Why Do I Get Hornier Before My Period

Why Do I Get Hornier Before My Period
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Every month, your period arrives with the usual suspects in tow: cramps, bloating, fatigue—just to name a few. But it can also bring another (much, much more fun) guest to the party: a wild and crazy libido . So, yeah...it's no coincidence you feel all kinds of horny on your period.
And that's despite the fact that you likely don't feel your absolute sexiest during this time. ICYDK, that particular surge in sex appeal happens during ovulation —about halfway through your cycle, or two weeks after your period—thanks to a slight increase in testosterone, says Mary Jane Minkin , MD, clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale University Medical School.
While the science isn't entirely definitive, here's what docs do know: "The menstrual cycle involves the cyclical rise and fall of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA," says Adeeti Gupta, MD, an ob-gyn and founder of Walk In GYN Care . (Hence the name "cycle.") All of those hormones play key roles in your sex drive.
In a 2013 study published in Hormones and Behavior , researchers explored the connection in a group of undergraduate women. They measured hormone levels over two full menstrual cycles and compared the results to daily journals, where the participants recorded sexual activity and feelings of friskiness.
The researchers found that changing levels of estrogen and progesterone had serious effects on libido. Likely because estrogen, which drops at the beginning of your period but then starts to climb steadily by day two or three, promotes libido and desire, explains Dr. Gupta.
Meanwhile, progesterone, a stabilizing hormone that is "not sexy-feeling friendly" is at a low point, says Dr. Minkin, so it's possible that you feel even more sexual in its absence, too.
In short: no. Your hormones are already fluctuating on their own, so sexual arousal has "no major effect" on your menstrual cycle, says Dr. Minkin.
Still, "some women report that if they masturbate or have sex, they feel relief of pelvic congestion or menstrual cramps," adds Nan Wise , PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist and certified sex therapist. (Plus, it feels a heck of a lot better than popping ibuprofen.)
Ready to get it on? Here's what you need to know about period sex:
And, of course, your friskier-than-normal feelings can certainly impact your mood during menstruation. Sex and/or orgasm are both known for relieving stress —something you might be subconsciously craving during that time of the month.
"What's important is to listen to your body and give it what it needs."
"In some cases, women may simply want to have an orgasm to relax and unwind," says Janet Brito , PhD, a licensed psychologist and certified sex therapist in Honolulu. "While in other cases, they may be yearning for an intimate connection. What’s important is to listen to your body and give it what it needs."
To do that, she recommends keeping a journal on how your menstruation impacts your arousal and vice versa. This, Brito says, can help you get comfortable discussing your needs, promote body awareness, and ultimately enhance your personal and partnered relationships. (Thinking of having period sex? Try the throw here for way less mess!)
You may have heard the long-standing rumor that birth control all but kills your sex drive.
Because hormonal birth control works by stopping your uterus from ovulating, they also stop that little boost in testosterone, so it would make sense, says Dr. Minkin.
The Pill, in particular, can affect your libido throughout your menstrual cycle, because it also increases something called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG).
"If you have some free testosterone running around in your body, SHBG is sort of like Pac-Man," she explains. "Basically, it just eats the testosterone up, so many people think that's why birth control can decrease your libido."
That said, the research is actually pretty divided. In one 2013 study , the majority of contraceptive users reported no significant difference in their horniness, despite their bodies showing a decrease in free testosterone and increase in SHBG.
And in another study, from 2016 , women on hormonal contraception reported greater drives for sex with a partner than those who were on non-hormonal types. Meanwhile, women on non-hormonal BC reported higher solitary desire (read: an interest in masturbation).
So it's possible specific types of birth control affect specific types of sex drives, but science is still confirming. Fascinating.
Nope, not at all! Feeling frisky during your period may also just come down to individual differences, says Wise.
"Women might like sex more or a whole lot less during that time, depending on their physical comfort," she says. "For some women, when they’re bleeding and crampy, the last thing they want is sex. Others, on the other hand, want sexual activity for relief."
Your increased desire to have sex on your period could also be tied to a subconscious relief in knowing you're not pregnant (if you're not trying to be, at least). You're also less likely to conceive when you're menstruating—and there's "definitely a psychological freedom" in that knowledge, says Brito.
So while your shifting hormones definitely rule the show, your head can get in there too. But if you don’t feel particularly horny during that time of the month, don’t worry: There is nothing—I repeat, nothing —wrong with you.

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Every month, your period arrives with the usual suspects in tow: cramps, bloating, fatigue—just to name a few. But it can also bring another (much, much more fun) guest to the party: a wild and crazy libido. So, yeah…it’s no coincidence you feel all kinds of horny on your period.
And that’s despite the fact that you likely don’t feel your absolute sexiest during this time. ICYDK, that particular surge in sex appeal happens during ovulation—about halfway through your cycle, or two weeks after your period—thanks to a slight increase in testosterone, says Dr Mary Jane Minkin , clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Yale University Medical School.
Okay, so why do I get insanely horny on my period?
While the science isn’t entirely definitive, here’s what docs do know: “The menstrual cycle involves the cyclical rise and fall of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA,” says Dr Adeeti Gupta, an ob-gyn and founder of Walk In GYN Care . (Hence the name “cycle.”) All of those hormones play key roles in your sex drive.
In a 2013 study published in Hormones and Behavior , researchers explored the connection in a group of undergraduate women. They measured hormone levels over two full menstrual cycles and compared the results to daily journals, where the participants recorded sexual activity and feelings of friskiness.
The researchers found that changing levels of estrogen and progesterone had serious effects on libido. Likely because estrogen, which drops at the beginning of your period but then starts to climb steadily by day two or three, promotes libido and desire, explains Dr. Gupta.
Meanwhile, progesterone, a stabilising hormone that is “not sexy-feeling friendly” is at a low point, says Dr. Minkin, so it’s possible that you feel even more sexual in its absence, too.
On the flip side, can arousal affect menstruation?
In short: no. Your hormones are already fluctuating on their own, so sexual arousal has “no major effect” on your menstrual cycle, says Dr Minkin.
Still, “some women report that if they masturbate or have sex, they feel a relief of pelvic congestion or menstrual cramps,” adds Dr Nan Wise , a cognitive neuroscientist and certified sex therapist. (Plus, it feels a heck of a lot better than popping ibuprofen.)
And, of course, your friskier-than-normal feelings can certainly impact your mood during menstruation. Sex and/or orgasm are both known for relieving stress—something you might be subconsciously craving during that time of the month.
“In some cases, women may simply want to have an orgasm to relax and unwind,” says Janet Brito , a licensed psychologist and certified sex therapist in Honolulu. “While in other cases, they may be yearning for an intimate connection. What’s important is to listen to your body and give it what it needs.”
To do that, she recommends keeping a journal on how your menstruation impacts your arousal and vice versa. This, Brito says, can help you get comfortable discussing your needs, promote body awareness, and ultimately enhance your personal and partnered relationships.
Can birth control impact how horny I feel on my period?
You may have heard the long-standing rumour that birth control all but kills your sex drive.
Because hormonal birth control works by stopping your uterus from ovulating, they also stop that little boost in testosterone, so it would make sense, says Dr Minkin.
The Pill, in particular, can affect your libido throughout your menstrual cycle, because it also increases something called sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG).
“If you have some free testosterone running around in your body, SHBG is sort of like Pac-Man,” she explains. “Basically, it just eats the testosterone up, so many people think that’s why birth control can decrease your libido.”
That said, the research is actually pretty divided. In one 2013 study , the majority of contraceptive users reported no significant difference in their horniness, despite their bodies showing a decrease in free testosterone and increase in SHBG.
And in another study, from 2016 , women on hormonal contraception reported greater drives for sex with a partner than those who were on non-hormonal types. Meanwhile, women on non-hormonal BC reported higher solitary desire (read: an interest in masturbation).
So it’s possible specific types of birth control affect specific types of sex drives, but science is still confirming. Fascinating.
So is my period horniness **totally** dependent on my hormones?
Nope, not at all! Feeling frisky during your period may also just come down to individual differences, says Wise.
“Women might like sex more or a whole lot less during that time, depending on their physical comfort,” she says. “For some women, when they’re bleeding and crampy, the last thing they want is sex. Others, on the other hand, want sexual activity for relief.”
Your increased desire to have sex on your period could also be tied to a subconscious relief in knowing you’re not pregnant (if you’re not trying to be, at least). You’re also less likely to conceive when you’re menstruating—and there’s “definitely a psychological freedom” in that knowledge, says Brito.
So while your shifting hormones definitely rule the show, your head can get in there too. But if you don’t feel particularly horny during that time of the month, don’t worry: There is nothing—I repeat, nothing —wrong with you.
This article was originally published on www.womenshealthsa.co.za

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Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth
Sex. Celebrity. Politics. With Teeth
Why You're So Horny During Your Period
How many women get super turned on right before or during their period, contrary to all the logic they have ever been told their whole lives about when they should feel the most rarin' to go? It is hard to say, but it is enough that a Google search produces lots of women who've asked the same thing.
We all know when you're supposed to be horniest — while ovulating, because babies. It's obviously more complicated than that, but for the purposes of this discussion, we must assume that women wouldn't be searching in earnest disbelief for why they are suddenly a walking vagina before their period if it didn't seem, at the very least, unexpected or incongruous.
In fact, one of the first pieces I came across in the search was an XOJane essay called Why Do I Become a Walking Vagina the Week Before My Period? In it, Emily writes :
You already know I get depressed, highly emotional and self-loathing , but what I haven't mentioned is that I basically turn into Stifler's mom for a week leading up to my period. Preparing to shed my uterile lining is apparently the biological equivalent of some sweet Barry Manilow tunes and a bottle of Peach Boone's Farm.
She asked a gyno what was up, or rather, down. Dr. O actually didn't explain it:
"At the end of the day, you are fertile 10-14 days before your period. It's in your interest to be horny from your body's perspective since one of our jobs evolutionarily is to procreate. It stands to reason that you would be most interested when your body is set up to get pregnant. The high progesterone at that part of your cycle also makes the genitals a little swollen and sensitive. For some women that's a turn on, for others, not so much. Same thing happens in pregnancy, the other time you have high progesterone."
Ok, but not what she asked! Someone else hit the ground running at Girls Ask Guys when they asked , Girls: Do you get hornier during your period? Question says it all.
Question says it all, indeed . "ErikaSmith" answered:
If a girl is hornier on her period it is entirely mental. Biologically that makes zero sense. Hormone levels peak in the middle of your cycle when you ovulate two weeks before your periods starts. Unless something else is going on, the days right around ovulation are when a girl is naturally the horniest.
To which "purpleeyes770" exclaimed:
Its def NOT MENTAL!!!!! I and many other girls get sex on their period. I MOST CERTAINLY DO! and I'm THE HORNIEST B4 AND AFTER MY PERIOD! SO CLEARLY ITS A COMMON THING! NOT MENTAL!!!!!
It's not mental horniness, it's physical horniness. Can you imagine anyone ever telling a dude his horniness was in his head? Ok not that head. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
"Princess 101" agreed tho on the mental theory:
yes I do. I think it's because you want what you can't have, so when girls are on their period, they want sex more.
And the funny (not funny) thing is, this answer is not uncommon. Someone on Yahoo! Answers asked :
"University Girl" had the best-voted answer, which said, in part:
It is due in part to the severe change in hormones that comes when you get your period. Like other people mentioned, it may also be due to your mindset (knowing you "can't" have it, etc).
Well it's sorted, then: It's because you can't have it. Etc.
Leave it to a reddit thread to blow the whole thing out of the water when someone asked: Any other women get insanely horny the week before that time of the month?
My bf's not here (of all the weeks for him to be away!! Grrr) so I've masturbated about 5 times total today but to no avail!! It simply doesn't 'hit the spot'. This likely has something to do with the fact that when I get like this, nothing but deep penetration/rough pounding helps however I've been using my clitoral vibrator because I lost my dildo :(
I love/hate this week because it literally almost 'aches' down there and I walk around wanting to screw everything and literally can't stop thinking about sex and my next orgasm.
Someone named Mr. Euginovich, self-described as a sound tech for a women's health program, steps up with some theories:
If this happens right before your period it's not because you are most fertile, that comes 12-16ish days before your period. So when you are uber horny before your period it's likely a combination of factors.
I'm not just horny, it's that I'm retainin' wutuh.
Reddit links to a piece over at Columbia University's health website called "Go Ask Alice!" where, in 2003, one "Menses Maiden" asked, Is it weird to feel hornier than usual during my period?
First, cool band name alert. Second, while Alice reiterates that the most "well-known theory" is that women be horniest mid-cycle, she answers the question directly:
Some theorize that women feel less sexual when they have premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and during their periods because mood swings and menstrual cramps interfere with libido. However, some women feel increased sexual energy during their period. The possibility of pregnancy is reduced (but not eliminated) during menstruation, and this may free women to feel more sexual during this time. Also, there is more pelvic congestion during a woman's periods, so she is already experiencing this heaviness, which may trigger or translate to arousal. Furthermore, because of the menses, there is additional lubrication, making penetration more comfortable. Finally, orgasm is a known reliever of pelvic congestion and cramps.
Until the subject is better understood through more extensive research, the phase of a woman's menstrual cycle appears to be just one factor among many that can influence a woman's lust or desire to be sexual.
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Why Do I Get Hornier Before My Period

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