Amayzine

Good news: being on your period makes you smarter

For about eighteen years, I've been looking for the benefits of monthly nonsense. Yes, it's a sign that you're fertile, I know, and it's also a handy tool to see that you're not pregnant. That's where the list ends, or should I say: ended. Because what turns out? Being on your period makes you smarter.

You know, I'm happy with this joyful news, but I still find it hard to believe. I snap, I gasp for air with some cramps, I let never heard of tampons fall out of my bag when I dig up my keys. I do this especially with as much audience as possible. I throw myself on the couch when I get home and binge-watch my brain cells right out of my head. I'm just being honest. Did you know that good old Plato called women hysterical during that time of the month? He thought it had something to do with a grieving uterus because there's no baby inside. I had to chuckle at that.

Psychologist Pauline Maki from the University of Illinois in Chicago examined all our estrogen and progesterone and found things. First of all, spatial awareness gets just a bit worse when we're on our period, but it recovers like crazy afterward. So you have an average of about 23 days to prove the man wrong. Secondly: ovulation makes us more social. You talk more easily about your feelings, empathize better, and you're one gigantic social powerhouse. Thirdly: our memory goes through the roof. You have the gift of unconsciously and effortlessly recalling a range of things.

Small disclaimer: the research was conducted among 16 women. If you ask me, that's enough, because if anything tells the truth, it's the woman on her period.