Still Feel Anxiety After Menstruation
While one side effect of low iron is a racing heart and other anxiety symptoms, if you notice that youre still experiencing anxiety after menstruation, it may be because youre more sensitive to rising estrogen. The level of this hormone gets higher and higher during your Week 1 and Week 2 , which can trigger more arousal in the brain and nervous system. In some women, this can lead to anxiety symptoms.
So, what can you do about it? If you realize youre more sensitive to rising estrogens anxiety-triggering effect, have anxiety-busters ready to use on these days. For example, try deep, slow meditative breathing or moderate exercise, such as brisk walks. You can also use yoga, chamomile tea, relaxing visual imagery or listening to slow-tempo music. All are study-proven ways to calm you.
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SOURCE: Paul Vaucher, et al., Effect of iron supplementation on fatigue in nonanemic menstruating women with low ferritin: a randomized controlled trial, Canadian Medical Association Journal, 184 : 1247-54 Patricia O. Chocano-Bedoya, et al., Intake of Selected Minerals and Risk of Premenstrual Syndrome, American Journal of Epidemiology, 177 : 11181127
How Can My Doctor Help
If your energy slumps are becoming too much it might be time to visit your doctor. Depending on whether or not your lack of energy appears to be in sync with your menstrual cycle, your doctor can run any necessary tests.
Hormones might well be to blame in which case hormonal contraceptives may be offered. Other contributing factors such as low vitamin D, low B12, thyroid issues or anaemia can get flagged up and treated accordingly too.
Join to receive 7 days of tips and advice from Nutritionist Emma, covering everything you need to know to get your period symptoms under control.
Avoid Caving Into Cravings
Many of us will experience cravings when we are on our period, and its not usually fresh vegetables or lean options we have a hankering for! We usually crave sugary foods like ice cream and chocolate, but this only wreaks more havoc on our energy levels. When we eat sugary foods like these, our blood glucose levels spike, which can then lead to disaster when they inevitably crash later on.
Try to eat small, healthy meals throughout the day instead of bingeing on sugary treats. Complex carbohydrates such as brown rice or pasta will be better for your blood glucose levels than refined carbohydrates like pastries and white bread. This will help to avoid the crash that comes after eating sugary foods, and will help you to fend off period-related fatigue. If you cant ignore your cravings for something sweet, you can try eating a small amount dark chocolate with a high cacao percentage. Read my blog on how chocolate can help other period symptoms too!
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What Is It And Is It Normal
As your period approaches, you may experience changes in your energy levels. The hormonal and chemical changes and physiological responses our bodies experience monthly can cause us to feel extra sluggish at specific points in our menstrual cycles.
According to our research at Active Iron, 49% of women experience tiredness and fatigue due to their periods. While feeling tired before your period typically isnt a sign of any underlying issue. Severe tiredness may be outside what doctors consider usual period symptoms.
Stay Hydrated And Avoid Alcohol
Feeling dehydrated often goes hand in hand with feeling tired. Make sure youre glugging down at least 2 litres of water a day and staying refreshed. Choosing water over sugary drinks or caffeine means you wont have to deal with the crashes or any disturbed sleeps!
Alcohol is a depressant which worsens feelings of tiredness. Try and avoid having that glass of wine with dinner or those after work drinks.
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How To Combat Pre
When youre tired just before your period, the last thing you probably want to do is to do a workout, but aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce low mood, anxiety and fatigue in the pre-menstrual phase.
If youre exhausted, theres no need to go all-out with a HIIT session try some restorative yoga, mobility work, a LISS workout or even some walking or gardening.
Beyond movement, its a good idea to start the day with a high-protein breakfast like porridge with nuts and berries, peanut butter on wholegrain bread or scrambled eggs with spinach. This means you start your day off with quality fuel and arent on the back foot before you leave the front door.
As women, we need to work with our hormone fluctuations across our cycle and if that means slowing down for a few days in our pre-menstrual or period phase, thats ok
Our final piece of advice if youre feeling exhausted in your pre-menstrual phase is to give yourself permission to rest. Back to Jess: Because we live in a fast-paced, always-on world and were busier than ever, we’ve stopped listening when our bodies are telling us to rest. As women, we need to work with our hormone fluctuations across our cycles and if that means slowing down for a few days in our pre-menstrual or period phase, thats ok.
If you’re experiencing micro-stresses all the time, your cortisol levels will stay high, which can reduce your oestrogen
How Soon Can I Take A Pregnancy Test
Pregnancy tests work by detecting a certain level of human chorionic gonadotrophin in your pee. You can take a pregnancy test as soon as youve missed your period. However, its best to wait at least one week after youve missed your period to get the most accurate results. While some tests claim to give you accurate results before a missed period, taking a test too soon can result in a false negative .
Your healthcare provider can take a blood sample to test for pregnancy as early as one week before a missed period.
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What Are Common Symptoms Of Pregnancy
Everyone experiences different symptoms of pregnancy and at different times. Its important not to compare your pregnancy to someone elses because pregnancy symptoms can vary so dramatically.
There are several signs of early pregnancy that you may or may not have. The most common symptoms include:
Remember, the only way to know for sure that youre pregnant is to take a pregnancy test or have your healthcare provider perform an ultrasound.
Align With Your Circadian Rhythm
Being out of sync with your circadian rhythm can make you feel tired at any time of the month, but especially when youâre on your period and possibly getting less sleep than usual.
Hereâs how to stay in sync:
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule: As much as possible, try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each night, even on weekends. This will regulate your circadian rhythm and help you fall asleep easier, therefore getting more sleep each night.
- Go to sleep and wake up at the right time for you: There are times when your body naturally wants to go to sleep and wake up, and theyâre different for everyone. Align with these times to have an easier time falling asleep and feel more alert during the day. If work and personal commitments get in the way, consider resetting your sleep schedule.
- Schedule your day with your energy peaks and dips: We all experience natural peaks and dips in energy throughout the day â thereâs usually a natural dip in energy mid afternoon and another before bed. By knowing this afternoon dip is coming, and checking the timing of it with a tool like RISE, you can schedule low-energy tasks for these times. Instead of fighting the tiredness, work with it, and save more difficult and demanding tasks for your natural peaks in energy.
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Ways To Combat Period Fatigue
Lifestyle changes can help with period fatigue, Mandal says. Here’s what she suggests:
Get extra sleep. It’s best not to fight your feeling of fatigue try to get the extra sleep your body is craving, Mandal says. “In general, getting some extra shut-eye always helps with feeling better,” she says. It’s important to block more time for sleep or a daytime nap since your sleep can be interrupted by PMS symptoms or the need to use the bathroom. Aim for more than the recommended 7 hours each night.
Try to destress. Irritability is a symptom of PMS, but managing stress levels can help keep period fatigue at bay, Mandal says. “Managing stress can help avoid high cortisol levels, which influences other hormones in the body and can lead to fatigue,” she says.
Exercise.Getting exercise can give you a boost of energy, Mandal says. A 2014 study found that, specifically, aerobic exercise like running can help with PMS-associated fatigue.
Snack smart. Eating whole foods and avoiding processed foods can help reduce symptoms of PMS, including fatigue. “Eating clean, natural foods helps to avoid further hormonal disruptions,” Mandal says. “You are what you eat.”
What Are The Phases Of The Menstrual Cycle
The first thing to understand is that a typical menstrual cycle lasts around 28 days and has different phases caused by rising and falling levels of hormones:
- The menstrual phase
- The luteal phase
The menstrual phase is when you have your period the first day that you start bleeding is considered the first day of your cycle. Bleeding will last for two to seven days, averaging at five days for most women.
The follicular phase begins at the same time as your period starts and ends at ovulation, lasting around 14 days if you have a 28-day cycle. If your cycle is shorter or longer, the follicular phase will be shorter or longer. During this time the ovaries are stimulated to produce and mature an egg to release at ovulation.
Ovulation usually occurs in the middle of your menstrual cycle, at around day 14 if you have a 28-day cycle. If your cycle is shorter or longer ovulation will occur earlier or later. This is where a matured egg is released from one of your ovaries and begins to travel down the fallopian tube towards the uterus.
The luteal phase begins after ovulation and lasts until your period starts the luteal phase usually lasts 14 days regardless of your cycle length. If an egg isnt fertilised during this time, the body will start preparing for its next menstrual phase.
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Why Are You Tired Before Your Period Causes And Remedies
Many women already feel tired on the average day, stretched by various demands of family, school, work and social networking. However, if you are feeling even more worn down in the week before your period, itâs time to look at possible remedies for premenstrual fatigue.
In the days leading up to your period, your feel-good hormones take a holiday. This happens just as your body needs them to provide the energy to power through the cravings, the loss of blood and the other transitions occurring at this time of the month.
You can combat PMS fatigue by committing to some healthy habits.
How To Feel Less Tired While On Your Period
Theres not much you can do about your bodys natural cycle, but the good news is that your energy levels tend to peak during ovulation, which is generally about two weeks after the start of your period.
There are natural ways of helping your body out when its feeling tired though drinking water, getting at least eight hours sleep and exercising is all useful, general advice. But according to Nicole Telfer, Science Content Producer at period tracking app Clue, there are different ways to overcome your tiredness depending on what’s causing it.
“People who experience premenstrual and menstrual symptoms may report disrupted sleep,” Nicole tells Cosmopolitan. “This can be from pain or from increased fatigue or insomnia. Using pain alleviating medications may help restore sleep quality by relieving pain.”
If you have a premenstrual mood disorder, the expert suggests you’re “more likely to experience sleep disturbances like insomnia, hypersomnia, fatigue, and even disturbing dreams during the luteal phase which could be due to disruption in circadian rhythms.” In order to overcome this, Nicole explains that some researchers suggest using light therapy may help people with severe cases, but more research in the area is needed.
People with PCOS are more likely have sleep disordered breathing like sleep apnea or snoring if they are obese, which in turn impacts sleep quality. “These people would benefit from seeing a healthcare provider specialising in sleep,” advises the expert.
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There’s A Reason You’re Extra Tired During Your Period
You’re not just imagining it you really are exhausted AF.
When you’re dealing with bleeding, bloating, cramps, acne, and all the other fun side effects of your period, you want to feel top-notch so you can power through it. But unfortunately, your flow can seem to drain your energy, and it sucks. It turns out there’s an actual medical reason that explains why you get so tired on your period.
Detroit-based pediatrician Dr. Molly O’Shea broke down the science for U by Kotex.
In the 10 days or so before your period, your body is geared up in the hopes that the egg you sent down the old fallopian tube met some sperm there and landed in a plush uterus ready to grow a baby. When your uterine lining isn’t invaded by a fertilized egg, the hormones sustaining the environment aren’t needed anymore and the hormone levels plummet. When this happens, your body goes from high alert to nothing hormonally and that shift causes other changes too and all of those changes are exhausting. Until your hormone levels increase again, you are really tired.
Your hormones start to climb about a week after your period begins, and they hit their peak when you ovulate . As your hormones surge, so does your energy.
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On days you’re feeling more zombie than human, you can recharge by staying hydrated, exercising, eating regular healthy meals, and getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep. And if that’s still not cutting it, just know that your energy is coming back in a few days.
Ways To Fight The Menstrual Fatigue
The tired feeling is all too familiar the week leading up to and during our period. Our hormones are fluctuating, our iron levels are dropping, were even struggling to get a good nights sleep! There are multiple reasons why our energy levels will feel low, and succumbing to our sugar cravings wont help either
Lets find out what causes the PMS fatigue and how we can fight it.
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Stressheightening Every Source Of Menstrual Exhaustion
Your period can throw off your hormonal balance in more ways than one. The emotional inconsistencies, physical aches, and other menstrual symptoms you may experience may result in some serious stress. These stressors are taxing on both your mind and your body.
When you feel tired, it can be challenging to perform well at work, school, or home. In this sense, fatigue is both caused by stress and creating it. This can create a toxic cycle of stress and fatigue that lasts for the duration of your period.
Period Fatigue: Causes Management And Treatment
Many of the most common symptoms related to a monthly period are well-known: abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, and tender breasts.
In addition, you may find yourself developing a strong craving for sweets, overindulging in unhealthy foods, or crying for no reason.
Shortly before or during menstruation, you may also experience intense tiredness.
Period fatigue is a common symptom of premenstrual syndrome that is usually caused by the hormonal changes that occur around the time of your period.
Learning your menstrual cycle in more detail can help you prepare for and manage your symptoms.
In this article, Ill talk about what causes period fatigue, its symptoms, and offer some tips for managing it.
Ill also outline some treatments that can help. Finally, Ill tell you when to talk to your doctor.
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How Do My Hormones Change Across The Different Menstrual Cycle Phases
There are some distinctive changes in hormone levels across your cycle:
- At the beginning of the menstrual phase, all your hormones are at a low level this is what encourages your uterus lining to begin shedding.
- During the follicular phase, your pituitary gland releases Follicle Stimulating Hormone to encourage your ovaries to prepare an egg. At this time, your oestrogen levels begin to rise.
- At ovulation, your oestrogen levels peak.
- At the beginning of the luteal phase your progesterone levels peak. However, they will fall towards the end of the luteal phase if the egg has not been fertilised.
Fatigue Before And During Period: What Causes It
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Hormones
The roller coaster ride that is our hormones are one of the main culprits to causing the fatigue before and during our period, but other elements come into play too.
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Cravings
Craving the carbs or treats topped with refined sugars can be oh so tempting, and caving in does mean youll feel that rush of energy. But itll be swiftly followed by a sugar crash and youll want to go grab those biscuits all over again its a vicious cycle.
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Iron deficiency
low iron levels can leave us a little worse for wear at this time. Whether its down to your period, stress or not being able to get a good sleep, its good to keep an eye on your iron intake.
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