9 Questions Men Have For Women Answered By Science

9. So, What IS The Deal With PMS?

Ever noticed that, for around a week out of every month, the women in your life seem to ... change? PMS is totally natural but, unlike other natural things such as kittens and organic orange juice, it is neither cute nor delicious. In fact, it's a total pain in the uterus. From a science perspective, PMS is the result of hormonal flux in period peeps. Men's hormonal levels tend to stay pretty stable, but for people who get periods, it is constantly cycling through and creating a pantomime-hellscape of moods. If you want something to compare it to, the effects of PMS on hormones and neurotransmitters such as serotonin, endorphins, adrenaline and gamma-aminobutyric acid could be compared to that of a disastrously bad hangover. But for a week. There are two main culprits: Oestrogen and progesterone. Surprisingly, it's not so much a case of "my hormones are making me moody" as "I don't have enough oestrogen to tolerate this at the moment". You can think of oestrogen as a sort of "whatever you want, honey" hormone. It maintains the release of serotonin in the system and makes you more tolerant, patient and generally zen. When progesterone takes over for a good old period sesh, those barriers get let down and suddenly every little emotion and annoyance that would usually be inhibited by serotonin gets let out. This combined with the physical symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, stomach cramps and malaise might cause the lady in your life to snap at you for leaving your pants on the floor.