Introduction
Nowadays, taking Stress for small things has become very common, and it has also become a part of our lives. Generally taking a lot of stress is not good for our overall health, especially when it comes to the menstrual cycle. From missed periods to the intense pain of menstruation, stress is not at all good for our health.
And most importantly, taking a lot of stress can significantly affect the regularity and severity of your menstrual cycle. Choose the best gynae doctor in Siliguri who can thoroughly describe how the patients tend to feel when their menstrual cycles are off when they are under pressure, or when not feeling good due to a lot of pressure that they are taking continuously.
The connection between stress and the menstrual cycle
Now, let us understand the connection between your menstrual cycle and stress, well generally the menstrual cycle is controlled or handled by hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and some other hormones. When you take a lot of stress, it generally interferes with these hormones, due to which your periods may come late, or early, or in some cases, it can even stop completely, which is not a good sign. When you take a lot of stress, your body generally produces cortisol, also known as the stress hormone.
When this cortisol increases to a high level, it can even mess with the signals between the brain and the ovaries that are responsible for starting your periods. In case this cortisol stays high for a longer time due to stress, it can cause your period to stop, this is because stress disrupts the signals that are essential for your body to release important hormones for a normal menstrual cycle.
Acute Vs. Chronic Stress: How They Affect Your Cycle
Acute Stress generally takes place when you are dealing with something very stressful for a short period, like for example important exam, or a disturbing factor happening to you. Due to this kind of stress, your periods may be delayed, or it may arrive early. But once this stress is over, your menstrual cycle will be back to normal, like before it used to come.
Whereas chronic stress takes place, when you taking or dealing with something very stressful for weeks or months, unlike acute stress, chronic stress may have a bigger impact on your menstrual cycle.
Stress can cause problems like:-
1. Irregular Periods: Due to a lot of stress, your period’s time can change sometimes, your periods may come early, sometimes very late. This generally happens because the hormones, which tend to control your menstrual cycle are thrown off balance due to stress.
2. Missed Periods (Amenorrhea): Well, stress is not at all good for your health, and when you take stress for a longer time, than in that case your periods might completely stop, also known as Amenorrhea, this generally happens when your body shuts down the menstrual cycle due to increased level of cortisol.
3. Heavier or More Painful Periods: Due to a lot of stress, your periods can become more painful, and they may also last for a longer period, than unusual. Stress can lead to inflammation, increasing the cramps and making your periods more uncomfortable and painful.
Why Stress Affects Your Menstrual Cycle
When you take a lot of stress, it generally impacts the brain signals, making it release cortisol, which leads to the start of a chain reaction in the body. Cortisol tends to affect the hypothalamus, this part of the brain is generally used to control hormones related to reproduction. In case if cortisol levels are too high, then it can even block the release of hormones, that are necessary or required for ovulation (ovulation means releasing an egg from the ovaries). These hormonal imbalances can stop your periods or can even make them irregular.
Another, most important thing stress can also increase the levels of another hormone-like prolactin, which is generally linked with milk production. In case the prolactin hormones are high in level, they can interfere with ovulation, causing missed periods or irregular menstrual cycles.
In addition to that, stress can also reduce the blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, which is very important for normal menstrual function. Without proper blood flow, the ovaries might not release eggs, and due to this, the lining of the uterus may not shed as it should.
How to Manage Stress for Healthier Menstrual Cycle
Well, we all know that stress is not good for our health, and it tends to affect our health to a large extent, but we can generally reduce the effects of stress by following some helpful tips given below:
1. Exercise Regularly: One of the best ways to reduce the effect is stress is by performing some kind of exercise on a daily purpose. By performing some kind of exercise regularly, you can reduce cortisol levels to a large extent, and can even improve the length and quality of your periods. Yoga, walking, swimming, and other gentle exercises are very helpful for reducing overall stress.
2. Try Mindfulness or Meditation: Certain techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness can reduce the level of stress and make you feel relaxed or calm. These techniques tend to be very helpful for reducing cortisol levels and tend to bring your hormones back into balance.
3. Get Enough Sleep: To reduce stress, you need to take a good amount of 8-9 hours of Sleep, without any disturbance. By getting enough sleep you can overcome stress and keep your hormones balanced.
4. Eat a balanced Diet: When you take a lot of stress, it generally tends to affect your meals in the very first instance, during this time try to eat healthy food to keep your hormones in balance. In your balanced diet try to include plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. Avoid too much caffeine, sugar, or processed food, as these can increase stress.
Conclusion
Stress is something that we all experience, in our day-to-day life, the stress can be due to professional or personal reasons. Stress is not all good for our body, it can impact our menstrual cycle to a large extent. Due to stress your periods may come early, late, or in some cases can completely stop, the connection between stress and your menstrual cycle is very clear. By managing stress with exercises, relaxation techniques, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, you can reduce the negative effects on your menstrual cycle. Pick the best gynae doctor in Siliguri for understanding this situation more thoroughly, and what steps can be taken against it for an improvement of your overall health.