Women athletes and coaches have long discussed the impact of the menstrual cycle on athletic performance. Most female athletes seek for peak performance. In this regard, understanding the possible influence of menstruation and hormonal fluctuations on endurance is crucial while composing a plan for an athlete.
Question 1
The choice of the issue is dictated by its necessity to examine more details such as the effects during different age and performance levels. This very study intends to establish the menstrual impact during the prolonged exercise performance, which depends on the menstrual phase. In general, the cycle includes the follicular and luteal phases. The hormones level during the cycle with estrogen and progesterone involved determines athlete’s endurance. For example, the study by Lebrun et al. demonstrates improved performance during the low hormone (follicular) phase (2013).
Question 2
As my study primarily concerns prolonged performance, I would select female athletes at different age and athletic levels as population to investigate. I would request to complete questionnaires constituted of questions related to their menstrual cycle. I would also perform a test to evaluate physical and psychological characteristics.
Question 3
The study would examine performance at various age and athletic level. Additionally, it would investigate the regularity of the menstrual cycle and measure hormone level to reduce error. The focus on the specific activity would enable avoiding variations. However, it is impossible to keep all the external factors to the minimum. For example, the mid-luteal phase negatively affects the endurance due to temperature elevation. Therefore, such conditions as heat and humidity would aggravate performance (Jonge 2003). Another weakness of the study refers to the individuality of female athletes.
Question 4
I expect the study would demonstrate the link between the menstrual cycle and athletes’ endurance. Even though various conditions may intervene and influence the results, I suppose the number of women athletes affected by the menstruation cycle would be higher. In this respect, the study would underline the role of hormones during performance.
Question 5
Considering the alternate hypothesis, a null hypothesis would refer to the contrary suggestion. According to the null hypothesis, the menstruation cycle does not influence athletes’ performance. The level of estrogen and progesterone does not affect the endurance in any way.
Question 6
I also considered an additional hypothesis, which refers to genetic predisposition. However, I did not include it due to any obvious evidence for the aforementioned influence. Moreover, the menstrual cycle depends mainly on the style of life and activity. Another hypothesis may consider female athletes with menstrual disorders.
Question 7
There exists a variety of ways to analyze data with some forms centering on numbers, and others focusing primarily on observations. Considering the collected information, I would chose odds ratio to compare the results of different groups. This type of analysis would enable proper hypothesis testing. I would perform an odds ratio Chi-square test to access such characteristics as the regularity of the menstrual cycle and endurance. Since the study incorporates two different outcomes, odds ratio would allow to reduce bias.
Question 8
Hypothesis testing would identify the level of evidence and enable indicating an actual claim either rejecting the hypothesis (null) or supporting it (alternate). However, two types of errors may occur. Specifically, the first type of error would mean detecting the influence of the menstruation that is not present, while the second one may refer to the failure to reject the impact. Moreover, after testing the value of impact could be equal. In this case, I would increase the probability of the second type error to enlarge the power of the test.
Conclusion
In overall, the study would provide a deeper insight into the influence of the menstrual cycle on athletes’ performance. The investigation would involve female athletes at different age and athletic level. The study would focus only on running to reduce possible variations. Additionally, hypothesis testing would be conducted to identify the evidence of the menstrual effect.
References
Lebrun, C., Joyce, S., & Constantini, N. (2013). Effects of Female Reproductive Hormones on Sports Performance (Second ed.). New York: Springer Science Business Science.
Jonge, X. (2003). Effects of the Menstrual Cycle on Exercise Performance. Sports Medicine, 33(11), 833-851.
References
Dietary Reference: Applications in Dietary Assessment, Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. (2000). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Kampourakis, K. (2013). The philosophy of biology a companion for educators. Dordrecht: Springer.
Plomin, R., DeFries, J., McClearn, G., & McGuffi, P. (2008). Behavioral genetics (5th ed.). New York: Worth.
Ruffin, N. J. (2009, May 1). Understanding Growth and Development Patterns of Infant. Virginia Cooperative Extension: Knowledge for the Common Wealth. Retrieved from http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/350/350-055/350-055.html
