Whether it’s bloating, anxiety or trouble sleeping, many women experience symptoms in the weeks leading up to their period, collectively known as premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Now, a study claims that living near green space could help to tackle these irritating symptoms.
Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that women living in neighbourhoods with more green spaces were less likely to experience four key PMS symptoms – anxiety, depression, trouble sleeping and bloating.
While the reason for the link remains unclear, the team hopes the findings will encourage further research.
‘More and more studies have shown that green space is beneficial to our health,’ said Dr Payam Dadvand, co-ordinator of the research.
‘However, in many cities we don’t have enough of it, or it is not close to where the population lives. City officials should therefore prioritise natural environments as essential for our health.’
A study claims that living near green space could help to tackle irritating PMS symptoms for women (stock image)
In the study, the researchers set out to understand whether living near urban green space could have a beneficial effect against PMS symptoms.
They collected data from more than 1,000 women aged 18-49 living in Norway and Sweden, including questionnaires on their lifestyle, physical activity and reproductive health.
The women were also asked whether they experienced any of the eight most common PMS symptoms – irritability, anxiety, tearfulness or increased sensitivity, depression, difficulty sleeping, abdominal pain, breast tenderness or abdominal bloating, and headaches.
Meanwhile, the team collected data on the women’s neighbourhoods, including their distance to green space and exposure to air pollution, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10).
An analysis of the data revealed that women living in neighbourhoods with more green space were less likely to experience four of the PMS symptoms – anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping, and breast tenderness or abdominal bloating.
Dr Nadvand said: ‘When we looked at exposure to green space at a specific point in time, the analysis did not yield any significant results.
An analysis of the data revealed that women living in neighbourhoods with more green space were less likely to experience four of the PMS symptoms – anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping, and breast tenderness or abdominal bloating (stock image)
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‘Our research therefore underscores the importance of long-term exposure to green space, which is where benefits against PMS symptoms were found.’
While previous research has suggested that green spaces may be linked with increased physical activity and decreased exposure to air pollution, this new study did not find a mediatory role for either of these factors.
Instead, the researchers suggest that access to green space may reduce stress, whiich in turn may reduce PMS symptoms.
Dr Kai Triebner, lead author of the study, added: ‘Three of the four symptoms that improved with exposure to green space were psychological, which is consistent with what we already knew: contact with nature helps to reduce stress and improve mental health.
‘Stress can worsen PMS symptoms and increase levels of the hormone cortisol, which, in turn, could be associated with an increased release of progesterone, which has been linked to the occurrence of PMS symptoms.’
Source: Daily Mail
