Women’s monthly cycles makes them more creative

During several decades of their lives they’re a monthly occurrence for women, with many lamenting and even dreading them. Menstruation often leads to severe pain and mood swings. But our monthly cycles can also have more positive effects. Polish scientists have recently discovered that ovulation can be a time for… creativity.

A spike in libido; clearer, more fluid vaginal discharge; a rise in body temperature… Ovulation is accompanied by more or less unpleasant physical symptoms. Katarzyna Galasinska and Aleksandra Szymkow, researchers at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, Poland, have found an advantage to this phase of the menstrual cycle. It could be the ideal time to let your imagination run wild, as they indicate in a study recently published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. 

To reach this conclusion, the researchers asked 72 women between the ages of 18 and 35 to perform various tasks during the follicular, ovulatory and luteal phases of their menstrual cycle. None of them were pregnant, breastfeeding or on hormonal contraceptives during the study. For instance, participants were asked to list as many different and unusual ways to use an everyday object such as a shoe, a towel or a bottle as possible. In less than five minutes. 

Independent raters then evaluated their responses on three factors related to creativity: fluency (speed and quantity), flexibility and originality. After analysing these results, Katarzyna Galasinska and Aleksandra Szymkow found that ovulating women were more original than non-ovulating women. 

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The researchers hypothesized that creativity may be a “mental ornament” that manifests itself in a mating strategy. “Being boosted during the fertile phase of the cycle, originality presumably increases mate attraction, potentially leading to conception. Nevertheless, it may also promote intrasexual competition to discourage competitors.” they wrote in their work.

Although the study had a small sample of participants, it suggests new areas of exploration regarding menstrual cycles. While we often talk about the discomforts of menstruation, a thorough understanding of one’s menstrual cycle can also bring benefits. “So, maybe monitoring the ovulatory cycle can help women understand their mentality and to resonate with it,” Katarzyna Galasinska told specialized publication PsyPost.