Glossary
Menstrual cycle
Why your desire for sex can differ from week to week, and when complaints belong with the GP.
What is the menstrual cycle?
The menstrual cycle is the recurring series of hormonal changes that prepare the uterus and ovaries each month for a possible pregnancy. The cycle lasts on average twenty-eight days and has four phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase. The hormonal course through it also shapes desire for sex in many women.
| In Dutch | menstruatiecyclus |
| The four phases | menstruation, follicular phase, ovulation, luteal phase |
| Average length | twenty-eight days, normal between 21 and 35 days |
| Category | belongs with the broader theme of menopause and hormonal rhythms |
| Effect on desire | desire for sex often peaks around ovulation and dips in the luteal phase |
| When to see the GP | with severe pain, strongly irregular or absent cycles, or heavy symptoms |
How the cycle shapes desire for sex
Desire moves with the hormones. In the diary study by Roney and Simmons, the hormone estradiol predicted more desire for sex, while progesterone pushed it down. Women showed a peak in desire around the middle of the cycle, roughly around ovulation, after which it dropped again in the luteal phase. That is an average, not a rule: how strongly you notice it differs a lot from person to person.
What the cycle means for you and sex
Knowing your own rhythm saves a lot of needless worrying. If you know your desire can differ from week to week, you do not have to read a low week as a sign that something is wrong with you or with your relationship. For a partner the same knowledge is reassuring: less desire on day twenty-three says something about the hormones, not about attraction. According to Thuisarts.nl, premenstrual syndrome comes with physical and psychological complaints in the days before menstruation, and that is normal up to a point. What the cycle is not is a timetable: no phase obligates you to anything.
When to take it to the GP
This page describes the cycle; it gives no treatment advice. If you have severe pain, your period stays away, your cycle is strongly irregular, or you keep having heavy symptoms, that belongs with your GP or with Thuisarts.nl, not with a gigolo. Naming a symptom is a different thing from treating it.
Where this fits on this site
If what is mainly in play is your cycle’s influence on your desire or your intimacy, and you want to talk it over calmly with someone, you can always send me a message; what I offer then is mostly intimate togetherness, time and calm. For complaints about your body you are better off with your GP; this is no medical clinic.
Sources
- Hormonal predictors of sexual motivation in natural menstrual cycles. Roney & Simmons, Hormones and Behavior 63(4), 636-645, 2013. Supplies that estradiol predicted more desire for sex, progesterone less, and that women showed a peak in desire around the middle of the cycle.
- Menstrual cycle. Wikipedia. Supplies the description of the cycle, the four phases, and the normal length between 21 and 35 days, with a median of 28.
- Ik heb het premenstrueel syndroom. Thuisarts.nl. Supplies that PMS means you get physical and psychological complaints each time before your period, and that this is a topic for the GP.
Related terms
The menstrual cycle belongs with menopause, the broader theme of hormonal change.
- Menopause. The pillar: the later hormonal shift the cycle eventually ends in.
- Libido. The desire for sex that moves with the cycle’s hormonal course.
- Sexual response cycle. The pattern of arousal and orgasm, which is separate from the monthly cycle but colored by it.
Frequently asked questions
What people still ask about the menstrual cycle.
What is the menstrual cycle?
The menstrual cycle is the recurring series of hormonal changes that prepare the uterus and ovaries each month for a possible pregnancy. The cycle lasts on average twenty-eight days and has four phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and the luteal phase.
Does your desire for sex change during your cycle?
Yes, in many women desire for sex moves with the menstrual cycle. Research by Roney and Simmons found that desire peaks around ovulation and drops in the days before menstruation, moving with the hormones estradiol and progesterone. How strongly you notice it differs from person to person.
Who can you turn to with questions about the menstrual cycle?
For physical complaints, your GP or Thuisarts.nl; those belong with the doctor, not with a gigolo. If what is mainly in play is your cycle’s influence on your desire or your intimacy, then I, Victor, will think along with you, no obligation, through the contact form or chat for free.
Learn more
Still have questions about the menstrual cycle?
I'm Victor, a gigolo, not a doctor. If what is mainly in play is your cycle's influence on your desire or your intimacy, I'm glad to think along with you. For physical complaints I refer you to your GP.
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