Shopping urge explained
That sudden desire we get to go on a mass spending spree every now and then could be explained thanks to a psychologist who says that it’s all down to the time of the month.
Professor Karen Pine, from the University of Hertfordshire, carried out a study, asking 443 women aged 18-50 about their spending habits. She found that almost two-thirds of the 153 women who were in the later stages of their period – known as the luteal phase – admitted to having bought something on impulse. And more than half said they had overspent by £25.
She concluded that shopping is a way of dealing with the negative emotions caused by hormonal changes – supporting the notion of retail therapy.
Professor Pine says: "Spending was less controlled, more impulsive and more excessive for women in the luteal phase.”
"The spending behaviour tends to be a reaction to intense emotions. They are feeling stressed or depressed and are more likely to go shopping to cheer themselves up and using it to regulate their emotions."
Another theory from research carried out by others suggests that women buy items such as high heels and accessories to make themselves feel more attractive at a time when they are bound to feel more bloated than normal. Pine says this is known as an “ornamental effect” around the time of ovulation.
Pine will present her findings later this week at a British Psychological Society meeting in Brighton.