How Body Temperature Changes Throughout Your Cycle + How To Deal

Have you ever experienced a heat panic? That overwhelming psychological stress that hits you after feeling too hot, too quickly? While commonly associated with menopause (thanks to mainstream media), hot flashes aren’t exclusive to it—or even to perimenopause, for that matter.

In reality, a woman’s body temperature naturally ebbs and flows throughout her hormone cycle. While an occasional hot flash might be annoying, these temperature shifts serve an important purpose. They help you spot your fertile window, which would be much harder without them.

At the simplest level, think of estrogen as a cooling hormone and progesterone as a heating hormone. These hormones fluctuate throughout the menstrual cycle, causing varying degrees of temperature change in the body.

However, it's important to remember that other factors can also influence body temperature. While hormones set the stage, they don't have the final say in your body's temperature regulation.

Many people assume that PMS symptoms, including body temperature spikes, occur exclusively during your period, but that's not usually the case. During your period, both estrogen and progesterone levels are relatively low, which helps balance cooling and warming effects.

In fact, you might notice a drop in body temperature right before your period begins, says Angela Wilson, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN at Montefiore Einstein Advanced Care. You can add that to the pros of period week. 

In the rest of your follicular phase, estrogen & progesterone build slowly

Your period marks the first half of the follicular phase. In the second half, both estrogen and progesterone steadily increase as you approach ovulation, typically around day 14 of the menstrual cycle. Contrary to popular belief, ovulation doesn’t cause an immediate spike in temperature; the increase happens afterward.

Post-ovulation, body temperature rises, potentially causing hot flashes

A few days after ovulation, progesterone levels soar in the luteal phase, raising your body temperature and increasing the likelihood of hot flashes. These can occur at any time during this phase, but overnight hot flashes are particularly disruptive. 

"Night sweats, which are hot flashes during sleep, are common and can disrupt sleep patterns," says Eboni January, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN. 

Besides sporadic hot flashes, your post-ovulation temperature changes could manifest as feeling hot more quickly when working out. “As your body heats up, your cardiovascular system has to work overtime to cool you down, redirecting blood from your muscles to the skin to help dissipate heat through sweating. This process can reduce your endurance, strength, and coordination,” says certified personal trainer for Centr Fitness Ingrid Clay. 

Your physical strength and motivation are both subject to dips during the luteal phase as well, so give yourself some grace at the gym.

Remember: Since body temperature rises after ovulation, this shift can't be used to detect ovulation in real time. However, tracking these changes can help predict future ovulation and provide valuable insights into your cycle, Wilson explains. 

The second half of the luteal phase should offer some relief

So, if hormonal fluctuations cause a shift in body temperature, what does that mean for women on birth control? In short, it depends on what form of birth control you’re on. 

For instance, “Monophasic birth control pills offer a steady amount of hormone throughout the cycle, keeping hormones and therefore temperature stable,” says board-certified reproductive endocrinologist at RMA New York Anate Brauer, M.D.

However, those on tri-phasic pills that vary in hormone levels to mimic a natural cycle may resonate more with the traditional fluctuations covered above. 

As for menopause, you can break it up into three phases: Perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause—all of which can include hot flashes due to hormonal shifts, especially a drop in estrogen (again, the cooling hormone). 

So now that you know how your hormone fluctuations impact body temperature, let’s talk about what you can do to support the heat balance. 

Temperature fluctuations are certainly normal and expected throughout the menstrual cycle. However, more severe hot flashes can be a sign that something else is happening within the body.