Stress, delays, & periods

Let’s go back and briefly recap what a regular cycle means:

 

A regular menstrual cycle lasts between 21 and 34 days, and the vaginal secretions can last between 3 and 7 days. Now that we’ve established that, let’s talks about stress.

Stress is a physical and psychological reaction to changes around us. It could be physical, cultural, emotional, or psychological.

 

When we hear the word “stress,” we usually relate it to something negative. But there’s a lot of stress types, like stress from working out or a social activity that was exciting.

 

The bad types of stress are the ones that get triggered after we overwork at school or at work, when we ask a lot from our body and we don’t rest enough, and even when we have a problem with someone we care about. 

 

These types of stress are the ones that can affect our menstrual cycle.

When your body is under a lot of stress, it produces some hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline gives you more energy, it helps you to finish the work, or the homework until you’re done with it. Cortisol, on the other hand, helps your brain to stay focused and stops your brain functions that it considers unnecessary at that moment. For example, having a baby. If your body is stressed and not, in a great moment to have a child, the baby factory can shut down.

When we produce extra cortisol, our brain shuts down our reproductive functions because they are “unnecessary,” and the reproductive hormones (estrogen and progestin) shut down. This doesn’t mean our period will stop. We’re all different, and depending on our cycle, and stress levels, the impact it will have on our menstrual cycle can vary. We can notice spotting, a late period, or even a missing period.

 

We understand that the phrase “try to not stress too much,” is honestly useless, but if you can workout, treat yourself, meditate, and enjoy yourself, do it as often as possible to reduce your stress levels. And remember that if you notice something weird, go to your doctor ASAP.