Your Hormones, Your Life.

Have you menstruated yet this month? How did it compare to your normal?

For many women, this first cycle of the year is a tough one.  Our menstrual cycles are impacted by our lifestyle, and December is often a month of stress, irregular sleep, overindulgence in sugar, alcohol, and coffee, minimal outdoor time, and minimal exercise.  All of those can impact our cycles: our mood, discomfort, energy, cravings, flow, and other symptoms.  

The nutrients you eat, the movement you do, stress you hold on to, and sleep you get all impact your hormones and your body’s response to your hormonal changes!

So what can we do about this?

• Awareness is key - knowing when menstruation is coming can allow you to put things in place that make the pre-menstrual period feel easier: movement, alone time, extra sleep, etc.  Most women feel less crazy when menstruation is anticipated. As with everything in life, expectations are key!

• Make sure you’re eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.  Count them up one day to see how many servings you get. Ideally within your intake, you have at least 1 serving of cruciferous vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, etc.), and 1 serving of leafy greens daily.

• Get back to a consistent sleep time.  Be realistic about what it is (you can’t go from 1am to 10pm!)  and cut the electronics at LEAST 30 minutes before bed.  

• Fluids. Stay hydrated, keep the coffee before noon, and evaluate your alcohol habits - how many drinks are you having in a week and how big are they?

• Get outside every day for 15 minutes - rain, shine, or blizzard.      

Your hormones respond to your lifestyle.  If you change the things you do, you’ll see changes in your hormones.