This is a question specifically for people who experience cycles.

EDIT: Thank you for overwhelmingly positive response. I was so scared especially because it's still pretty taboo talking about menstrual cycle. I posted this question at 3:30 AM in my country and promptly went to sleep. I'm so glad that this prompted a discussion and I will try my best to reply to everyone!

Do you think that your cycle affects your reading habit? I think it's very clear that our cycle can affect a lot of things. There have been studies that suggest that people perform a lot better during pre-ovulatary phase, but the broader meta analysis shows that there's objectively no difference in cognitive function. However, people do self-report feeling fatigued while performing cognitive functions. And while objectively there's nothing happening, there are a lot of factors that drive these self-reports including obviously, feeling less motivation. And there's a plethora of evidence that suggests that we experience lethargy and low motivation that goes hand in hand with our cycles.

So I was wondering, do you notice your cycle affecting your reading habit? Do you notice changes in when your reading slumps occur? Do you notice if there are particular genres you gravitate towards throughout your cycle? Do you think we could potentially optimise these feelings and fluctuations and enhance our reading experience?

For me, I notice that I tend to get reading slump during my luteal phase. Because I have little motivation to do anything. And if I do read then, I pick up books that are quite emotional. And I go through the most books during the follicular phase.

I am aware that this is a very unhinged question. If anyone feels that this should not be on PageBound, feel free to let me know. And I shall act according to the majority and remove the post. I am making this post because PageBound is a place for discussion and I'm truly curious about your experiences (as I do notice the things above). If there's a pattern that occurs in the kind of books, it can be turned into a list. Either way, I feel comfortable with this community and I'm hoping this community feels safe with each other too! I shall listen to your judgement.

Edit: Hey guys! So I noticed some patterns across the responses and decided to make lists that you can check out to enhance your reading experience! It's non exhaustive and off the top of my head. So please feel free to suggest more!

Follicular Phase Ovulatory Phase Luteal Phase Menstrual Phase

Aloha Bookaholics!!

I hope everyone's day is going well ☺️

The question of the day is...

What is your 'comfort read' that you could revisit over and over and over again? 😌