At a certain time of the month, men can smell that women are more attractive.
That time is the 12 to 24-hour window when a woman is ovulating, scientists have found.
Multiple studies have concluded that men find women more attractive during ovulation.
This is the one time a month that the ovaries release an egg ready for fertilization.
So it’s the time when women are most fertile, and men seem to be biologically programmed to pick up on that.
It’s rather entertaining how many times different scientists have subjected men (who are usually undergrads getting a small chunk of change) to bizarre smelling experiments.
Scientists have had men smell women’s T-shirts and underarm patches, and men consistently rate the women who are ovulating as more attractive. It’s unclear, however, how powerful this effect might be; other factors that shape our perception of attraction are likely far stronger in the real world.
Smelling samples from ovulating women also encouraged men to make riskier decisions in one study.
Ovulation typically happens around the 14th day of a 28-day menstrual cycle. Many types of birth control block ovulation from happening in order to prevent pregnancy, so women on the pill, for example, may not benefit from this attractiveness peak.
These days, there are apps like Glow,Flo, that can help women determine when they’re ovulating.
