Lab study, 2012
Does sexual desire change during the menstrual cycle?
Yes. Sexual fantasies become more frequent and more arousing around ovulation, and the content shifts to focus more on emotions. This is a reliable finding in this study.
What they did
27 single women not using hormonal contraceptives answered web-based questions every day for 30 days about sexual fantasies and behaviors. 22 of them also viewed sexual images at three different times in their cycle (early phase, ovulation, and later phase). Ovulation was confirmed by urine tests.
What they found
At ovulation, women reported more frequent and more arousing sexual fantasies. The fantasies included more male partners during the fertile period. During ovulation, fantasy content focused more on emotions and feelings rather than explicit sexual details. However, how long women looked at sexual images did not change with cycle phase.
What it means for you
Sexual desire and fantasy naturally shift across the menstrual cycle, with peaks around ovulation. This may support fertility. The main limits are the small sample size and that results come from women not using hormonal contraception, so these findings may not apply to everyone.
27
women in the study
22
women who completed the viewing task
30 days
duration of daily diary study
About the study
- Original title
- Sexual fantasies and viewing times across the menstrual cycle: a diary study
- Authors
- Dawson SJ, Suschinsky KD, Lalumière ML
- Journal
- Archives of sexual behavior
- Year
- 2012
- Study design
- Lab study
- What was tested
- Daily diary of sexual fantasies and behaviors; viewing times at different cycle phases
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9939-1