When it comes to menstruation, a woman’s hormones are in a constant state of flux to result in new changes every day of your cycle – and a number of them have a serious effect on your sex life, too.
By knowing what you and your body are going through, you can be better prepared to deal with what’s to come, and also to reap the sexual benefits the whole way through. What follows is a chronological breakdown of the 3 week cycle that will help you master your menses!
Week 1
Make Time for Make-up Sex
Your peaking fertility in the first week of your menstrual cycle will make him more possessive and you more assertive, according to evolutionary psychology. This is the perfect mix when it comes to tiff-causing tensions in the relationship, but not to worry, because this is the same week you’re easier to become sexually aroused, making some mind-blowing make-up sex more than likely.
Sexy Sounds
In the first days of your cycle you may experience a hoarser than usual voice, meaning you can really commit to some Kathleen Turner levels of dirty talk during sex!
While menstruation’s effect on voice has been studied quite a bit, there is no clear reasoning for this – it just happens. Fun fact; many professional singers have ‘grace days’ included in their performance contracts for just this very reason.
Week 2
Burnin’ Up
The increase in your levels of estrogen can cause you to burn off more fat than usual during your trips to the gym, according to a review in Current Opinion in Pharmacology. The effect is strongest two days before you start ovulating, so make the most of this time by cranking up your cardio and presenting yourself in your favorite lingerie.
Craving the Strong, Secure Type
Your unconscious emphasis on reproduction will have you liking a certain kind of man this week, namely muscle-y manly men, and the healthier their stock portfolio, the better.
Again this comes down to Evo Psych, as a masculine fella with a strong jawline has some choice genetic material to pass on, and if he’s got the bank to boot, he can provide for your shared offspring – both of which you might find yourself responding to.
Your Gaydar Pings Perfectly
According to a study in Psychological Science, your peak time for procreation coincides with your precise ability to figure out if he’s straight or not. The reasoning here again comes down to evolutionary psychology, which posits that you’re more open than ever to cues and clues as to whether or not a man is into you.
Let Your Hormones Do the Shopping
When you’re ovulating, you’ll find that you’re extra-competitive, increasingly extroverted and likely to wear revealing clothes that stands out from other women. Not only this, but you may find yourself opening your purse to buy things you would have walked right passed the week before. These findings are actually from the Journal of Consumer Research, which is equal parts fascinating and terrifying, if you ask us.
DAY 14: THE BEST SEX OF YOUR CYCLE
This is enough to add to your calendar every month for years to come; according to Italian researchers and published in a recent edition of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, on or around the 14th day of your cycle is when your clitoris grows about twenty percent bigger than its normal size. Not only is it larger, it is more sensitive, which drastically up your chances of becoming fully aroused.
Week 3
Tossin’ & Turnin’
As your heightened estrogen levels from the previous two weeks are being replaced with progesterone (which your body produces to facilitate the pregnancy it is absolutely certain will happen this time, as it is every month), you might be experiencing lighter or harder-to-come-by sleeping patterns, according to the International Journal of Endocrinology. While you could use this extra awake time counting sheep, wouldn’t a full-body massage from your partner be an even better idea? (Our wand-style massagers have you covered if there aren’t a pair of helpful hands around.)
Things get decidedly less sexy from here, but hey, take heart in the fact that the cycle begins anew for the next month – so make the most of it!