21 Jul Sync up movies with your cycle
If you’re a big fan of movies, then you’d probably get a kick out of knowing that you can enjoy them even more when matching up film genres with certain weeks in your cycle.
That’s because your moods, interests and types of fun you prefer fluctuate from week to week due to your hormones. As a result, you’d appreciate comedies, romance, whodunnits, dramas, fright flicks, documentaries, action and other movie genres more based on where you are in your cycle.
Now, this doesn’t mean you’ll totally loathe a movie if you see it in an “off” cycle week. I’m just saying there’s a very good chance you’ll love a good film even more when you’re in the right hormone-fueled mood for it.
And, lucky you, finding out when you’re in the mood for a specific movie is as easy as reading this handy little Hormonology Guide to Movies that shows you how to get more out of your movie-watching experience by syncing it with your cycle:
Week 1: Go for laughs with a comedy or animation
Day 1 (first day of period) to Day 7
Here’s a good—no, great!—reason to watch anything that makes you guffaw (be it a rom-com, slapstick or animated feature) in your Week 1: Rising estrogen is helping your body churn out more endorphins whenever you’re inspired to laugh. And that endorphin rush not only helps boost your mood, it lessens annoying menstrual cramps by dampening pain signals.
Week 2: Pick action, crime, fright flicks, whodunnits, indies, arties, IMAX, 3D or steamy movies
Day 8 to ovulation (which is Day 14 in a 28-day cycle)
High estrogen and testosterone are revving your mood, energy, creativity, curiosity and libido to cycle-long highs. As a result, you crave anything that gives you an adrenaline-pumping thrill (the kind that puts you on the edge of your seat or makes you jump suddenly), stretches your imagination (for instance, with unusual plotlines or images), gives you a novel experience (like larger-than-life screens or amazing 3D graphics), tests your smarts (and see if you can figure out who did it before the big reveal) and fires up your passion (with your favorite super-hot actors, preferably scantily-clad and steaming up the screen).
Week 3: Opt for documentaries, dramas, romance and repeats
Begins the day after ovulation and lasts 8 days (which is Day 15 to Day 22 in a 28-day cycle)
You’re in a more serious, sedate and sentimental state of mind during your Week 3 due to rising progesterone and lower levels of estrogen. This transition to a lower-energy, more thoughtful phase of your cycle has you enjoying tear-jerking dramas, documentaries, romances and favorite movies you’ve seen a thousand times before.
What you may want to cross off your to-watch this during this week of your cycle: Any movie with gory or scary scenes since research shows frightening images stick in your brain far longer when you view them during this phase due to rising progesterone.
Chances are, you’re not going to enjoy movies that are abstract or unusual in other ways as this week’s hormone levels have you preferring what’s traditional over anything out of the norm.
Week 4: Indulge in guilty pleasures
Final 6 days of your cycle
What critics call “dumb”, “inane” and “too silly for words” are a premenstrual girl’s dream. You’d also enjoy kids’ movies and animations, comedies, rom-coms and movies that follow such a traditional storyline, you can predict the plot twists miles away. But, you’ll be okay with that. That’s because estrogen is in a steep nosedive, which drags down your mood and patience, so you tend to prefer something simple and that doesn’t requires too much thinking. Plus, the silly stuff is perfect for boosting a premenstrual mood and distracting you from premenstrual aches, pains and irritations.
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