The menstrual cycle is a primary contributor to cyclic variation in women’s mood, behavior, and vital signs

Abstract

Female mood, behavior, and vital signs exhibit cycles which fundamentally affect health and happiness. However, it is unclear which dimensions of mood, behavior, and vital signs vary cyclically, how cycles at different timescales compare in magnitude, and how cycles vary across countries. Here we separate female mood, behavior, and vital signs into four simultaneous cycles – daily, weekly, seasonal, and menstrual. We analyze nine mood dimensions, three behavior dimensions, and three vital signs using a dataset of 241 million observations from 3.3 million women in 109 countries. We find that the menstrual cycle is a primary contributor to cyclic variation: it is the cycle with the largest amplitude for all three vital signs, sexual activity, and 7 out of 9 dimensions of mood. The amplitude of the menstrual happiness cycle is 1.4x the amplitude of the daily cycle, 3.3x the amplitude of the weekly cycle, 2.3x the amplitude of the seasonal cycle, and 1.7x the Christmas increase in happiness. Menstrual cycle effects are directionally consistent across countries, demonstrating that they occur across cultures. Overall, our results demonstrate the primacy of the menstrual cycle and necessitate better accounting for it in clinical data and practice.