Psychophysiological Responses to High-Intensity Interval Training Exercise over Menstrual Cycle Phases: An Exploratory Study.

INTRODUCTION: Although there is potential for the menstrual cycle to impact psychophysiological responses to exercise, there has been a paucity of studies investigating this aspect, specifically in the context of high-intensity interval training (HIIT).

PURPOSE: This exploratory study aimed to examine the psychophysiological responses to HIIT over the menstrual cycle.

METHODS: Twenty-three healthy and physically active young women were recruited. Each woman completed a cycle ergometer HIIT session in the menstrual, follicular, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle in a random order. Psychophysiological variables of interest were collected at baseline, and during and after exercise. Primary variables of interest were anxiety, mood, motivation, enjoyment, arousal, affect, and menstrual distress.

RESULTS: Higher pain, water retention, behavior change (related to social interactions, eating habits, and self-performance), and autonomic reactions (consisting of nausea, dizziness, hot flashes, and cold sweats) were observed before HIIT during the menstrual phase compared to the follicular phase (p < 0.05). Participants exhibited worse psychological responses to HIIT sessions during the menstrual phase, followed by the luteal phase. Findings also noted participants arrived to the laboratory with lower motivation to initiate HIIT sessions during the luteal and menstrual phases compared to the follicular phase. This difference was observed before and during HIIT. Motivation and depressive symptoms showed a significant reduction from pre-HIIT to post-HIIT (p < 0.05), regardless of menstrual phase.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings revealed that the menstrual cycle had a significant impact on psychophysiological responses. Moreover, HIIT could be adopted to improve motivation and depressive symptoms, however, further research is needed to explore the effects of HIIT across the menstrual cycle in women with clinical depression.