Your menstrual cycle and stress

Most people who have a menstrual cycle are not aware of it, but stress can have a strong influence on the female cycle! Emotional stress and psychological strain in particular have hormonal effects and are noticeable in your menstrual cycle.

Your ovulation and therefore your period may not occur for various reasons. In addition to illness, stress has a major impact on your cycle. When you are stressed, your body releases stress hormones. These can disrupt your hormone balance and cause various changes in your menstrual cycle:

Oligomenorrhea – cycle between 35 and 90 days:

Stress can lengthen your cycle. Usually only a few days. However, it can also happen that your ovulation and therefore your period stop altogether for a few months or that your menstrual cycle becomes extremely long. If you want to become pregnant, there is one thing that helps above all: relax! In addition, you should consider whether you want to use hormones to increase the chance of becoming pregnant. A targeted change in diet can also help here.

Polymenorrhea – cycle under 25 days:

Psychologically stressful situations can cause your menstrual cycle to shorten significantly. This can shorten both the first and second half of the menstrual cycle. If you want to become pregnant and you notice that your menstrual cycles are constantly shortened, you should discuss this with your doctor. If you know which of the two cycle phases is too short, you can ask for specific support and, if necessary, use hormones to help.

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS):

During stressful periods, you may experience increased PMS symptoms. PMS can cause physical and/or psychological discomfort before the onset of your period. These include cramps, nausea, headaches and a lot more

What benefit does cycle monitoring with NFP bring me in this case?

With NFP you can better understand how stress affects your menstrual cycle. Analyzing your menstrual cycles can even help you understand what stresses you and what helps you combat the stress. You can see whether ovulation has occurred at all and which of the cycle phases is disturbed. This information will help you determine which hormone you are missing and how you can be helped.

NFP can help you to not only be more mindful of your cycle and your body, but also of your psyche, to set boundaries and to take a break when you need it.

If you still need to talk or are unsure whether your menstrual cycle fluctuations should be a cause for concern, for example if you urgently want to become pregnant, you can contact us here.

If you want to monitor your cycle, download the ovolution app now. You can find it in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.