Business Insider Edition
For many women, citing "period pains" was a common way to get out of gym class at school.
However, that excuse may not fly for today's teenage girls, as a new study has provided more evidence that exercising actually helps ease symptoms of the menstrual cycle.
Researchers from St Mary's University, London in conjunction with workout tracking app Strava and FitrWoman , an app for tracking your menstrual cycle in relation to your training and nutrition, found that moderate intensity exercise is most effective at reducing symptoms.
The researchers analysed the responses from over 14,000 global female members Strava, and they found that 78% of women felt exercise eased the symptoms of their periods .
Women typically experience stomach cramps, breast pain, mood changes, fatigue, and cravings around their periods, and the research found that a third of women have missed work due to their menstrual cycles.
However, exercising may be the key to reducing these monthly side-effects.
Although you may feel like all you want to do is sit on the sofa with a hot water bottle and a bar of chocolate during your period, moderate intensity exercise was found to make women feel better this was described as "hard breathing, able to hold a conversation."
The news comes after Dr. Prudence Hall , founder and medical director of The Hall Center, previously told INSIDER that regular exercise can actually alleviate your worst period symptoms .
"Exercise is extremely beneficial to decrease menstrual cramps [because] it increases blood flow," moving the blood from where you're feeling pain," Hall said.
In a separate article , gynecologist Dr. Jessica Shepherd told INSIDER that a little exercise can go a long way.
"The release of prostaglandins during your period causes pain and cramping. Exercise is very helpful during periods as the release of endorphins helps with pain relief and also increases oxygenation to the muscle which helps decrease cramping," she said.
It's not just keeping active that will help, though the new research found that women who meet the World Health Organisation's exercise guidelines and also eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day are less likely to miss work due to menstrual symptoms.
Read more: 12 foods to avoid when you have period cramps
Giving your body enough time to recover plays a role too, with better sleep quality and longer sleep duration shown to be associated with reduced symptoms.
The researchers also found that most women know very little about how their period may affect their ability to exercise, and how they should modify their training over the course of their menstrual cycle.
Overall, 72% of women reported receiving no education regarding exercise and their menstrual cycle. This figure increases to 82% in the UK and Ireland, where 40% said they decreased exercise levels during puberty, compared to less than 20% in the USA, France, and Germany.
Read more: Sports psychologists say running apps may be damaging your health
"There aren't enough public forums to openly discuss the menstrual cycle, pain, and female athletes," said Stephanie Hannon, Stravas Chief Product Officer said.
"As the largest global community of athletic women, Strava is proud to help advance the understanding of the mind-body connections between period pain and exercise."
Hannon added that the data showed that women who had received some education were much less likely to decrease their exercise participation during puberty, which she called "the time when so many girls and young women stop playing sport."
"We're determined to use our platform to highlight how a lack of education and discussion is preventing healthy futures for tomorrow's everyday athletes and future champions," she added.
