your cycle is your superpower
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your cycle is your superpower 〰️
Your Menstrual Cycle in Daily Life
This is the exciting part, because it will help you “bio-hack” your life to fit your period.
BUT, before we get into it, remember that you can do anything in any phase. You can also live aligned with your menstrual cycle. Your menstrual cycle influences you: it is a natural ebb and flow which you can partner up with, and when tracked and understood, will help you make more informed decisions to help you live your best life.
Your menstrual cycle may affect several elements of your life, including your communication, sex drive, energy, productivity, mood, immune system, sleep, and much more. Pretty incredible, right?
Some completely sync their lives with their cycles, and power to them. We understand this isn’t possible for everyone. But being aware of how your menstrual cycle might influence you will help you align where you can, and understand why you might be leaning one way at a certain moment.
If you're on the combined oral contraceptive, the raised levels of progesterone and oestrogen for a woman usually abolish the normal hormonal cycling, and the menstrual cycle phases. While you may not have the typical cycle changes, you may still experience some menstrual symptoms, especially if you have a hormone-free interval. (1)
However, you can still try to cycle-sync, by calculating the phases of your menstrual cycle based on when you menstruate. Some women who don’t menstruate also find cycle-syncing with the cycle of the moon helps them. By cycle-syncing, you’re able to take care of yourself and balance out your life with phases.
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Learn how the menstrual cycle impacts your….
Mood
Let’s tackle this stereotype of ‘moody women’ first. Yes, we do have hormonal variations which lead to different feelings and changes to our bodies, which might influence our mood, but this stereotype can be used in a very harmful manner by too many people.
A gentle reminder that we’re all different – and some of us don’t even feel a single difference between phases of their cycles.
Let’s dive in!
Follicular phase (spring; 10-22 days):
You might feel more motivated, and up to any task.
Ovulatory Phase (summer; 3-4 days):
You feel at your best, ready to take on the world
Luteal phase (autumn; 9-16 days):
You may feel focused. At the beginning of your luteal phase, you might naturally feel more concentrated. Towards the end of our luteal phase and our inner winter, we’re more prone to anxiety and mood swings, because progesterone reduces your levels of serotonin, your “happy hormone” (we know, it sucks…).
Menstrual phase (winter; 2-7 days):
You're probably at your most emotional and vulnerable during your period. Don’t forget to be compassionate with yourself.
Work
Contrary to previous beliefs, our productivity, creativity, and attention to detail won’t be the same every week, since we aren’t the same week to week or day to day.
Our hormones may influence us, but at no point does that mean we’re less capable than our counterparts. By working with our hormones and listening to our bodies, we can work smarter.
Follicular phase (spring; 10-22 days):
Great for solving problems, strategising, and planning. Your creativity may also be at its peak, ideas will be flowing out of you. Don’t forget to catch them in their flow!
Ovulatory Phase (summer; 3-4 days):
Great for communication and connection. Schedule important conversations with your team and clients – this is the time to ask for that raise! For the entrepreneurs among us, this is often the perfect phase to work on your marketing, public speak, or conduct interviews.
Luteal phase (autumn; 9-16 days):
Great for detail-oriented tasks, reviewing and editing, and wrapping projects up. This is likely the time to review work and focus on projects. Yes, we edited this guide in our luteal phases!
Menstrual phase (winter; 3-7 days):
Great for taking a step back, to analyse and evaluate. Reassess your career goals and priorities. What do you want to keep? What do you want to leave behind? Apparently, your intuition is particularly sharp during your period – so this is when to set intentions and boundaries, and rest and reset. (3)
Sex drive
49% of women between 25 and 34 were dissatisfied with their sex lives (2018), which is incredibly sad. What's cool is that our menstrual cycles can help us turn this around. (4)
Your cycle may impact many things that could affect your sex life, including your arousal, your interest in sex, and even the intensity of your orgasms.
Knowing which phase you’re in will enable you to understand what you need for more pleasurable sex at that moment – it could be more foreplay, extra lubricant, or nothing at all.
Follicular phase (spring; 10-22 days):
Great for trying new ways of pleasuring yourself. Your vagina might be dryer because of less oestrogen, so get the lube out. (5)
Ovulatory Phase (summer; 3-4 days):
Your sex drive is likely at its peak, and you're naturally more orgasmic! (6) So this is the time to have as much sex as you’d like (unprotected, if you’re looking to get pregnant, protected if you’re not - more on this later).
Luteal phase (autumn; 9-16 days):
In the first half of your luteal phase, your sex drive may still be high, and your body naturally lubricated (yay!). In the second half, this may dip and your sex drive may also wane – so have lots of foreplay. (7)
Menstrual phase (winter; 3-7 days):
With higher blood flow to your uterus, vagina, and vulva (including your clitoris), which might stimulate your sex drive. Plus, clitoral stimulation and penetration may help relieve menstrual discomfort.
Note: menstrual blood is not a lubricator, and actually can cause friction – so lube up!
Self
Your confidence, sociability, and stress, all vary with your menstrual cycle. Don’t be surprised if one week you’re craving attention and a night out with friends, but the next you’re feeling socially anxious and really just want a movie night in with your cat.
Follicular phase (spring; 10-22 days):
Great for new discoveries, social occasions, and high energy activities. You might feel curious, playful and enthusiastic. Plan adventures during this time!
Ovulatory Phase (summer; 3-4 days):
Great for taking risks and meeting new people. This is probably when you feel most confident and optimistic. Go out, show off, and take that leap!
Luteal phase (autumn; 9-16 days):
Great for alone time. You’ll release a greater amount of the stress hormone cortisol. So if you’re stressed – it’s completely normal. If you’re a meditator, meditate; if you’re a yogi, practice yoga; basically, make sure you get in your relaxation time.
Menstrual phase (winter; 3-7 days):
Great for taking a step back. Just like for work, this is the time to take stock and decide what (and if) you would like to change in your life.
Food
In the first half of your cycle, your metabolism slows down, curbing your appetite and conserving nutrients in anticipation of a possible pregnancy. (8) During the luteal phase of your cycle, energy expenditure jumps 8-16% - an extra 89-279 calories a day, making you hungry. (8)
Your craving for carbs in and around your period is totally justified. (8)
Your cycle and the changes it brings to your body can mean you may find your body tolerates some food better at different times of your cycle.
Syncing your cycle with what you eat has become popular recently, and while there isn’t a lot of science to back this up yet, it might be worth keeping a note of how eating certain foods at certain times of the cycle affects things like your energy levels, symptoms and mood. Below, we’ve given you some food ideas for each phase!
Which foods are best during which phase of your cycle is debated, and further research needs to be undertaken for more solid evidence.
Ultimately, we recommend eating intuitively: listen to what your body wants. If that’s salad and fruit, great – go fill up your kitchen with those. If that’s pasta and chocolate, also great – make yourself a bowl of pasta and have some choco! *don’t* (or try not to) feel guilty when you do. Your body will thank you for listening to its cues!
Foods to add into your cycle:
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Lighter foods, which compliment your naturally slower metabolism.
Eg. pressed salads (kimchi, sauerkraut), veggies (string beans, courgette, artichoke, carrots), lean proteins (chicken, trout), oats.
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Foods that balance out the spike in oestrogen and support the heart.
Eg. veggies (red bell pepper, spinach, tomato, leafy greens), fruit (strawberries, raspberries), lighter grains (quinoa, corn), chocolate (I know!)
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Denser, fibre-rich foods to support the large intestine’s slower digestion, and your faster metabolism.
Eg. slow-burning complex carbohydrates (brown rice, millet, sweet potato), high fibre food (cooked leafy greens, chickpeas, pears, apples, walnuts)
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Foods filled with micronutrients that build up the blood, and balance hormones as their levels drop during your period.
Eg. red meat, kidney beans, buckwheat, seafood, kelp, blueberries, blackberries.
Exercise
Many exercise studies were performed on men or postmenopausal women. Therefore, most of the advice we’ve heard is geared towards optimising male fitness! *eye roll*
It’s time for us to change that. By getting to know our cycles, we can feel and perform better when exercising.
Late follicular & Ovulatory phases (spring & summer):
Great for cardio, strength training, and building lean muscle. As your oestrogen and testosterone levels rise, your energy may too – helping you crush those intense workouts. (10)
Eg. HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes, faster runs, trying something new, competitions, races or matches.
Luteal & Menstrual phases (autumn & winter):
Great for resistance training, flexibility, and recovery. You may notice you need more recovery and rest time during this time of your cycle.
Eg. yoga, pilates, walking and ensuring you listen to your body and get enough rest.
Note that this will differ for everyone, and what is important is each of us exercising intuitively – if you feel like a high intensity workout during your period (which less of us do), then power to you.
But don’t force yourself, you’ll feel better for it.
Sleep
Ever felt sleepless just before your period?
We think you know the answer…
Follicular & Ovulatory phases (spring & summer; 10-22 days): Just like our planet’s spring and summer, research has shown you may need less sleep in these phases. (12)
Luteal phase (autumn; 9-16 days):
You may notice you get your best sleep at the beginning of your luteal phase, thanks to progesterone.
Then, during the later half of this phase (usually 3-6 days before your period), you usually get less REM sleep, making you feel more tired during the day. (12)
Menstrual phase (winter; 3-7 days):
As you’ve likely felt before, your period is your time for rest and recuperation. You may feel fatigued and tired more easily - don’t feel bad for it, and rest up!
Immune System
Our menstrual cycle truly does impact every aspect of us – and that includes our response to infections, viruses, and flu bugs. (14)
During your late follicular and ovulatory phases (spring and summer), your immune system is at its height, more ready to attack. As oestrogen levels drop after ovulation, your immune system downshifts and might find it more difficult to mount an inflammatory response.
This is when your body might be more vulnerable to infection.
Digestive System
Your gut microbiome (beneficial bacteria) produces 90% of your body’s serotonin (your happy hormone) – pretty important. Recently, research has looked into trying to understand the potential relationship between your microbiome and menstrual cycle.
The high oestrogen levels you experience in the first half of your cycle promote the growth and proliferation of good gut bacteria, and increase the contraction of the smooth muscle in your intestines. (15), (16)
Both of these help your digestion. So don’t be surprised if you’re pooping gold in your spring and summer!
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16. Al‑Shboul OA, Nazzal MS, Mustafa AG, Al‑Dwairi AN, Alqudah MA, Abu Omar A, Alfaqih MA, Alsalem MI. Estrogen relaxes gastric muscle cells via a nitric oxide‑and cyclic guanosine monophosphate‑dependent mechanism: A sex‑associated differential effect. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. 2018 Sep 1;16(3):1685-92.