Your body's hormones are quite sneaky. Even if you don't know when you're ovulating, your body does. And it has ways of making that known to those around you.
Ovulation is the process where your body releases one or more eggs from your ovaries. Just like you learned in health class, if the egg is fertilized and implants successfully, you're pregnant. If you miss this ovulation window, you can't get pregnant. Find out more about signs you're ovulating.
The two main sex hormones in women, estrogen and progesterone, can cause some crazy cool things to happen. Even if you're not looking to conceive, being aware of your ovulation signs will help you understand your menstrual cycle better.
Here are some examples of weird things that happen when you ovulate that you've likely never noticed.
- You have a crazy sense of smell, taste or sight.
That smell at the bakery is making your mouth water. For some women, heightened senses can be a sign of ovulation. For example, you may have a more sensitive sense of smell in the latter half of your cycle. - You blush.
No cosmetic blush needed this time of the month. A study from the University of Glasgow found that women's skin is pinker and blushes more when we're fertile. That's courtesy of the increasing levels of the hormone estradiol. The hormone peaks at ovulation, sending blood to your face's thin skin. - Your voice gets higher.
Suddenly an opera singer? You unconsciously speak in a higher register when you're most fertile. You do that to make you sound more feminine and attractive. - You may feel sexier.
You're sexy and you know it. Research from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management found that women were more likely to buy sexier clothing while ovulating compared to any other time of the month. This could be a subconscious effort to attract the best romantic partner, scientists say. Another study, published in the Psychological Record, suggests that the closer you are to ovulation, the more makeup you wear. You do so to increase your attractiveness in hopes of landing a mate. Along these lines, you may wear more revealing clothing—again, to attract a mate's attention and outdo other women who may be in competition, the study found. - You're more likely to flirt with others.
A study found that women in relationships with men that they rated pretty low on an attractiveness scale were found more likely to flirt with other men during their most fertile days. - You start a diet.
Diets aren't just for bikini and reunion season. A study published by the National Science Foundation found that women are more motivated to lose weight around the time they're ovulating. Researchers speculate it comes from wanting to look our best to attract a mate. Women not at their fertile time or who were on hormonal birth control showed no such monthly calorie fluctuations in the study. - You're more likely to wear red or pink.
Bring on the scarlet hues. A study from the University of British Columbia found that women are more likely to wear pink or red clothing when they're ovulating. It's thought that women subconsciously choose bright colors to bring attention to themselves, because they're feeling sexiest. - You may be meaner than normal.
Mean Girls anyone? A study by the University of Texas shows that women are more inclined to be meaner, more selfish and more competitive with other women during ovulation. On the flip side, they're nicer to men. - You're feeling frisky.
Multiple studies have found that a woman's libido increases around ovulation. It makes sense. It's the time when we're most fertile, and it's our body's way of increasing the likelihood that we try to have a baby. - You're more open to the idea of sexual fantasies.
A study from the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior found that women were more open to the idea of one-night stands, sex with an acquaintance and other adventurous sex ideas when they're ovulating.
