Another FIFI blogger posted this article on the FIFI facebook page the other day and it got me thinking. In the article they discuss research around menstrual cycles and fitness. The article (and research) is interesting to me, and something I’ve thought about in relation to my own experience. Here are some quotes from the article:
- Female athletes have faster reaction times and make fewer errors when they have their period – even though they feel their performance suffers compared to other phases of their menstrual cycle, new research suggests.
- “Changes in spatial cognition could, in theory, be a contributing risk factor for injury, especially in fast-paced sports that require precise, millisecond accuracy in interactions with moving objects,” Flaminia Ronca, a sports scientist at University College London, and colleagues explain in their published paper. Female athletes, for example, often report feeling clumsy around ovulation or that their performance worsens in the latter part of their menstrual cycle, the luteal phase, and when they have their period.
- But studies trying to measure those perceived effects have been inconclusive, with strength and power possibly peaking around ovulation, and endurance perhaps declining during menstruation.
- The study couldn’t explore individual differences in cognitive performance across menstrual cycle phases, and it relied on menstruating females reporting their current phase on test day (two-thirds used a period tracking app).
- On the whole, female athletes who menstruated tended to perform worse on cognitive tasks in the late follicular phase of their cycle, as they approached ovulation, and in the later luteal phase, just before bleeding.
- But their cognitive performance peaked during menstruation, and that was despite these female athletes feeling worse when they had their period and suspecting it negatively impacted their performance. “What is surprising is that the participants’ performance was better when they were on their period, which challenges what women, and perhaps society more generally, assume about their abilities at this particular time of the month,” Ronca told The Guardian’s Tobi Thomas.
This was not something I started paying attention to until I was in my early 40s, but as soon as I started thinking about it I noticed an increase in energy level and attitude during my period. It was especially noticeable during the first couple days, so much so that I used to joke that I was in beast mode and felt like I could devour any competition (this is laughable – I am very much a back of the pack competitor regardless of my spirit and/or drive). After reading this article I’m wondering if some of the injuries I sustained were related to that extra pep in my step. Was my mind trying to go harder than my body could handle? Similarly I have always felt an energy lull about halfway through my monthly cycle and tried to time that with a 3 weeks “on” and 1 week “rest” training schedule when I was doing more events.
The section in this article where they say that in some cases performances peaked during periods but the participant felt like they were performing worse made me wonder about the stigma around menstruation. There have been a lot of conversations in recent years about professional athletes and periods, light-colored uniforms that might show leaks, and other related circumstances. I can’t help but wonder if some of the sense of poor performance is tied to stigma, worry, etc. (and of course, just un/comfortableness).
How about you – does this article resonate? What have your experiences been with regard to periods and performance, injury, and (perceived?) energy?
Amy Smith is a professor of Media & Communication and a communication consultant who lives north of Boston. Her research interests include gender communication and community building. Amy spends her movement time riding the basement bicycle to nowhere, walking her two dogs, and waiting for it to get warm enough for outdoor swimming in New England.