The Effect of Travel on Your Ovulation Cycle

The average woman takes about 28 days from the first day of one period to ovulation. So, if you are planning to get pregnant and want to know when the best time for that is, then you need to keep track of your ovulation cycle.

Knowing when you ovulate will be useful especially if you want to get pregnant or plan to avoid pregnancy. If you’re thinking of getting pregnant soon and looking at ways to increase your chances, then you should know that research suggests how and where you travel has an impact on your ovulation cycle. Some studies show that traveling can disrupt your body's natural rhythms and mess with how often you ovulate and how much estrogen your body produces. There are many things that could mess with your natural processes: stress, lack of sleep, an unbalanced diet, and even a new partner or a new city! Here is what we mean:

What is the Ovulation Cycle?

The ovulation cycle happens over a span of around two weeks every month and is when a woman’s body is ready to be fertilized. If you are trying to get pregnant, you’ll want to know when the best time is to have sex. A woman’s eggs only live for about a day or two, but the journey to meet the sperm takes three to five days. So, if you want to get pregnant, then you should have sex every two to three days. The best time for this is as close to the time of ovulation as possible.

How Travel Can Disrupt Your Body's Natural Rhythms

You may find that travel may cause disruptions in your menstrual cycle. This can be due to changes in the frequency of your ovulation, changes in the length of your menstrual cycle, and changes in the number of hormones in your body. There are multiple factors that can influence these disruptions: stress, lack of sleep, a change in your diet, exposure to new pathogens, and even a change in your relationship status. One study found that women who were on long-haul flights were six times more likely to miss their periods than compared to women who were not traveling. This same study also found that women who are pregnant are much less likely to miss their periods while traveling.

When You’re Traveling, You Might Not Ovulate Every Month

Another impact of travel is that you might not ovulate every month when you are traveling. You may find that during your trip, you are not ovulating at all. This may happen if you have multiple long-haul trips back-to-back if you are under a lot of stress if you are not eating a proper diet, if you are being exposed to new pathogens, or if you are traveling with a new partner. Your ovulation cycle will return to normal once you are back home and have a more stable environment.

Traveling May Cause An Increase In Estrogen Levels

Another impact of travel on your ovulation cycle and fertility is that it can cause an increase in your estrogen levels. Estrogen is necessary for fertility; however, too many leads to infertility. You can experience an increase in your estrogen levels if you are exposed to new pathogens while traveling. These pathogens can create an inflammatory response in your body, which results in an increase in your estrogen levels to fight off the invaders. There are other factors that can cause an increase in estrogen levels as well, such as a change in your diet and sleep deprivation.

Conclusions

There are a variety of ways that traveling can affect your ovulation cycle. Some of these ways include your body adapting to being in a unique environment, changes in your diet, and changes in your sleep schedule. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid these disruptions. However, you can try to reduce their effects by keeping track of your menstrual cycle while traveling, keeping stress to a minimum, and maintaining a balanced diet.

If you are trying to get pregnant, then you need to keep track of your ovulation cycle. Knowing when you ovulate will be useful especially if you want to get pregnant or plan to avoid pregnancy.