MENSTRUAL CYCLE & SEXUAL DESIRES

The Menstrual Cycle And Response To Sexual Desires In Adults

The Menstrual Cycle And Response To Sexual Desires In Adults

Introduction

Menstruation is a phase in the female reproductive or menstrual cycle. This monthly cycle involves the release of an ovum, or egg, from the ovary as well as the thickening and shedding of the endometrium, the outer layer of the uterus. Hormones released from the hypothalamus, pituitary glands, and ovaries regulate the menstrual cycle. Each month an ovum matures in one of the ovaries. In the middle of the 28-day cycle, the mature ovum is released from the ovary into one of the fallopian tubes. This is referred to as ovulation (Seals, 2001). The ovum travels down the fallopian tube and into the uterus. If a sperm fertilizes the ovum, it is implanted in and nourished by the tissues in the endometrial lining. If fertilization does not occur, the lining is shed through the vagina. This shedding is referred to as menstruation (Prior, 2000). This outer layer, which consists of a small amount of blood (2 to 5 ounces per month), detaches from the uterine wall and leaves the body, along with other cervical and vaginal secretions, through the vagina. Menstruation is also referred to as having a period, the menstrual flow, menses, or bleeding. Most women menstruate for approximately 3 to 7 days (Vollman, 2000).

Physiological and subjective responses to physical performance have been shown to interrelate with fluctuations in the female hormonal environment throughout the menstrual cycle. The aim of this study would be to examine whether these fluctuations affect the strenuous performance required in manual handling. Seventeen eumenorrheic females will perform lifting tasks in five phases of their menstrual cycle. These tasks would be maximal isometric lifting strength (MILS) and an endurance lift at 45% MILS (t), at both knee and waist height; and the selection of a maximal acceptable load (MAL) to lift six times per min, for 10 min, in both the sagittal and asymmetric planes (Vollman, 2000).

Literature Review

The female menstrual cycle is a phenomenon both complex and fascinating. Genetically fixed and periodic, it spans the reproductive life of women from menarche (puberty) to the climacteric (menopause), and to a large percentage of women it represents the entire notion of `womanhood' (Delaney et al. 2004). Once menarche has been achieved, the menstrual cycle is characterized by episodic patterns of gonadotropin secretion from the anterior pituitary, and steroid hormone secretion from the ovaries. The cyclical nature of these secretions allows the cycle to be divided into phases that may be consistent with variations in many physical, biochemical and systemic measures (Southam and Gonzaga 2004).

The average (range) eumenorrheic (regular and healthy) menstrual cycle is *[this character cannot be converted to (26-35) days. The cycle begins with the onset of menstrual bleeding (menses) and continues until the occurrence of the menstrual bleeding depicting the beginning of the following cycle. It is most simply divided into two phases: (1) the follicular and (2) the ...