Menstruation as a Superpower: Rethinking Performance in Female Athletes

For decades, menstruation has been framed as a barrier to performance. But a new study suggests the opposite: menstruation might actually be when women perform their best.

248 participants completed a battery of sport-related cognitive tests, measuring reaction time, attention, and spatial anticipation.

The findings were striking:

• Women had better cognitive performance during menstruation than in other phases.

• Reaction times were faster, errors fewer, and variability lower.

• In the luteal phase, performance declined, particularly in timing and anticipation tasks.

Perception vs Reality
Despite this, women reported feeling worse during menstruation and believed their performance was impaired. Their perception didn’t match the data.

This gap matters. It suggests that the real challenge isn’t ability — it’s managing symptoms (pain, bleeding, fatigue) and shifting beliefs about what’s possible.

If symptoms can be reduced and stigma challenged, menstruating athletes could unlock a natural advantage — sharper, quicker, and more precise performance.

• For riders, that could mean better timing to fences, improved reactions in fast-paced situations, and more consistent decision-making.

• For coaches, it means rethinking how training is scheduled and how female athletes are supported.

Menstruation isn’t just a liability. It could be a hidden superpower. The question is whether we’re ready to change our attitudes — and our systems — to support women in using it.