How women experience, interpret, and respond to daily fluctuations in wellbeing.

Executive summary

Existing research suggests that women spend a greater portion of their lives in poor health compared to men, highlighting substantial unmet needs in how women's health is understood and addressed (McKinsey Health Institute, 2024). Conditions associated with hormonal and physiological changes, including premenstrual symptoms, migraine, and depressive symptoms, contribute significantly to this burden.

While many of these challenges are linked to hormonal and physiological factors, this study focuses specifically on everyday fluctuations in wellbeing. In particular, it examines how women interpret and respond to periods of "not feeling their best," with an emphasis on daily experiences rather than clinical diagnosis.

Findings suggest that women are already trying to manage how they feel, frequently reflecting on possible causes and practicing a range of coping strategies such as journaling, talking to others, searching for information, and lifestyle adjustments. Over half of participants reported taking action within the past week to improve or better understand how they felt. However, effort does not consistently translate into understanding, predictability, or reliable relief, and using a greater number of coping strategies was not associated with better perceived outcomes.

Structured approaches that support pattern recognition, such as tracking tools, were associated with relatively favorable perceived effectiveness but remain underutilized. While reflective approaches like journaling and talking to someone are widely used and often perceived as helpful, many participants report ongoing uncertainty about underlying causes and difficulty identifying which actions work reliably over time. Participants frequently describe wanting clearer explanations for why they feel the way they do, as well as greater confidence in anticipating changes in how they might feel in the future.

Together, the findings suggest that women are already investing substantial effort in managing daily fluctuations in wellbeing, but may benefit from additional forms of support that enable clearer interpretation of patterns in how they feel and more effective responses over time.

About this research

In February 2026, Saela conducted a structured consumer survey of 250 women in the United States to better understand how individual women experience, interpret, and respond to everyday fluctuations in their physical and mental state. The survey was distributed through Pollfish, a consumer research platform backed by Prodege's first-party audience panel, and targeted female respondents aged 18 and older.

Many women experience periods in which they do not feel physically or mentally at their best. These experiences may include fluctuations in energy, focus, mood, or general wellbeing. While a range of coping strategies exist, less is known about how individuals actually respond to these experiences in everyday life, and whether the strategies they use support meaningful understanding and relief.

The survey consisted of 16 questions examining frequency of fluctuations in how participants feel, how participants interpret these fluctuations, what actions they take to improve or understand how they feel, perceived effectiveness of the strategies they used, thoughts on anticipating future fluctuations, and what they would want to be different in order to better support them.

This research focuses on collecting subjective experiences of "not feeling one's best" rather than clinical diagnosis, in order to better understand how individual women interpret and respond to everyday variability in wellbeing. The survey did not directly assess hormonal or cycle-related factors, and findings should therefore be interpreted as reflecting general wellbeing experiences rather than hormone-specific insights. In this report, wellbeing refers to a holistic state encompassing physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning, as well as an individual's perceived ability to navigate daily life with a sense of balance and capability (Dodge et al., 2012).

As many women continue to navigate changing relationships between challenges and available resources, gaps remain in broader research on women's health outcomes. Large-scale institutional analyses, including work by the McKinsey Health Institute in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, have found that women spend approximately 25% more of their lives in poor health compared to men, suggesting substantial unmet needs in how health is understood and addressed (McKinsey Health Institute, 2024). Additional research from Deloitte's Women @ Work reports highlights the impact of health-related challenges on workplace experience and productivity (Deloitte, 2024; Deloitte, 2025). While these studies provide population-level insight, they do not capture how individuals make sense of day-to-day fluctuations in how they feel or what strategies they use in response in order to maintain their wellbeing.

This survey aims to complement existing research by examining women's lived experience of managing everyday variability in wellbeing, with particular attention to how individuals attempt to understand patterns in how they feel and identify strategies that provide meaningful support.

Limitations. The sample size of 250 corresponds to an estimated margin of error of approximately ±6.2% at the 95% confidence level. Participants were recruited through a mobile-based Pollfish panel and consist of U.S.-based women aged 25 to 39 who are digitally active, predominantly urban, and English-speaking. As a result, the sample is skewed toward individuals who regularly engage with mobile platforms, while underrepresenting those with lower digital access, from rural areas, or outside this age range. Findings should therefore be interpreted as representative of this specific segment rather than women more broadly.

While this limits generalizability, the sample remains relevant for understanding the behaviors and needs of digitally engaged users, who represent the primary audience for mobile health tools. In addition, the survey relied on subjective language such as "not quite your best" to capture self-assessed wellbeing. This phrasing may introduce variability in how participants interpret and report fluctuations in their physical or emotional state. These limitations are taken into account when interpreting the findings presented in this report.

Key findings

Fluctuations in wellbeing are common and may prompt active reflection

To begin with, 67% of participants report feeling physically or cognitively "not quite their best" for some, most, or nearly all of a typical day. We analyzed the relationship between feeling unwell and how often participants wonder why they feel unwell.

A chi-square test shows a strong and statistically significant association between the frequency of feeling unwell and the frequency of wondering why (χ² = 118.6, df = 16, p < 0.001), suggesting that individuals who feel unwell more often are also more likely to reflect on the reasons behind their condition.

Participants who reported more frequent discomfort were also more likely to reflect on why they felt the way they did. Prior research suggests that when individuals notice changes in their bodily or emotional states, they often attempt to form explanations in order to better understand potential causes and implications (Leventhal, Meyer, & Nerenz, 1980).

Reasoning is often followed by taking action

Individuals who more frequently reflect on their experiences are more likely to report recent attempts to address how they feel. Over half of participants (50.8%) reported taking action within the past week. Among those who reported recent action-taking, the majority also reported at least sometimes wondering why they feel the way they do, indicating a strong relationship between reasoning and behavioral changes.

A chi-square test was conducted to examine the relationship between reflection frequency and recency of action-taking. The results indicate a statistically significant association (χ² = 36.2, df = 12, p < 0.001), suggesting that individuals who reflect more frequently on how they feel are also more likely to report having taken recent action.

Individuals use a wide range of coping strategies

To better understand how individuals respond when they do not feel their best, participants were asked which actions they had taken to improve or better understand how they were feeling. Participants were asked to select multiple strategies. Results show that individuals rely on a broad set of coping mechanisms, and the most practiced ones are informal and self-directed.

Reflective and social approaches, such as journaling and talking to someone, are the most commonly reported strategies. Many participants also rely on information-seeking behaviors, including online search and AI tools. The use of digital tools for health-related information seeking aligns with broader trends in AI and online information use (Pew Research Center, 2024).

Structured approaches, such as tracking tools, show low adoption (11.6%), despite relatively positive feedback among users. This pattern suggests that low adoption may not be solely driven by perceived usefulness, and could reflect potential barriers such as effort, usability, or awareness, which were not directly measured in this survey.

Trying more coping strategies is not necessarily associated with better perceived outcomes

Because participants were not asked to rate the effectiveness of each strategy individually, relative effectiveness was estimated by comparing overall effectiveness scores between participants who reported using each strategy and those who did not.

The results do not show a clear relationship between the number of strategies used and perceived effectiveness. Participants who reported trying more approaches did not consistently report better outcomes, and in some cases reported slightly worse results.

This pattern suggests that individuals may try multiple strategies when their needs remain unmet. Rather than indicating successful problem-solving, a higher number of coping strategies may reflect ongoing difficulty identifying approaches that reliably improve how they feel. Together with findings in Section 3.3, these results suggest that effort alone is not associated with clarity or consistent relief when individuals lack sufficient support for understanding the underlying patterns shaping their experiences.

Structured approaches show relatively higher effectiveness but remain underutilized

To better understand which approaches may provide meaningful support, we compared strategy usage rates with relative effectiveness scores.

An independent-samples t-test showed that participants who reported "pushing through discomfort" had significantly worse perceived outcomes (M = 3.17) compared to those who did not use this strategy (M = 2.52), t = 5.42, p < .001. This difference is statistically significant, although it reflects an association rather than a causal effect.

Strategies in the upper-left quadrant (high effectiveness, low adoption) suggest an opportunity gap. The data does not explain why the majority of participants (88.4%) do not use tracking tools. This represents a critical gap in the analysis, particularly given its importance for product and design decisions. The survey does not capture potential barriers to adoption, which may include lack of awareness, trust or privacy concerns, usability challenges, cost, skepticism about effectiveness, or disengagement over time. Understanding these barriers is essential for translating perceived effectiveness into real-world usage and impact, and should be a priority for future research.

Coping strategies vary across life stages, but effort levels remain similar

We explored whether coping strategies and perceived effectiveness vary across demographic groups, including age and employment status. Differences across groups are generally small in magnitude and should be interpreted as descriptive rather than statistically significant unless otherwise noted.

The age-based analysis in this study is limited to participants aged 25 to 39 and does not reflect the full age range of the broader 18+ sample. As a result, the findings do not capture potential differences among younger (e.g., 18 to 24) or older (e.g., 40+) women, whose experiences and needs may differ.

Across age groups, participants report using a similar number of coping strategies, suggesting broadly consistent motivation to improve how they feel. However, differences emerge in perceived effectiveness and variability of outcomes.

Participants aged 25 to 29 report greater variability in how they feel and somewhat lower perceived effectiveness. Participants aged 30 to 34 show the lowest variability in effectiveness scores, indicating more consistent outcomes. Participants aged 35 to 39 show somewhat greater variation again, suggesting greater variability in reported experiences within this group.

Employment context. Participants who are employed report similar numbers of coping strategies compared to those who are not employed, but higher perceived effectiveness and lower variability in outcomes. Working participants show somewhat higher use of action-oriented strategies such as supplements or professional support, while non-employed participants report higher use of reflective approaches such as journaling or conversational support.

Many individuals report ongoing frustration and unmet needs

Participants were asked what they found most frustrating when they were not feeling their best (select up to two). The most frequently reported frustrations relate not only to the experience of discomfort itself, but also to gaps in understanding, validation, and clarity.

These findings suggest that the challenge is not limited to the experience of discomfort itself, but also relates to difficulty interpreting and communicating that experience. Participants appear to experience tension between the expectation to manage how they feel and uncertainty about the causes or appropriate responses.

Prior research similarly highlights challenges women report when discussing health-related concerns in workplace contexts (Deloitte, 2025), suggesting that difficulties in obtaining understanding or support may extend beyond individual coping strategies.

Notably, relatively fewer participants identify barriers related to access to care or treatment. Instead, responses more often emphasize uncertainty about causes and difficulty identifying what may help. This pattern suggests that individuals may be seeking greater clarity and confidence in understanding their experiences, alongside practical ways to respond when they are not feeling their best.

Participants report ongoing gaps in understanding and predictability

Open-ended responses suggest that many participants continue to experience difficulty understanding why they feel the way they do, even after trying multiple coping strategies. Common themes include uncertainty about underlying causes, limited clarity regarding which approaches are most effective, and challenges maintaining consistent routines over time.

Findings further indicate limited predictability in how participants expect to feel in the future. While 29.6% report planning ahead fairly often, the majority either take things day by day (37.6%) or plan only loosely when needed (23.6%), suggesting uncertainty in anticipating future states.

Taken together, the findings suggest that many individuals are already actively trying to care for themselves through reflection, social support, and lifestyle adjustments. However, these efforts do not always translate into a clear understanding of patterns in how they feel or which responses are most effective.

Without sufficient interpretive clarity, it may be difficult to anticipate changes in wellbeing or respond with confidence. As a result, coping efforts may remain primarily reactive, and improvements may feel inconsistent rather than reliable.

Overall, the findings suggest that individuals may benefit not from more coping strategies alone, but from greater support in understanding patterns, anticipating changes, and identifying responses that work more reliably over time.

Effort alone does not produce clarity

Across findings, women are actively engaged in trying to manage fluctuations in how they feel. Participants frequently report reflecting on their experiences, searching for explanations, and experimenting with a range of coping strategies.

However, this effort does not consistently translate into clearer understanding or greater predictability. Many individuals rely on informal or reactive approaches that may provide temporary relief but do not always help them recognize patterns over time.

Without a clearer sense of what influences how they feel, it can be difficult to anticipate changes or select responses with confidence. As a result, coping efforts remain largely situational rather than cumulative, requiring individuals to repeatedly experiment rather than build reliable knowledge about what works for them. These findings align with broader evidence highlighting persistent gaps in women's health outcomes, despite increasing recognition of their impact on wellbeing and participation in daily activities (McKinsey Health Institute, 2024).

Taken together, the findings suggest that individuals may benefit from forms of support that help them better interpret recurring patterns in how they feel, anticipate potential changes, and identify responses that are more consistently effective over time.

Importantly, the findings do not suggest a lack of motivation. Rather, women appear to be investing substantial effort in managing their wellbeing, often without access to tools that help translate experience into clear understanding and consistently effective responses.