Each month, about two weeks before your period is due, your body prepares for a possible pregnancy through ovulation, a process in which an egg is released from an ovary into the fallopian tubes, where it can be fertilized by sperm. Your estrogen level peaks during this time, and progesterone begins to spike, but these hormonal surges not only affect your reproductive system, they affect your behavior as well. Read on for some surprising weird things that happen to your body and brain during ovulation.

14 weird things that happen to you while you're ovulating

You may have already noticed some strange things, and others, when reading this article, you will realize and know that it was all due to ovulation. Yes, being a woman seems to be the same as hormones, although we should not take it literally because we can control our emotions and know that everything is biochemical.

Your sense of smell is sharper

Women are more sensitive to smell at the time of ovulation, according to a study published in Hormones and Behavior.

In particular, women who ovulated were more sensitive to androstenone and androsterone, human pheromones found in male sweat and urine, as well as a musky odor, compared to women taking birth control pills (and therefore did not ovulate).

A heightened sense of smell may help you sniff out a potential mate during this time of peak fertility.

Your radar is at its highest

When college students were asked to look at photos of 80 men, half of whom were heterosexual and half homosexual, and determined the sexual orientation of each, they were more accurate the closer they were to ovulation, according to a study of Psychological Science.

Previous studies have also shown that women's preferences for men's faces vary by cycle, so it makes sense that their 'radar' will also vary with these hormonal changes.

You're a little redder

Your skin color changes very slightly throughout your menstrual cycle, according to a study from the University of Cambridge. When women were photographed without makeup at the same time every day for a month, they had more facial redness at ovulation.

These changes are so small that the human eye doesn't really detect them, but researchers suspect they may be related to other changes in appearance or behavior, as other studies have found that men rate women as more attractive when they have ovulation.

Your voice changes during ovulation

One of the strange things that you may have already noticed while ovulating is that your tone of voice changes. Women wear a more feminine tone when ovulating, according to a UCLA study.

A higher tone of voice is associated with being younger (and therefore more fertile), which may help explain why a previous study in Human Evolution and Behavior found that women's voices were rated as more attractive during ovulation.

“We also found that women show many behavioral changes during ovulation, including dressing and walking differently, which when combined can be the way women inadvertently reveal their fertility status.

You dress to impress

Speaking of dressing: Ovulating women are more likely to choose revealing clothing, according to a University of Texas study, and a previous UCLA study found that people were more likely to rate women in their most fertile phase as "Trying to look more attractive" compared to women after ovulation.

As if those offers of attention weren't enough, other studies have found that women are more likely to wear pink or red clothes during their most fertile window, with the idea that men are sexually attracted to women who wear red.

You may find it easier to quit smoking

Women experience their most intense cigarette cravings right after their period, according to a study that measured brain activity in men and women who were shown neutral images related to smoking.

"Low levels of estrogen and progesterone may worsen withdrawal symptoms by interacting with other brain neurotransmitters that stimulate cravings.

In contrast, women's brains reacted much less to smoking-related cues right after ovulation, when both hormones are at their peak.

Your asthma can improve

Do you have wheezing? You will most likely improve a day or two around ovulation.

When the researchers recorded the symptoms of nearly 4,000 women over the course of their menstrual cycles, they found that while wheezing and shortness of breath were highest during the middle two weeks of the month (when estrogen levels are naturally high), both symptoms decreased in ovulation time (days 14 to 16).

"We see this anecdotally as well, so it makes sense that a woman should talk to her allergist about individualizing her asthma treatments in her menstrual cycle, Asthma and Immunology.

Your cholesterol starts to drop

If you need to control your cholesterol, don't do it before ovulation. That's when it's at its highest, according to a National Institutes of Health study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Researchers found that women's total cholesterol levels rose in the first half of their cycle as estrogens rose, fell immediately before ovulation, and then fell rapidly after ovulation, in the second half of the cycle.

Testing at the end of your cycle, when your levels are at their lowest, reduces the risk of a false positive result.

You are drawn to go for it

You probably won't be surprised to see yourself browsing dating groups when you're ovulating, as this is your most fertile time. But surprisingly, you do the same when you shop, too.

When researchers surveyed women in their 20s and 30s who weren't pregnant or taking hormonal birth control, they found that women were more likely to try a new product, from makeup to candy bars, when they were ovulating.

"We didn't see this among women who were already in a committed relationship, who were more likely to say they were with the same partner and the same brands.

Your vote can swing

“We found that single women were more likely to relax their views on politics and religion when they were ovulating, possibly because their sexual desire intensified during this time.

Couple women, however, were another story entirely, becoming more religious and conservative during this time. "We're not sure why, but it could be that their increased libido made them feel guilty, especially if they fantasized about men they weren't involved.

You become more competitive with other women

During also discovered that women who are close to ovulation are much more interested in raising their status compared to other women.

In a study, researchers had women who ovulated and did not ovulate and play the "dictator's game," where they were given a set amount of money to share with other women.

Women who ovulated shared only half as much as those who did not ovulate. Not only that, when men were added to the game, women who ovulated gave 60% to boys, in contrast to 25% to women.

"This is consistent with other research that has been done in animals,". "Female monkeys, for example, all behave like real housewives when they are in their best fertile state."

You don't take your dad into account

Women who ovulate are half as likely to talk to their parents and half as often as they talk to them, while calls to mom increase in both frequency and duration.

You may unconsciously not want your dad to lecture you on your love life and to exert any kind of control over you in your most fertile time. Or, as the study researchers darkly predict: it's an evolutionary defense against inbreeding.

You choose "bad guys"

Not only are you more likely to choose Shia LeBoeuf-type men during ovulation, you're also more likely to convince yourself that they will be a dedicated father and provider, according to research.

In a study, women were shown online dating profiles of a reliable charismatic “nice guy” at different times in their menstrual cycle, and then asked to rate how helpful they thought they would be in caring for the baby, shopping for food, cooking and helping with other household chores.

“We found that when women were under the hormonal influence of ovulation, they were basically fooling themselves into thinking that the sexy bad boy type would be better than the most reliable.

Your boy gets more jealous

Research has long shown that women gravitate toward "masculine"-looking men during ovulation - think strong jaw lines and thin lips.

Men whose female partners were ovulating rated other men with male characteristics as more dominant (someone who seemed like they could “get what they wanted”), compared to men whose partner was on birth control or who were not close to it. ovulation.

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