A lot goes into planning your perfect vacation—such as budget, destination and family or work schedules. However, before you make your reservations, there’s an equally important factor to consider: on which days of your monthly cycle your vacation will fall! That’s because estrogen, testosterone and progesterone—three of your body’s most influential hormones—have a powerful effect on your mood, energy level, sense of adventure, how social and romantic you feel, and everything else that can affect how much you enjoy your vacation. Once you know what to expect from your hormones each day, you can match up the vacation that’s best for you. Read on to find out the perfect getaways for every day of your cycle:
Week 1: Set sail for silly!
First day of period to Day 7
This week’s trip-cast: Week 1 starts off with your period and bottomed-out estrogen and testosterone, so you may feel achy and tired. As a result, you’ll prefer comfortable surroundings, predictability and a getaway that doesn’t require a lot of get-up-and-go. By midweek, however, the cramps are gone and estrogen and testosterone rise to a level that makes you outgoing, social, happy, confident, energetic and optimistic. You’ll enjoy trips that get you mingling with other folks, involve physical activities and make you feel like a kid again. Rising testosterone also boosts your libido, so you’ll enjoy romantic getaways with your partner.
The vacations you’ll enjoy the most this week: bed and breakfasts, amusement parks, sailing, shopping, visiting far-away friends, watching sporting events, petting zoo
Week 2: Bring on the adventure!
Day 8 to Day 13
This week’s trip-cast: Estrogen and testosterone are super-high this week, and this makes your mood, energy and confidence soar. You’re craving new experiences and connections with new people. You’re also more willing to take chances you wouldn’t during other weeks of your cycle—for instance, by doing risky activities, traveling to far-off locales or simply walking up to strangers and striking up a conversation. Despite your desire to meet and mingle this week, high testosterone also has you feeling more independent, so you don’t mind going it alone on high-stakes adventures if no one else has the courage to join you. Testosterone is also boosting your libido, putting it at a cycle-long high. Coupled with your sense of derring-do, you may feel like breaking out of ruts with a passionate vacation for two or using your getaway to find a new love.
The vacations you’ll enjoy the most this week: rock climbing, parasailing, surfing, singles cruise, casinos, exotic countries, competing in sporting and other competitive events
Week 3: Make it mellow
Day 14 (or ovulation) to Day 22
This week’s trip-cast: This week is dominated by progesterone, a hormone that makes you sedate or even sleepy. Progesterone also makes you prefer safe and quiet surroundings, and has you feeling less chatty and more self-reflective. All this makes you happiest when taking solo trips or jaunts with friends who don’t take your silent moments personally. Progesterone douses sex drive, which makes your libido ramp down as the days progress. So, if you’re traveling with your mate, you’ll be most interested in activities that help you bond on an emotional level. This hormone is also triggering food cravings this week—especially for sugary, salty, fatty and carb-rich treats. Give yourself the freedom to nibble at least a little—studies show that depriving yourself actually causes you more stress than if you’d indulged.
The vacations you’ll enjoy the most this week: antiquing, drives through the country, the beach, a cruise, a yoga or meditation retreat, food festivals
Week 4: Days of indulgence
Day 23 to the end of cycle
This week’s trip-cast: As estrogen and testosterone plunge during this premenstrual week, your energy is lower, you’re more sensitive to pain, sounds and smells and you may be feeling a bit emotionally fragile or blue. As a result, you’re happiest on trips where you’re being treated like a queen. Go for the hotel room upgrade, roomier rental car, five-star restaurant reservations and anything else that gives you more comfort—knowing you’re getting the very best helps boost your mood by triggering a surge in feel-good brain chemicals.
The vacations you’ll enjoy the most this week: a resort hotel, spa, cruise, destination restaurant
Bonus: Sync up your vacation with your guy’s hormones!
Now that you’ve booked your vacation based on where it lands in your monthly hormone cycle, you can make your getaway even more enjoyable by syncing up your daily itinerary with your guy’s 24-hour hormone cycle. For instance, in the…
* Morning: Plan to do your most energetic activities. Once your guy wipes the sleep from his eyes (and chugs his first mug of coffee), his high morning testosterone will have him feeling energetic and ready to take on the world, or at least the canoeing, rock climbing and hiking parts of it. The morning is also the best time for sex—his high testosterone is making him more passionate and giving him the most stamina he’ll have all day.
* Afternoon: Fit in fun time. See a silly roadside attraction, attend a crafts workshop or visit with friends or family. His testosterone is now descending, but it’s still high enough to put him in a good mood and make him chatty and relaxed.
* Early evening: Give your guy time to eat and rest. Around 5 pm to 7 pm, your guy experiences a significant decrease in testosterone, which makes him tired and foggy. Food and relaxation helps recharge his batteries so he can continue having fun with you later.
* Late evening: Go for the romance. Get reservations at a swanky restaurant, draw a bubble bath for two, head to the dance floor or indulge in paired massages. His testosterone is at its lowest point and the “bonding hormone” oxytocin is rising now—together, these hormones make him more in the mood to cuddle and connect with you.
[photo: John Trainor]
