I didn’t drop the glass pot–thanks to my hormones!

My Hormonology

I didn’t drop the glass pot–thanks to my hormones!

crackI’m not really a girly girl. I’m not into buying shoes or handbags or makeup. I have to be strong-armed into blow-drying my hair. And waxing is just something I do to my foyer table.

That said, a few months ago, I spent an obscene amount of money on a small glass pot of Christian Dior crème blush.

To be fair, it was hard to resist: It was during my Week 2 when high estrogen and testosterone made me super-impulsive and easily excited. So, all that bubbly energy of the perky salesgirl lauding the blush’s many features was downright infectious. Plus, the adorable glass pot it came it made it look like my favorite French macaron cookies.  Frankly, I don’t think I ever had a shot at making it out of the store without getting it.

So, you can imagine my horror yesterday when I was using the blush and the glass pot somehow slipped from my grip, flipped a few times in the air, bounced off a shelf and was headed straight for the very unforgiving brick floor in my bathroom.

I instantly pictured the glass pot shattering into a hundred tiny pieces with sad clumps of crème blush powder spread out amongst the shards like mourning widows.

But, then something miraculous happened: Without thinking, my hand automatically swooshed to cup the glass pot before it reached the ground–and I made contact just in time! Unfortunately, the pot then bounced again off my fingers and back into the air (seriously, do they make these things with rubber?). As it fell again back to Earth past my hands, I deftly moved my legs and caught it safely with the tops of my feet, preventing it from hitting the bricks and breaking.

Normally, I wouldn’t share this trivial bit of news with you. (And by now you’re probably wondering why I am.) But, truth is, I can thank my hormones for the quick save! Here’s why:

Research shows that as estrogen rises in the first half of your cycle, it improves your reaction time. This means you’re spotting movement faster and responding to it more quickly than you would during the latter two weeks of your cycle.

So, those ninja-like maneuvers I pulled were because high estrogen helped me keep an eye on the glass pot as it tumbled and use my hands and feet to stop it from reaching the floor.

So, how can you use this useful hormone tidbit in your everyday life?

Well, if you have to box up Grandma’s fine china and need to be sure you don’t break any of it or you want to win a bundle in a Ping-Pong competition, aim to do these and other activities that require faster reaction time during the first half of your cycle. You’ll likely amaze yourself and others with how deftly you do them!

 

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