Female athletes have faster reaction times on day they ovulate, study finds

"They tracked 54 women aged 18 to 40 not using hormone-based contraception and grouped them according to how much exercise they took: inactive (reported not taking part in any form of structured exercise), recreationally active (taking part in at least two hours of structured exercise a week), competing in any sport at club level, and elite (competing in any sport at national or international level)."

"They then completed cognitive tests and reported their mood and symptoms on the first day of menstruation, two days after the end of menstruation (late follicular phase), the first day ovulation was detected, and between ovulation and menstruation (mid-luteal phase). The study, published in Sports Medicine Open, found that women perform best on cognitive tests when they ovulate, with on average participants reacting about 30 milliseconds faster compared with later in their cycle and making fewer mistakes."

UCL researchers tracked 54 women aged 18 to 40 who were not using hormone-based contraception and classified them by exercise level: inactive, recreationally active, club-level competitors, and elite national/international competitors. Participants completed cognitive tests and reported mood and symptoms on the first day of menstruation, two days after menstruation (late follicular), the first day ovulation was detected, and the mid-luteal phase. Performance peaked at ovulation: on average reactions were about 30 milliseconds faster and errors fewer compared with later cycle phases. Elite athletes showed larger effects, with attention and inhibition scores more than 120 milliseconds faster and simple reaction times 80 milliseconds faster at ovulation versus the luteal phase. Inactive participants had slower reaction times compared with active participants.

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