From the Menstrual Cycle to the Mindfulness Cycle: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Association Between Menstruation and Meditation

From the Menstrual Cycle to the Mindfulness Cycle: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Association Between Menstruation and Meditation - From the Menstrual to the Mindfulness Cycle

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

DRKS

Registry ID

DRKS00038610

Enrollment

195

Registered

2025-12-10

Start date

2026-03-11

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-04-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Only healthy participants aged 18–45 with a regular menstrual cycle are included. Potential existing (pre-)menstrual symptoms are assessed.

Interventions

Group 1: The intervention group completes a four-week meditation course twice over the course of eight weeks, starting on the individual first day of the menstrual cycle (first day of bleeding). The c

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

Female

Age

18 Years to 45 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: • Legal adulthood • Menstrual cycle length between 21 and 35 days • Individuals with a natural menstrual cycle who are not taking any medications that affect hormonal regulation (e.g., contraceptives) • Ability to use a mobile device

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: • Participation in a course that provided instruction in daily mindfulness practice within the past 6 months • Current pregnancy and/or breastfeeding within the past 3 months

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
The primary endpoint is: Does mindfulness increase to a greater extent in the intervention group compared to the active control group and the waitlist control group? This will be assessed using the following online questionnaire: • Mindfulness: Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-D) (Michalak et al., 2016).	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
The secondary endpoints comprise changes in body awareness, psychological well-being, quality of life, positive and negative menstrual changes, and coping with these changes, which will be evaluated using the following online questionnaires: • Questions on participants’ menstrual cycle: based on the Reproductive Status Questionnaire (RSQ) by Schmalenberger et al. (2021). • Premenstrual symptoms: screening of positive and negative premenstrual changes, following Kues et al. (2018). • Coping with premenstrual changes: Premenstrual Change Coping Inventory (PMS-Cope) (Kaiser et al., 2018). • Psychological well-being: WHO-5 (Brähler et al., 2007). • Life satisfaction: Short Scale of Life Satisfaction-1 (Beierlein et al., 2014). • Interoceptive awareness: Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) (Mehling et al., 2018).	—

Measure

Time frame

The secondary endpoints comprise changes in body awareness, psychological well-being, quality of life, positive and negative menstrual changes, and coping with these changes, which will be evaluated using the following online questionnaires: • Questions on participants’ menstrual cycle: based on the Reproductive Status Questionnaire (RSQ) by Schmalenberger et al. (2021). • Premenstrual symptoms: screening of positive and negative premenstrual changes, following Kues et al. (2018). • Coping with premenstrual changes: Premenstrual Change Coping Inventory (PMS-Cope) (Kaiser et al., 2018). • Psychological well-being: WHO-5 (Brähler et al., 2007). • Life satisfaction: Short Scale of Life Satisfaction-1 (Beierlein et al., 2014). • Interoceptive awareness: Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) (Mehling et al., 2018).

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Countries

Germany

Outcome results

None listed

Source: DRKS (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: May 1, 2026