The symptoms to expect at every stage of your menstrual cycle – from sexy dreams to manic cleaning and when you look youngest
MOST of us are familiar with the ‘standard’ period symptoms - cramps, bloating and fatigue.
But our hormones can impact us in ways we may never have considered.
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The biggest drivers are the female sex hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which change our behaviour and mindset over an entire month, not just the few days that we're 'on'.
Giulietta Durante, a menstrual cycle nutritionist at Hormones in Harmony, compares the four stages of our cycles to seasons of the year.
Your bleed week is winter, follicular is spring, ovulation is summer, and the luteal phase, in the run up to your period, is autumn.
While cramps, cravings, pimples and exhaustion might be the most common symptoms to occur, Giulietta says there are actually many others to be aware of.
And knowing about them ahead of time can help us prepare for what’s to come.
She tells Sun Health: “Everyone has a different experience of their cycle, so what we're talking about is a generic, fairly average cycle.”
Women have around 480 periods in a lifetime, according to the NHS. Here’s what you can expect from your next…
The first week of your cycle is marked by your period.
This can be uncomfortably heavy for some women, while others might not bleed too much.
But the symptoms experienced can often be similar…
Ever noticed that you're a little more relaxed during your bleed week?
“Our brainwaves are different during our period; they are actually calmer,” reveals Giuletta.
She explains that during the first three or four days of your cycle, oestrogen and progesterone are very low.
“Oestrogen gives us energy, drive, motivation, ideas and inspiration,” she says.
“But not having that is also quite nice sometimes, because your brain just shuts up for once.”
Rather than fighting your tiredness and pushing on, try relaxing a little more; you could even meditate or listen to calming music.
You might also want to simply curl up and hibernate, much like you do in winter when it’s cold and wet outside.
“It's also fine to do that in your ‘inner winter’ when you're on your period,” adds Giulietta.
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Towards the end of your period, oestrogen starts to rise.
And for many people, mood and energy are on the up!
Suddenly, you might find you’re super keen to get out and meet up with friends. Essentially, you become a ‘yes’ woman.
“You feel like this switch has been turned on and you have more energy,” says Giulietta.
“You're starting to think about the future a bit more and meeting up with people and you're just back in the world a little bit more.”
It reiterates how important it is to listen to your body and rest during your period week.
Giulietta adds: “We feel good during spring because we've had the rest during our winter and we've had a contrast of emotional states.”
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Post-period, you might spot a noticeable change in your appetite.
“Oestrogen is an appetite suppressant. And as you start coming out of your period, you're not as hungry,” says Giuletta.
“These are the days when you're like, ‘I can have a smoothie for breakfast, a little lunch and maybe an egg for dinner’. And then you wonder why you can’t eat like this all the time.
“But you can't because your hormones massively influence your appetite.”
If you want to practise fasting - prolonged periods of time with no food - then now’s the time.
Giulietta adds: “We need to fast according to our cycle; so fast when your oestrogen is rising.
“And then those days before your period, forget fasting. It's going to be really tough.
“I think the problem is that the diet industry is modelled around male physiology, and they've never really looked at how to eat for the female body and even fasting.”
WHEN it comes to periods, there is a textbook definition of normal - but then there is also what a normal period looks like for you.
For some (lucky) people, these definitions overlap; for others, they don't.
The NHS recognises a 'normal period' as losing between 30 and 60ml, or six to eight teaspoonfuls, each month. A 'heavy' period' is anything more than 80ml, and 'very heavy' is 120ml-plus.
Another, arguably simpler, way of working out whether your period is heavy is to count the number of pads or tampons you use.
Having to change a pad or tampon every one to two hours, or emptying a menstrual cup more often than is recommended, is a sign your period is heavy.
An NHS test can also help reveal whether your periods are heavy and if it's worth seeing your GP.
Dr Fran Yarlett, GP and medical director at The Lowdown, said: "Heavy periods can be normal for some people.
"But if your periods have changed and become heavier, this can signify medical problems." This could be:
- Early-stage cervical cancer
- Fibroids (non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb)
- Perimenopause (the time during which your body makes the natural transition to menopause)
- Hypothyroidism (when the thyroid doesn't produce enough hormones
- Endometriosis (tissue similar to that in the womb grows in other areas of the body)
It might be short, but the small ovulation window in the middle of your cycle can also bring with it a bunch of symptoms.
From heightened libido to changes in your appearance, you might notice the following...
Giuletta says that during this time, oestrogen is peaking and you are fertile.
In fact, the likelihood of falling pregnant is highest during your ovulation window.
“This is the time all your biological signals are like, ‘Right, we are ready, baby!’,” she says.
“Your libido pops up all of a sudden, and you might have some really funny thoughts about random men or women.”
Giuletta adds: “You pull out all the stops - whether you want to or not - because those hormones are so, so strong.
“You're flirty, noticing people on the street and you might even notice you get more attention yourself.”
To keep up this energy, Giulietta says you need to eat correctly.
“We do have a really high need for fats and proteins and we need a lot of antioxidants,” she says.
“If you're not quite eating the right things, you can also experience hunger.”
Find healthy fats in nuts, seeds and avocado; protein in lean meats, eggs, dairy and fish; and antioxidants in colourful fruits and vegs.
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With this mid-month flirty confidence, you might even notice that you feel better in yourself and in what you wear.
“I always notice it in the way I'm dressing,” says Giulietta.
“I could have worn the same outfit in my ‘autumn’ or during my period, and then I felt like a sack of potatoes, but during ‘summer’ I feel good in that same outfit.”
It’s not just about how you feel. During ovulation, Giulietta says you may look younger too!
“We have oestrogen receptors on every cell of the body and they influence loads of things,” she says.
“Oestrogen is actually very linked to holding water and plumping up skin cells.
“So when you've got higher oestrogen, you just look younger.”
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Once ovulation is done, your body is building back up to another period.
It’s during this phase or ‘season’ that you may notice the most hormonal symptoms, such as fatigue, irritability and carb cravings. You may notice these too…
As your hormones lower, Giulietta says you may be gearing up to hibernate again and therefore have a lot of drive to get things done.
“You know in a week's time you’ll be on your period and that’s when you want to chill,” she says.
“There is a nice energy to it sometimes as well; it’s a get-things-wrapped-up-energy, which I really like too.
“I look around me and I think, ‘The washing machine drawer - this has to be cleaned now!’”
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If you have a project at work that needs editing or you need to have a difficult conversation with a friend, save it for this phase.
“Oestrogen makes you see the world through people-pleasing eyes and everything's amazing,” Giulietta says.
“You say ‘yes’ to everything, you do everything and then during the luteal phase, oestrogen drops and you don't have your oestrogen goggles on anymore.
“You see through the bulls**t and it’s now very easy to make clear decisions because you can see things very clearly at this point.”
By Isabel Shaw, health reporter
LIKE many women, I experience severe discomfort during my periods (to put it mildly).
From dull and achy cramps right up to intense pain that feels unmanageable.
Since the tender age of 12 when my periods began, I've relied heavily on painkillers and my trusty hot water bottle to get me through the worst days of the month.
But more often than not, medicines and medieval heating devices do little to ease my symptoms, forcing me to miss social events and even work.
In fact, a 2017 YouGov survey found 57 per cent of women who suffer from cramps say period pains have impacted their ability to work.
This is hardly surprising, given research from University College London (UCL) has shown that period cramps can be as painful as having a heart attack.
So in my quest to live a pain-free life, I'm forever on the hunt for cramp-relieving hacks.
I tested four products which claim to relieve menstrual cramps. I took into account my pain level, value for money and how easy and convenient it was to use.
- Daye CBD tampons (pain reduction score 4/10, value for money 6/10, convenience 9/10)
- Myoovi (pain reduction 8/10, value for money 8/10, convenience 7/10)
- Beurer TENS & warmth menstrual pain relief (pain reduction 9/10, value for money 9/10, convenience 6/10)
- Recovery Therm (pain reduction 8/10, value for money 5/10, convenience 5/10)
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