When you can detect that a woman near you is ovulating

When you can detect that a woman near you is ovulating

 

I love to play this fun game where I try to guess which week women are on in their monthly cycles based on how much, how fast and how well they talk, how many hand gestures they use, how confident they appear, how they’re dressed and if they’re wearing makeup and jewelry. These are all telltale signs that can indicate if a woman is in her Week 1, Week 2, Week 3 or Week 4. I’ve written about how you can play this little guessing game yourself here.

I try this with women I talk with in person, women I see on the news, even those I pass on the street. Very occasionally, I’ll get the courage to actually tell a woman I’m talking with that I’m guessing where she in her cycle and ask her how accurate my assessment is. I’m generally spot on, which invariably freaks her out and sends her scurrying far away from the weirdo who can guess menstrual cycle weeks.

Well, not only can you use the kind of obvious clues I rely on to determine which week a woman is on in her menstrual cycle, you can actually pinpoint a specific cycle day she’s on! That’s the word from recent research that shows that when you’re in Week 2 of your own cycle (the week leading up to and including ovulation) and you get a hunch that another woman is ovulating, you’re probably right!

Turns out, when your estrogen is high like it is in your Week 2, even though you’re not conscious of it, this elevated hormone makes you better at picking up subtle cues in other women that they’re fertile–even if it’s simply photos of strangers.

This special skill may be hardwired in us as a way to identify and fend off fertile women who may be competing for our mate. Or it may be simply be a fun way to further shock and scare strangers when you correctly guess where they are in their cycle.

 

 

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