms may relate more to how an individual reacts to hormones rather than the hormone levels themselves. The authors stated that their findings challenge long-held misconceptions about women's cognitive abilities during menstruation. They emphasize that there is no scientific reason to doubt a woman's mental capacity because of her menstrual cycle. This research was published in the journal PLOS One.