Seeing Stars

Ovulation brings better vision

Women enjoy significant improvement in their night vision on one day each month--during the time of ovulation. That remarkable fact has been reported by researchers at the University of Florida Health Center. After noting that the vision of test animals was influenced by the injection of female sex hormones, the Florida group tested the vision of seven women with normal eyesight and regular menstrual cycles. In every case, the researchers found that the peripheral part of the retina, used only in the dark, became two to three times more sensitive to light at the time of ovulation than on other days. The enhanced night vision would let women see faint stars or other dim light ordinarily undetectable in the dark. No such changes were seen in several men given identical tests. The researchers speculate that the women's sensitized vision results from increased blood levels of vitamin A, estradiol and other hormones that peak around the time of ovulation.

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