Quitting smoking during the second half of the menstrual cycle may help women kick the habit

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Nearly every woman will acknowledge that her menstrual cycle affects her mood and behavior. An estimated 85% of women experience premenstrual syndrome one to two weeks before her period, which may include moodiness, anxiety, irritability, or food cravings along with physical symptoms such as bloating and breast tenderness. Studies suggest that women are more likely to engage in addictive behaviors, such as cigarette smoking, in the first half of the menstrual cycle, that is the time between the start of your period and ovulation. The underlying reason is thought to be that the hormone estradiol (a form of estrogen) is higher in the first half of the menstrual cycle, and it promotes addictive behaviors such as smoking and relapse from quitting. In the second half of the menstrual cycle, the hormone progesterone is higher, and this protects against smoking and relapse.
Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania studied a group of women who wanted to quit smoking. They used a special type of MRI, called functional MRI (fMRI) to follow the activity in the parts of the brain that help control addictive behavior and tracked this activity throughout the course of the menstrual cycle. They found that in the first half of the menstrual cycle (the follicular phase, as the egg matures but before ovulation) there was less activity in brain regions that helps make good decisions and in the reward center. Conversely, thes...

Source: New Harvard Health Information - July 21, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Hope Ricciotti, MD Tags: Addiction Behavioral Health Prevention Smoking cessation Women's Health Source Type: news