Menstrual cycle- Women's period of Instability
Menstrual cycle and its effect on women gives me so much concern, I have done a little research to see why women's thinking, character are affected and I have this little study to share.
Many researchers have taken menstrual cycle as an excellent model of ovarian steroid influence on emotion, and behavior.
German and Swiss researchers have a new study that says, menstruating women do not feel any change in their mental action or in their thinking.
It is a common idea: cognitive performance is completely different when women are on their periods, this idea has an indication on professional lives of women.
sometimes you feel very bad, angry or suprised to see reactions of women in thier offices, they tend to get angry at nothing.
However, there is no genuine scientific research that is backing up this ill-informed belief but the little that exists is inconsistent and not impressing.
In exploring this idea or concept, 88 women during menstrual cycle were studied by European researchers and 68 of them were followed up for a second cycle, to find out how their performance on a range of mental exercises was affected.
Those that believe that mental performance is affected by menstrual cycle claim changes in hormone levels at different times in the menstrual cycle support or approve some types of cognition.
Even as the theory thus say, “male” forms of cognition like visuospatial awareness was better when the levels of male steroid hormone(testosterone) were really high and “female” cognitive skills like the use of sounds and words were better when estrogen and progesterone were increased. Though this was not really backed up by any scientific theory, and while some research may have found links, they sometimes involved small sample sizes and the results were hardly able to reproduce.
The menstrual cycle is the changes that appear naturally in a woman’s body that makes pregnancy possible.
Researchers discovered that hormonal changes that occur with menstrual cycle have no effect on cognitive function.
During the menstrual cycle, there is the rise and fall of the progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen that work together to make ready the uterine lining for pregnancy which is later shed if pregnancy does not occur.
Women menstrual cycle studies on emotional processing and also causes emotional disorder even after ovulation at Luteal phase.
Luteal phase is a stage of the menstrual cycle that occurs after ovulation (release of egg an by ovaries) and before period starts. At this time the uterus lining becomes thick preparing for a possible pregnancy.
During this time menstruating women experience emotional disorder, inability to maintain a or build interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers, mostly with students in the educational system. Women working in offices and companies can also have emotional disorder.
I remember times when my mum would have to close early from work and if you ask her reason for doing so, she would say “I don’t even understand myself today everything is just annoying me” and if I press further to know what exactly the problem is, I would find out she is in her luteal phase.
50% of women and ladies out there experience mood swings once in a while during this phase, am also one of them.
The premenstrual dysphoric disorder like depression symptoms, food cravings mostly, tender breast, moodiness, fatigue, irritability, and tension are symptoms of the luteal phase.
Presently evidence is limited, the suggestion is that fear extinction (exposure to fear condition), consolidation of emotional memories like sleep and stress are adjusted by menstrual cycle in women.
With the use of magnetic resonance imaging (a test that makes use of a powerful magnet, radio waves, and a computer to make detailed pictures inside your body), studies report that there are changes in brain reactivity across menstrual cycle.
Most notably there is increased emotion, emotional reactivity in the luteal phase. Even to the extent that behavioral changes has occurred over the course of menstrual cycle.
For further study, researchers set out to have a better view of study of whether menstruation affects cognitive functioning or not.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25505380
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318205.php
- https://womhealth.org.au/conditions-and-treatments/understanding-your-menstrual-cycle-fact-sheet
- https://www.medicinenet.com/menstruation/article.htm
- http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/07/05/menstruation-cognition-link/#.WoqOyainHDc