There are many things you can do to practice self-care during your period. Here are some period-self care tips for your menstrual cycle.
Let’s talk about periods and not the grammatical ones. There are many things you can do to practice self-care during your period. It’s no secret that your bodies are changing, and you don’t always feel the best during menstruation. It varies from person to person and is associated with adverse symptoms — food cravings, bloating, extreme abdominal pain, fatigue, nausea, and more.
Thankfully there are ways you can minimize the discomfort, pain, and suffering during your menstrual cycle with a few self-care and health practices.
What Is The Menstruation Cycle?
Before diving into the different ways to practice self-care during your period, I’m going first to tell you what it is.
I know what you’re thinking. “We know this already.”
But, so many people don’t understand how female anatomy works. Learning about mensuration is an important aspect of women’s health. So, it’s vital for all women and people of all gender identities who may experience their menstruation cycle, to know why this is happening.
Menstruation, aka having your period, is when blood and tissue from the uterus come out of your vagina monthly. It’s part of the menstrual cycle, which helps prep the body for pregnancy.
What Happens During Menstruation?
During your menstrual cycle, the hormones in your body: estrogen and progesterone, create the eggs needed for fertilization (to get pregnant).
These hormones also create the lining of your uterus where the egg goes if the sperm fertilizes it. However, if you don’t get pregnant, the lining breaks down, and the blood, nutrients, and tissue flow out of your body. Hence, your period.
Most people get their first period between 9-13 years old and continue to do so until having their first child. However, even after having your first child, some women may still get their periods until they become old enough to undergo menopause.
Now, I’ve covered the basics. Next, let’s talk about some ways to practice period self-care.
Please make sure to talk to your primary care physician, gynecologist, or women’s health specialist before changing your wellness routine or asking questions.
Practicing Self-Care On Your Period
Eat Well
Most of us tend to get many food cravings during this time. I know I became a huge chocoholic during that month, and some women or other people may eat foods that usually wouldn’t fit their diets.
Carbs, sweets, and fatty foods are the most common cravings during your period. However, like any food group, overeating can lead to feelings of nausea, bloating, and irritability. Eating healthy and staying hydrated on WATER can help alleviate some of these symptoms. There are many healthier foods you can swap in place of your cravings. Some of these include:
Healthy Food Swaps
- Swap out chocolate for healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, and avocados.
- Swap out candy for sweet fruits like strawberries, blueberries, or bananas
- Swap out caffeine for water
- Swap out greasy foods with healthy salt like popcorn or hummus with vegetables
Get Enough Sleep
Fatigue and tiredness are some of the most common symptoms during your period. So it’s essential to carve out time for sleep and napping. Getting enough sleep before and during your cycle helps you feel more energized and stabilizes the hormones.
Yet, many people struggle more with insomnia or the inability to fall into a deep sleep around this time. Here are some tips for creating an environment that makes sleeping and relaxing easier, especially for women.
- Set the room temperature to something comfortable
- Open the windows
- Drink water
- Stay off technology at least one hour before bed
- Shower in lukewarm water
Stay Active
Although moving the body is the last thing most people want to do during their period, it’s essential. Staying active and getting regular exercise go a long way in alleviating PMS and period symptoms. In addition, specific activities, such as yoga, can help with feelings of bloating and stress.
There are plenty of light exercises you can do during this time. These include gentle stretching, walking, light cardio, yoga, Pilates, and strength training. All of these exercises increase your “feel-good” hormones and boost your mood and energy levels. So, if you’re looking for period pain self-care, this is the one for you.
Staying Healthy During Your Menstrual Cycle
Your period does not have to be the end of the world. However, by making small lifestyle changes, you can make having your period a lot easier and alleviate some of the associated symptoms. It would be best to educate yourself on other ways you can take care of yourself during your period, such as using a heating pad, going outside for 30 minutes daily, and continuing taking your vitamins. The above ideas are great for every stage of your cycle. You can also use self-care after period.
How To Normalize Periods
Regardless of your gender identity, getting your period is a natural part of life and should be treated like such. There’s no reason to discredit people or women who get their periods or experience symptoms of it. Your menstruation cycle is a beautiful part of life, and you should embrace it.
If you’re looking for fun things to do while on your period or how to take care of your girlfriend during periods, then try looking on Pinterest.
What did you think of these tips? Let me know in the comments.
Its too easy to eat junk and lay around when I’m on my period, but it just makes me feel worse. Thanks for the reminder to be good to my body!
I agree! It’s much easier to eat junk food and lay in bed because it temporarily feels good. Thanks for reading.
Great read! I keep active and workout when I have my period (and I don’t feel like moving most of the times) but it does positively impacts my mood 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Hi Carol,
Doing yoga and working out definitely always lifts my mood and improves my PMS symptoms.
We really don’t take enough care of ourselves enough during our periods, lots of sulking and unhealthy snacking here! lol Thank you so much for your tips!
I’m guilty of this too.
Having never had a period, I have no idea what it feels like or what would work to better manage it. However, we really do need to normalise periods. I keep reading articles of people not understanding periods and period related products, causing some to act extremely ignorant. That shouldn’t be happening
Thanks for saying this because it needs to be acknowledged more. A lot of times, I feel like people don’t want to talk about this subject out of pure arrogance and it’s really sad.
Love this post. It is filled with great information especially drinking more water and eating healthier. Thank you for sharing this amazing post.
Thanks for reading!
Love this! Well written and we need to talk more about self care during the menstrual cycle, it’s sometimes a vulnerable time. Thank you for the self care tips!
You’re absolutely right!
These are some really great suggestions. The first few days I need to rest well, snuggle under my weighted blanket and eat well. Thank you for sharing your self-care suggestions.
Lauren – bournemouthgirl
Those are great ways to practice some self-care during your period.
Love this post – healthy food swaps for sugary cravings really helped me with reducing my PMS symptoms which overall made me feel so much better. A hot bath and some massage I also find are great self-care during my period. Great post!
I’ve been learning how to swap our sugary food with healthy fruits and it has been a life changer.
this is such a helpful read and i completely agree. we need to learn to prioritize self care during our periods. i always love to get a little extra sleep & eat good meals. i also take more vitamins during this time to regulate my mood, iron levels [ i get super sleepy during my period ] & just be gentle with myself.
Taking iron is super important during your period. Fun fact:Research shows that women of childbearing age need up to x2 more daily iron than men. The average menstrual period lasts anywhere from two to five days. Estimates suggest that 220 to 250mg of iron per pint of blood is lost during menstruation.
I appreciate this post a lot, as people don’t write much about it. I struggle with the sleep thing. I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and then can’t fall back to sleep because of the cramps. For me getting a heat pad on me usually helps.
I love using heat pads, they help soo much.
I’ve always been so lucky with my periods and have never actually suffered too much thankfully!
Corinne x
You’re so lucky!
OMG! I just loved this post. I actually struggle with cramps and improper sleep. This post has helped me in several ways. 🙂
I’m so happy you found this helpful.
This is such a needed post because a lot of women don’t know how to help relieve symptoms or take proper care of themselves during their cycle. One thing I’m going to try to do is be active because most times I have no energy during that time. Great read!
This was such a great read and such a needed one! I think we should really normalise talking about periods not only for menstruators but as you said for everyone. I always find that drinking more water and hot drinks really help me as well as having a hot water bottle. Exercising too can help so much x
These are great tips, Riyah! Thank you!