Have you heard the common complaint many men have: “one minute, I can tell a joke and she finds it hilarious. But, then I make that same joke a couple weeks later, and she’s in tears and I’m in trouble. It doesn’t make sense!”

So many couples struggle with similar miscommunication experiences, but this scenario is 100% avoidable when you understand your infradian rhythm. 

Your infradian rhythm, aka your menstrual cycle, affects every relationship in your life. For now, however, we’re going to focus specifically on romantic relationships. 

When you’re in any sort of partnership, your mood and how you feel throughout the month has an effect on the other person.

When you start tracking your mood throughout your cycle, you’ll start to notice a consistent pattern from month-to-month. Instead of “random mood swings”, you’ll have the ability to actually predict how you’ll feel each week. 

So, instead of the scenario above, you’ll be able to tell your partner which weeks you’ll (probably) find their jokes funny, and which one you’ll be more sensitive in. 

You can get even more detailed, planning date nights, meals, and more around your cycle.

For example, your follicular phase is great for trying new things and being more adventurous, so you might want to take a painting class or go on a hike together.

Your ovulatory phase is generally when you’ll feel the most flirtatious and attractive, so that week is a great time for romantic restaurants and classic date nights.

Your luteal phase, on the other hand, is when you’ll feel the most introverted and lethargic. Staying in and watching a movie, snuggled up on the couch, is a great idea for this time of the month.

Understanding your cycle can help you and your partner connect better and communicate more effectively. 

This information can even help with your sex life. Your libido fluctuates throughout your cycle, in a very predictable way. Once you start tracking these changes, you can see the exact times throughout the month when your libido is higher and when it dips. 

This is invaluable information you can utilize in your relationship.

Has your partner ever complained about you not being in the mood? Have you had times where they try initiating something but you just can’t get in the mood?

It’s frustrating for both parties in this situation, but by understanding how your hormones fluctuate, you can communicate how you’re feeling and predict how you’ll feel in the future. 

By having this information, you can tell your partner the times of the month your libido will be at its highest, and what times you probably won’t be in the mood for anything. 

It’s important to note that these things can be affected by many aspects of our daily lives. Stress and other major factors can alter how we feel in a particular phase, outside of our norm.

Again, your infradian rhythm isn’t something you can change. The intention here is to better understand what’s already happening to you on a subconscious level. You can’t change how you’ll feel or when these fluctuations occur, but you can adapt your life to better flow with this cycle.

Overall, knowing your unique infradian rhythm can help your partner understand you better, and help you both communicate and connect on a deeper level. You can download my reference guide to the phases here to get started.