Women are more creative during the fertile stage of their monthly cycles, study finds 

Experiments have shown that women can spot ovulating females by looking at their faces. They were shown pairs of faces (composites pictured) to choose the more attractive and most threatening in terms of luring a date away. A composite ‘fertile’ face is shown left and composite ‘less fertile’ face, right

Experiments in 2016 demonstrated that women can also spot ovulating females simply by looking at their faces.

And it’s thought this ‘skill’ could help females keep hold of their partners.

Recent research has shown men find images of ovulating women more attractive than the same people taken in the later, less fertile phase of their menstrual cycles.

In fact, females have been reported to dance, walk, sound, smell and look more attractive during their most fertile days.

Men’s ability to recognise signs of fertility is of benefit to them because it boosts their chances of passing on their genes.

While some experts believe there’s no benefit for women being able to pick up on each other’s ovulatory cues, others say it is useful when it comes to competing for men.

Researchers at the University of Bern, Switzerland, set up experiments to explore how fertile and non-fertile women interact. 

They hypothesised that ovulating women may be perceived to pose a reproductive threat and lure men away from their partners.

In an online study, 160 women were shown pairs of pictures where one image was generated when a woman was at her most fertile and another in the less fertile phase of the cycle.

Participants were asked to indicate which face they found more attractive.

Another experiment in a laboratory conducted the same test with 60 women.

In addition to choosing the more attractive face, these participants were asked which woman would be more likely to steal their own date.

Blood tests were taken to record the women’s hormone levels.

Both experiments showed that unlike men, women found neither the ‘fertile’ or ‘less fertile’ faces more attractive than one another.

This was a surprise to the researchers who expected women to find the faces of their fertile peers more attractive. 

But ‘naturally cycling’ women with higher oestradiol levels who were not on the pill, were more likely to choose the fertile face as one of a woman who would entice her date away.

‘These results imply a role of oestradiol [a type of oestrogen produced in the ovaries] when evaluating other women who are competing for reproduction,’ the study, published in the Royal Society’s Journal, Biology Letters says.

The finding is in line with studies finding positive associations between oestradiol levels and competitive behaviour among women, such as greater emotional reaction to sexual infidelity.

‘Our data suggest that in women oestrogen is more related to intra-sexual competition than testosterone,’ the scientists write.

‘Ovulatory women (who are currently fertile) pose a greater threat to women with high oestradiol levels (who are currently not fertile but have a high potential fertility).’