
22 Aug Wet or dry? How your menstrual cycle affects moisture from head to toe
Notice that on some days your eyes dry out faster? You sweat more profusely? Your nose is more congested? You can reach higher notes when you sing? Your breath is a bit odorous? Or that you’re lubricating more easily during physical intimacy?
One key reason for these changes is your body’s changing level of hormones throughout your menstrual cycle. As hormones rise and fall, they can impact how moist or dry certain areas get.
Here’s a Hormonology Cheat Sheet that gives you a quick rundown of what kind of moisture level you can expect in your body–and why:
Your EYES are drier in your Week 2:
High estrogen reduces tear production
Your MOUTH is drier in your Week 1 & Week 4:
Low estrogen reduces saliva production, which can lead to bad breath
Your NOSE is more congested in your Week 2:
High estrogen increases mucus production in nasal passages
Your VOCAL CORDS are moister in your Week 2:
High estrogen increases lubrication of vocal cord tissue, which helps you reach higher notes when singing
You SWEAT more in your Week 3 and Week 4:
Higher progesterone increases your core body temperature slightly, which triggers greater perspiration
You have more VAGINAL lubrication in your Week 2:
High estrogen increases vaginal fluids during arousal, making physical intimacy more comfortable
Your Cycle Weeks
Week 1: Day 1 (first day of period) through Day 7
Week 2: Day 8 to ovulation (which is Day 14 in a 28-day cycle)
Week 3: Begins day after ovulation and lasts 8 days (Day 15 to Day 22 in a 28-day cycle)
Week 4: Final 6 days of your cycle (Day 23 to Day 28 in a 28-day cycle)
SOURCES:
Sweating:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25230913
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16981051
Dry eyes:Have dry eyes? The cycle days they get even drier–and the hormone link behind it
Have dry eyes? The cycle days they get even drier–and the hormone link behind it
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17701769
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24332276
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28146241
Breath:
https://myhormonology.com/dodge-bad-breath-on-these-days-in-your-cycle/
Vocal cords:
https://myhormonology.com/what-happens-to-your-voice-after-ovulation/
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