2 weeks before your menstrual cycle is a difficult time
Ugh, the nasty cramps, crying for no reason, a sense of fatigue that won’t let you get out of your bed.
And, the cycle repeats every month.
A multitude of levels of hormone play goes behind the scenes, making your pre-menstrual days a series of emotional outbursts and lassitude.
There are two types of hormones produced by the pituitary glands — Luteinizing and Follicle Stimulating. Their primary function is to—
- Promote Ovulation.
- Stimulate the ovaries to produce Estrogen and Progesterone (Female Sex Hormones).
The menstrual cycle is split into 3 Phases.
Follicular Phase — It starts on the first day of the period and lasts for about 12–14 days, before the egg release.
Ovulatory Phase — It marks the beginning of the egg release window. Peak fertility lasts 12- 24 hrs per release, the chances of being pregnant lie in the ovulatory phase in a window of 6 days.
Luteal Phase — It’s the final phase, lasting about 12–14 days. It’s the time frame when the fertilized egg develops into a baby originating a new life or the unfertilized egg traverses toward the uterus and sheds out.
The duration of each phase can vary depending on the length of the cycle, it’s different for different women.
As per research– Female Sex Hormones play a significant role in PMS symptoms, especially low Estrogen levels.
During the initiation of ovulation, the Estrogen levels drop slightly and Progesterone levels increase, causing the first phase of PMS.
The second phase of PMS occurs during the end of the Luteal Phase, when the egg is not fertilized, estrogen levels drop causing menstruation.
The above two phases are when most PMS symptoms are experienced.
Two events based on the severity can differ as
- PMS– Premenstrual Syndrome.
- PMDD– Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder.
While symptoms for both conditions are the same–
- Sadness, Hopelessness, or Feeling of Worthlessness.
- Tension, Anxiety, or Edginess.
- Frequent Crying.
- Fatigue, Lethargy, or Lack of energy to name a few.
The intensities experienced by every woman are different. A large percentage of women experience PMS, however, PMDD is experienced by only 3–8 %.
I want to give you a heads-up — there are chances you might be suffering from mental health conditions like — Depression or Anxiety Disorder.
Confusing it with PMS symptoms is a commonly made mistake. Premenstrual Symptoms vanish 2-3 days after periods, however, if your symptoms continue then you might need a consultation from a medical practitioner.
From my personal experiences with PMS, I’ve 6 discreet suggestions for you that can help you reduce the symptoms to lead a better quality of life.
#1. Track your Periods
Most often there will be no troubles associated with PMS during 4–12 days post your cycle.
If you want to make sure, the mood swings and fatigue that you’re experiencing are because of your Menstrual Cycle, or a hidden mental health condition that you need to get checked –
Watch out for your symptoms in the above-mentioned 3 windows.
A humungous amount of apps are available on the Apple Store or Play Store, I use My Calender- Period Tracker. Choose an app with a good User Interface and explicitly detailed tracking capabilities like-
- Tracking your cycle w.r.t the occurrence frequency.
- Symptoms ( Backache, Bloating, Dyspepsia, Cramps) and Moods (Anger, Sadness, Frustration, etc.)
- A dashboard to track the symptoms ranging from Insomnia, Hunger Pangs, Sex Drive, etc.
- If you plan to conceive, it will give details about your ovulation cycle.
Bottom Line: Tracking your periods is a good practice, as you get more aware of why you’re experiencing symptoms like mood disorders and fatigue. Once you are aware of the timings, you can plan less hectic tasks during the PMS phase.
#2. Give yourself an Ample Amount of Rest as your Body Demands
Listen to your body.
Whatever you call it — Gut feeling or Intuition. Your body will always give you indications of what it needs.
If it needs rest, physical activity, or self-care.
You ought to give it. You must take care of your needs and take time off as and when needed.
I am quite active physically, but there are days when I just can’t go to the gym or for walking. How much ever I try.
Pushing yourself is good, but when you need rest. You need to take it. Try taking a break and resume your daily chores the next day.
Bottom Line: Rest and Recovery play a vital role, in attaining holistic health. Take days off.
6 Ways to Conquer Health in a Holistic Way
Health is the state of complete harmony of the body, mind, and spirit.
#3.Nutritious Food
Period Bloating is a very common occurrence during the PMS phase. Maintaining a healthy diet can reduce it to a huge extent.
Medical News Today, emphasizes the importance of a potassium-rich diet to reduce bloating symptoms.
Potassium-rich foods include-
- Leafy greens such as Spinach
- Sweet Potato
- Banana
- Tomato
- Avocado
Did you know?
Bloating is caused by water retention. An increase in urine production will help alleviate the symptoms.
Diuretics, also called Water Pills help in flushing out extra salt and water from the body.
Natural Diuretic foods include-
- Asparagus
- Pineapples
- Peaches
- Cucumbers
- Leeks
- Ginger
- Garlic
Drink loads of water, as it improves kidney function in turn, reducing water retention.
Say no to refined carbs i.e. White Flour and Refined Sugar.
It can be your worst enemy during the PMS phase. Refined carbs increase insulin levels in the body which causes kidneys to retain more sodium.
Bottom Line: A healthy diet can take away most of your troubles related to the physical challenges during the PMS phase.
#4. Exercise Regularly
A healthy diet and nutrition go hand in hand. It’s like a beautiful marriage, if you need to be happy. Both parties should form a blissful unison.
I’ve eaten all kinds of crap from fried food to cakes to butter chicken but once I started exercising, the craving for refined food diminished
I’m not saying that it’s absolutely zero but it came down significantly.
I no longer eat food just for the taste of my mouth.
My relationship with food is such that it fulfills the health requirements of my body.
You can experience it for yourself.
Try exercising thrice a week, and you won’t want to eat that last slice of pizza. Eating the slice will take 2 mins, but burning it will take 30 mins of running at 6 miles/ hr speed.
A slice of pizza contains — 285 calories.
Bottom Line: An Active Lifestyle will push you towards better eating habits. You could also reverse engineer the process of eating healthy, thus having fewer calories to burn.
#5. Vitamin Supplements
Several pieces of research suggest Vitamin B12, B6, D, and Calcium play a significant role in reducing the mood disorder symptoms associated with PMS.
Getting your vitamin levels checked once a year is a wise decision. I follow a cadence of a yearly full-body checkup.
You can work with your general physician and get a custom-made plan containing the daily amount of Vitamins that you need to take in the form of oral supplements.
Extreme deficiency of Vit D, B12, and B6 triggers the symptoms associated with clinical depression henceforth, causing a spike in the symptoms of PMS.
Morning sunlight is a rich source of Vitamin D, bask in the sun and get your Vitamin D levels elevated.
Foods rich in B6, B12 and Calcium include-
- Poultry
- Fish
- Milk, Cheese, and Curd
- Green Leafy Vegetables
- Chickpeas
Word of Caution– Make sure to consult a health expert before deciding on the requirements of daily supplements.
Bottom Line: Get your vitamin levels up, and see the PMS symptoms go down.
#6. Relaxation Therapy
Draw yourself warm baths, with 3–4 drops of lavender or lemon grass oil.
I love long warm baths, it’s “The Me” time I get over the weekends. It helps in reducing tension in my muscles.
Nature Therapy works very well too.
Take a book and dive deep into it while sitting in nature, or go to the pool and do some splishing and splashing.
Perform any activity that soothes you.
Bottom Line: Indulge in self-care in the form of Relaxation or Nature Therapy. Avoid any form of hard tasks during your PMS phase.
Conclusion:
Lastly, if you’re a man and you’ve read it so far, I want to thank you.
If any woman you know seems a bit flustered, be it your mum, girlfriend, wife, or sister. Try to make things easy for them, show empathy, and provide care. They need to fight hormone fluctuations every month that heavily impact their body and mind.
Your support will make a huge difference in making their hard days better.
TL; DR
- Use an app to track your monthly cycle.
- Listen to your body, and give yourself an ample amount of rest.
- Nourish your body with healthy food.
- Lead an active lifestyle.
- Vit D, B12, B6, and Calcium are non-negotiables.
- Relaxation Therapy works wonders.
Hi friend, if you like this blog, share it with your friends and family so they to benefit from it.
Check out the Medium Blog of the author for more such lifestyle advice. This post was originally posted on In Fitness and In Health.
