A new study has shown how the female sex hormones significantly affect how women problem solve.

Women find it easier to navigate at that time of the month, new Canadian research suggests.

The research, published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, shows that this may be thanks to the hormones that trigger the menstrual cycle.

"Women have sometimes reported to doctors that their memory works differently depending on which phase of the menstrual cycle they are in, " said psychology professor Wayne Brake from Concorida Univeristy in Montreal, Canada.

Prof Brake says the hormones estrogen and progesterone influence a woman's problem-solving skills.

"Our research shows that, rather than impairing memory in general, estrogen and progesterone may instead cause the brain to favour one memory system or strategy over another, " he said.

For the study, researchers tested 45 women who had regular menstrual cycles.

All participants were given a verbal memory task, such as remembering a list of words, as well as a virtual navigation task, such as finding their way through a maze in a video game, that could be solved in several ways.

The results were clear. Women who were ovulating - when estrogen levels peak - performed better on the verbal memory task. Women tested in their pre-menstrual phase - when both estrogen and progesterone are low - were better at solving spatial navigation tasks.

That proves that women tend to use different strategies to solve tasks depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle, say the authors.

Essentially, the study shows that the hormonal changes women experience throughout their cycles have a broader impact than previously believed, and have significant effects on how women approach and solve problems.

"This is important scientifically. We and others have previously shown that the levels of estrogen and progesterone in rodents influence different brain regions, affecting various memory systems involved in task-solving," said Brake.

The authors hope their research highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the female brain and the effects of the sex hormones on cognition and memory.