Yeah.

Um, because one of the things that progesterone does, this hormone in the second half of the menstrual cycle, is it gets metabolized by the body and broken down into a product called allopregnanolone, which is, um, a, a...

It's a allosteric [laughs] modulator of the GABA A receptor, um, which is just a way of saying that it, um, it increases GABAergic activity, which is very calming in the brain.

Um, and so when you don't have progesterone and your body is expecting to get it, um, it is expecting to get this calming activity from allopregnanolone, and when you don't get it, it can create anxiety.

Um, and so this, um, having it, uh, like lowered levels of progesterone is related to anxiety.

It's also related to, um, not being able to sleep very well.

Mm-hmm.

And I think that this is something that's really important to talk about.

Mm

... masculinity in men when estrogen is high in the cycle compared to when it's low in the cycle.

Um, and it, it's been hypothesized that this, um, res- is the result of the fact that estrogen peaks when conception is possible in the cycle, so in other words, when sex can lead to conception, and that it's essentially orienting women toward men who have qualities related to, um, what we call, like, good genetic quality.

And, um, and testosterone is one of these cues, um, which I can get into if you want to, um, but I'll just leave it at that for right now so we don't get into the weeds if you don't want to.

But, um, essentially, you know, estrogen predicts a preference for testosterone-related cues, so masculinized male faces, like the deep brow, like w- you know, square jaw, deep voice, broad shoulders.

Um, behavioral masculinity is, um, is social dominance es- essentially.

And, um, and, and research finds for a long time now that estrogen predicts a preference for these qualities.

Mm-hmm.