Women across the globe agree on one thing: periods suck.
A large-scale study has revealed what every woman already knows: periods have a greater effect on mood than weekends and holidays like Christmas.
The study looked at 241 million observations across 15 dimensions of mood made by 3.3 million women using a health tracking app across 109 countries.
Analysing the data, researchers at Stanford University found that menstrual cycles impact women’s mood 1.4 times more than daily cycles, 3.3 times more than weekly cycles (like weekends) and 1.7 times more than Christmas.
The most prevalent mood associated with this other red-and-white-themed phenomenon was sadness, and this effect was seen in all countries, even sunny Australia.
The authors stressed that their results should not be taken to imply that women are more volatile than men or that the menstrual cycle explains all the variation in women’s mood, behaviour and vital signs, a press release stated.
Here’s hoping your period doesn’t come at Christmas!
If you see something stupid, say something stupid … Send hankies to felicity@medicalrepublic.com.au.
