Follow A Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle that involves following a well-balanced diet and maintaining a healthy weight is also important to prevent heavy flow and regulate your menstrual cycle . Obese women are at an increased risk of heavy flow. Hence, managing your weight is a step closer to a regular menstrual cycle in which the blood flow stops sooner than usual.
Will Taking A Nsaid Help
Exercise and dieting won’t stop Mother Nature from doing its thing, but there is one natural and safe way to lighten the flow of your period. “According to USC Fertility, taking an NSAID like Ibuprofen can reduce menstrual bleeding as much as 20 to 40%,” Bara says.
“These drugs work by reducing your body’s production of inflammatory elements called prostaglandins,” per USC Fertility’s website. “Prostaglandins have important actions on the blood vessels in the inner lining of the uterus, thereby affecting the amount of bleeding that occurs during a menstrual period.”
Be sure to familiarize yourself with the drug’s labeled instructions so that you know how often and how many NSAIDs you can safely consume. It might be beneficial to keep a time log as well.
What Factors Influence How Long Your Period Lasts
It may take our bodies a couple of years after our first period to develop a regular, predictable menstrual cycle. Once-established, your cycle length remains pretty constant. The drivers of your cycle length are:
- Whether or not you are using any hormonal birth control
- Your body mass index or body composition
- Your physical activity level
- Your diet and nutrition
A note here about body weight, body size, BMI, and periods. It is true that people who have larger bodies and more body fat have heavier periods. This is because the fat cells in your body can make estrogen. Estrogen stimulates the growth of your uterine lining. So, the more fat cells a person has in their body, the more estrogen they have in their blood, the thicker the endometrium they grow each month, and the heavier or longer their periods.
It is not true, however, that if a person who menstruates loses weight, their periods will automatically shorten or become lighter. In fact, if a person severely restricts their food intake or begins an extremely-intense exercise regime, they stop having periods altogether .
Talk with a doctor, midwife, nutritionist, and even an exercise trainer to learn more about what might be the ideal weight, diet, and exercise routine to optimize your menstrual health. While losing some weight might shorten your period slightly, starting a crash diet or signing up for a marathon is not a quick, easy, or guaranteed way to spend fewer days menstruating.
Also Check: What Does Birth Control Do For Periods
Take The Right Nutrients
Shutterstock
It is also important to provide your body with the right nutrition. Micronutrients like vitamin B complex are very significant for your overall health. Vitamin B6, in particular, is found to promote progesterone and decrease estrogen . This can be quite helpful in regulating your periods.
Zinc and magnesium are two other essential nutrients that can help reduce period cramps , . These minerals can help you plan your cycle and manage its symptoms.
Is It Safe To Stop Your Period
There are some studies being done on reducing the amount of periods a woman has in a year from once per month to once every four months. This can be beneficial for women who experience debilitating symptoms with their period, like cramps, heavy bleeding, and fatigue, which can arguably improve a womans quality of life.
However, all the outcomes of having less periods are still not completely known. Menstruation serves to shed endometrial cells from the uterine lining each month, and delaying or reducing the frequency of this process on a regular basis may have negative health effects in women.
Therefore, it is best to adhere to a monthly period and to skip it only for special occasions, like a wedding or athletic event.
You May Like: Can You Still Get Your Period While Pregnant
Get The Right Nutrients
Certain micronutrients, such as B vitamins, are essential to your overall health. Some can even ease up your periods while alleviating PMS symptoms.
Vitamin B6 is one of the nutrients that can affect your periods. Its found naturally in foods such as eggs, fish, and poultry. Vitamin
One study found that zinc, an essential mineral, was helpful in alleviating painful period cramps . Its thought that zinc has similar effects as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen.
Study participants reported relief from cramps when they took 30 mg doses of zinc up to three times per day. You can also make sure to get enough zinc-rich foods in your diet, such as meat, legumes, and dairy.
Magnesium is another mineral that can potentially help alleviate long, painful periods because of its anti-cramping effects. One study found that a combination of magnesium and vitamin B6 was helpful in alleviating symptoms of PMS.
Talk to your doctor before taking any supplements to treat your periods. In the meantime, make sure you get enough magnesium in your diet via nuts, seeds, greens, and fish.
Is It Safe To Stop Or Shorten Your Period
In most cases, using these strategies to help stop or shorten your period every now and then is safe. But if your periods are heavy and you experience other uncomfortable symptoms such as painful cramps its probably a good idea to visit a health care provider.
There are certain underlying health conditions that could cause longer periods, and its important to receive a medical evaluation so these conditions can be ruled out.
Also Check: What Can Make Your Period Stop
Why Is It Important To Induce Menstruation
It is not rare that women and girls for more comfortable holiday use hormone therapy to accelerate the menstrual cycle. If you are expecting some important event or you just paid holidays right when your period should come, and when you could not enjoy quite free, you can try some inducing period tricks.
Perhaps the best way to regulate the menstrual cycle is starting to take birth control pills. But, for this, you should talk to your doctor, who will recommend the most appropriate for your situation. The pill regulates the levels of estrogen and progesterone in the body. These pills are often prescribed to women under 35 and can improve other problems like acne.
You should also keep in mind that the weight you have can affect your period: overweight makes you produce more estrogen, which prevents ovulation. Therefore, losing weight is an excellent way to regulate period cycles. There is also the other extreme: losing too much weight or being below ideal weight can provoke amenorrhea or lack of menstruation.
But before you decide to accelerate menstruation in any way, make a pregnancy test for early detection of pregnancy, as many things below may negatively affect pregnancy and cause tragic consequences. Therefore, if there is any chance that you are pregnant, do not attempt to accelerate the period.
Start Exercising And Eating Well
A good hormone-free alternative is to try to eat a healthy, balanced diet packed with lots of fruit and veg.
Exercise is also supposed to help lighten your menstrual flow, and its also useful for reducing water retention, bloating and cramps.
Obviously, no bloody experience is the same and exercise isnt always realistic if you suffer from really heavy, painful periods. But if you can, working out every day might help.
Recommended Reading: 90 Day Probationary Period Form
You May Like: My Period Blood Is Light Pink And Watery
Can Exercise Shorten Your Period
Getting regular exercise can have an impact on the length of our period. By staying fit and keeping active you might be able to shorten your periods as well as lightening your flow. Also during your period exercise is a great way to relieve any pain that you may be experiencing, as the body releases its natural painkillers- endorphins.
By doing exercising that stretches your muscles such as yoga, you can help to loosen the muscles in your abdomen, back and thighs which may help to make you feel better while youre on your period.
Ask Your Doctor About Hormonal Medication
If you’re not on hormonal birth control, you may be able to delay your period with hormonal medication containing norethindrone, which is a form of the hormone progesterone, the same active ingredient in hormonal birth control.
You need to start taking this medication a few days before the start of your period for it to delay your period. Note that you will probably get your period within a day or two of stopping it.
A small 2019 study found that people who took norethindrone to delay their period were less likely to experience irregular bleeding than those who tried to delay it with birth control pills. However, the study also found that those who took norethindrone were more likely to gain weight.
Visit your doctor for a prescription and check whether this option is suitable for you.
Also Check: Best Way To Get Pregnant With Irregular Periods
Oral Birth Control Pills
Hormonal birth control pills are also one of the most widely used options to manage the period cycle. Initially, it may take a few months that you start noticing the effects of oral birth control on your period. But, they certainly bring relief to the cramps and decrease the number of days you bleed.
Consume birth control pills that are prescribed by your doctor only. This will ensure that you face no side effects or complications of the pills
Gelatin To Stop Periods
The other way you can stop your period is by drinking gelatin. Gelatin is a natural food ingredient. It comes from animal proteins and can be derived from mammals, especially pigs and some fish. It is made from the collagen found in the skin, fatty tissue, ligaments, and joints of animals.
Gelatin can be used for weight loss, treating osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and brittle bones. It can also be used to improve the quality of hair and to shorten recovery after strenuous exercise.
To stop your period once it starts, you will need to drink a cup or two of gelatin mixed with water. Drinking it before your period can help delay your menstrual flow for some time.
Those opposed to using animal products in their lifestyle or diet should avoid gelatin.
Don’t Miss: Why Do I Have Irregular Periods
The Two Main Ways To Make Your Period End Faster
So, now that you made it through the biology lesson, youve arrived at the main points of this post. The two approaches to shortening your period are to:
The reality is that your body has this period-thing down you will have about 500 periods in your lifetime, after all. You can try tinkering with your cycle length, but truth be told, there is no easy DIY hack to change the main factors determining how long your periods last.
Stopping Menstruation For Day Or Night
There are a number of methods that can be used to make your flow stop for a day or night. Various reasons for this include:
- When planning a special evening with their partners
- When celebrating special occasions like their birthdays
- If they suffer from PMS and are looking for a way to reduce or eliminate their symptoms.
If this is the case for you, think about using any of the following options:
- Using gelatin
- Taking ibuprofen
- The party wayalcohol is known to assist in stopping the periods for a certain The method is however limited as you cannot take alcohol every time you want to stop your flow for a few hours
- Taking vinegar
Recommended Reading: How Do Period Cramps Feel Like
What Is A Normal Period Length
A normal period length is considered to range between 2-7 days according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists . The length of your period is determined by how long it takes your body to get rid of all of the menstrual tissue that has built up over the first part of your cycle. Each month, your body prepares for an embryo to implant, or for pregnancy to occur by thickening and growing your endometrium .
Rising and falling levels of two hormones, estrogen and progesterone, determine the linings thickness or thinness at any given point in your cycle. The thicker that lining is, the heavier your flow and the longer it may take to shed.
If you do not become pregnant after ovulation, estrogen and progesterone levels drop rapidly. This drop sends a signal to your uterus to shed your endometrium. Your period starts as the mixture of blood, secretions from your cervix and vagina, and pieces of the endometrium leave are squeezed out by your uterus , through your cervix, and out of your body through your vagina.
How Long Is A Typical Period
Don’t Miss: Why Do Period Cramps Hurt So Bad
What Is The Safest Way To Shorten Your Period
If you’re still interested in hearing about ways to shorten your period safely and are open to learning about hormonal contraceptive methods, Bara suggests reaching out to your doctor. “The only healthy and safe way to shorten the length of menstruation is before it begins and using hormonal contraceptive methods,” she says.
“Hormonal birth control pills won’t only help prevent or delay your period, but lighten it, too,” Bara continues. “If it’s safe for you to use hormonal contraceptives, there are pills that give the option of a two-day period, four-day period, seven-day period, or having it every three months.”
If you’re considering using birth control and want to change the duration or intensity of your period, Bara recommends consulting a licensed health practitioner or a digital health provider like Favor, who can provide insights on how to effectively and safely delay or lighten menstruation.
Bara adds that long-term reversible contraception, like the Mirena IUD or Nexplanon, can also result in a lighter period. In other words, you have tons of options should you choose this path. At the very least, you can always schedule a consultation with a healthcare provider who can offer more insight and literature before making any decisions.
Expert Source:
Jess Bara, a family nurse practitioner, FNP-C
Is It Safe To Make Your Period Shorter Or End Faster
It depends on how you try to make your period shorter or end faster. For most healthy, young menstruating people, using hormonal birth control is a safe and effective way to shorten their cycles or lighten their flow.
The other strategies or hacks suggested here are also safe for most people who menstruate who are otherwise healthy. You just might not see dramatic enough results to justify the effort it took to brew your own turmeric ginger tea three times a day for example. Trying to restrict your food intake or start an intense exercise plan in order to lose weight with the end goal of making your period shorter is not safe.
Amy Harris is a certified nurse-midwife with more than a decade of clinical experience in reproductive health clinics, hospitals, and private OB/GYN practices. Amy holds a Masters of Science in Maternal and Child Health from Harvard School of Public Health and completed her nursing and midwifery training at Yale School of Nursing and Boston University School of Public Health. Passionate about empowering women through health education, Amy puts her public health training to work as a dedicated womens health writer.
Don’t Miss: How Much Blood Is Too Much Period
A Few Scientifically Proven Ways To Speed Up Your Period:
Believe it or not, there are a few studies out there that have found that stopping your period early or even delaying it for a few days is totally possible. However, not all of these methods are suitable for everyone. Speak with your doctor or OB-GYN if you have any concerns about the length of your period or if its suddenly become crazy heavy.
Caveats aside, here are a few scientifically proven ways to shorten your period:
Sweat it out
Your period is no longer an excuse to skip the gym. Turns out, physical exercise may not only make your period less painful, but also has the potential to decrease its duration by about a quarter of a day, according to a study published in medical journal Epidemiology.1 Cardiovascular exercise, in particular, has been shown to reduce pain associated with menstrual cramps and may help uterine blood exit the body a little faster.2
Exercise also reduces excess water content in your body, which helps with bloating, that oh-so-fun reason you hate wearing jeans during your period. And full-body workouts improve circulation and blood flow over time, especially if you keep your exercise routine regular . In general, several studies have shown that exercise reduces PMS symptoms and makes your period a little less uncomfortable, no matter what routine you choose.3
Hormonal birth control FTW
NSAIDs But proceed with caution
How To Get Your Period Faster
How women feel during periods vary a lot from woman to woman, but most women agree that periods can sometimes be extremely inconsistent, inconvenient and irritatingly irregular. An irregular period can spoil your plans for a week. Even if it arrives on time, travelling or having a hectic routines with it still need you to deal with the irritability, depression, cramps and other PMS side effects. Due to all these issues, many women wonder if they can do something to have their period faster. Keep reading to learn how to get your period faster and make your life happy once again.
You May Like: Birth Control Pills For Irregular Periods