You might have known by now that women undergo a monthly seven-day hormonal cycle, which can impact their daily lives and overall health. Here’s what you need to know about the monthly hormone cycle from a cat's perspective.
Every month, the majority of women wait for their menstrual flow – apart from the ones with a polycystic ovarian syndrome, or women who have reached the stage of menopause, or other condition that impacts the natural menstrual cycle. You must have heard someone ask you, say at the office, or your partner at home, whether it is that time of the month! The stigma around the menstrual cycle is not an uncommon thing and people generally tend to avoid talking about it, both men and women. So much so as to not even taking the term ‘menstruation’. It is high time everyone learns about menstruation, and the associated hormonal changes that a female body goes through.
The World over, women are known to be hormonal. Which means their mood and sexual urges change a lot with changes in hormone level. You must have realized that your sex drive is especially higher at some point during your menstrual cycle. You must also have realized that you are more emotional on some days compared to others. Here, we help you get an in-depth understanding of your monthly hormonal cycle. Let’s analyze the various phases of your cycle.
The Menstruation Phase
Menstruation is the expulsion of the thickened uterine lining (the endometrium) from your body via the vagina. Contrary to what many people think, the menstrual fluid does contain not only blood, but also mucus, and the endometrial cells. On average, the menstrual phase lasts between three to seven days. Some women use tampons, while others use sanitary pads to absorb the menstrual flow.
During this period, all your hormones are low. Uncomfortable symptoms such as breast tenderness, bloating, fatigue and cramping are some of the symptoms associated with menstruation. As the menstruation stage comes almost to a close, you will begin to feel better as the estrogen and testosterone begin to make a reappearance. Estrogen is responsible for the production of feel-good hormones, endorphins, and serotonin.
The Follicular and ovulation phase
This stage includes the menstruation phase up until the end of the ovulation period. The hypothalamus usually prompts the release of the FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) by the pituitary gland. The ovary produces approximately five to twenty follicles, and each one of them accommodates an immature egg. Unknown to many women, only one follicle matures into an egg, with the rest dying.
The maturation of the egg happens around day 10 of a 28 days cycle. Due to the growth of the follicles, the uterus becomes thick to be able to support the pregnancy if conception takes place. The level of testosterone and estrogen continues to rise, and this is when you are most fertile, and your sex drive is at its all-time high. I guess it is nature’s way of ensuring that conception does take place. During this phase, your happiness and confidence soar significantly.
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Post ovulation
The moods you experienced in the phase mentioned above plunge as your estrogen and testosterone levels take a dip. However, your progesterone begins to increase. This happens to ensure that your body has the potential to accommodate the pregnancy if the freshly released egg is fertilized.
Unfortunately, progesterone may take a toll on you making you feel antisocial, snuggly and sleepy most of the time. Do not worry if you have cravings for either sugary or salty foodstuff. Your mental clarity might also experience some blurriness. Progesterone is also responsible for triggering the production of the endometrium that eventually sheds off through menstrual periods.
Luteal phase
This phase lasts between day 15 and day 28 of the cycle. The egg cell that was released the ovulation phase finds a home in the fallopian tube for utmost 24 hours, after which it disintegrates if fertilization does not take place. By the time you get to the last day of the menstrual cycle, the hormones responsible for keeping the endometrium intact are used up which leads to its expulsion, giving way to the next cycle. The Luteal phase brings with it bad PMS symptoms that are linked to all the blues you experience.
Is your menstrual cycle irregular and the situation is now bothering you? Here are effective tips for restoring normalcy:
- Begin to practice yoga – Yoga is a reputable cure for a wide array of health problems associated with irregular menstruation. You only require about 30-40 minutes of yoga sessions five days weekly to regulate your menses.
- Are you overweight or obese? You may want to consider shedding the extra pounds.
- Hit the gym. Start those mornings or evening runs. Whatever you do, just get active! Besides helping you maintain a healthy weight; it helps get rid of the symptoms associated with the polycystic ovarian syndrome.
- Consider supplementing your vitamin D intake. Irregular menses are at times associated with low levels of vitamin D. If you can afford vitamin D supplement, the better for your cycle.
- Apple cider vinegar is usually very useful, particularly for women who have been diagnosed with PCOS. Apart from helping you lose weight; it keeps your insulin and blood sugar levels in check.
- Stay away from excessive usage of contraceptive pills. Contraceptive pills mess with your cycle tremendously sometimes delaying your next ovulation for weeks and even months.
- Stay positive, calm and don’t let that workplace pressure bothers your inner peace. Depression or anxiety cause delay in periods many times. Had unprotected sex? Well, the deed is done. Even if you aren’t pregnant, constant worry about any possible pregnancy is not going to help and will surely delay your bleeding. Prolonged stress triggers amenorrhea and will shut out your menstruation.
To summarize everything, we tried to discuss the monthly hormonal cycle through the perception of cats. Doing differently can help, and we hope that we were successful in conveying the information we wanted to share about the monthly cycle.
One Worst Women’s Sexual Health Myth That Won’t Die
Some women believe that big breast has more milk than small ones.
Some women seek the services of surgeons for breast enlargement to achieve various objectives some of which does not add any value to the woman’s sexual health. For instance, take this notion that women with big breast have more milk than those with small ones. What they do not know is that there are some women with very big breasts with no sufficient amount of milk. The same applies to myths like big breasted ladies have more sexual power.
These are just myths that should be thrown away into the dustbin of history. The amount of milk or sexual power in a woman is determined by the levels of hormones in the body. The size of the breasts really does not count when it comes to the production of milk. Proper diet and peace of mind can help a woman produce more milk for her baby. The frequency of breastfeeding is important too here. So one should not boast of having big breast, therefore, thinking that she has a lot of milk, this myth is not true.
Ask Us Questions Related To Your Monthly Hormone Cycle – As Told By Cats
What is a monthly hormone cycle?
A monthly hormone cycle, also known as the menstrual cycle, is a 28-days (4 weeks) cycle on an average that every woman faces during the menstruating period of her life. It mainly includes four phases:
- Menstrual (1-5 days)
- Follicular (1-8 days)
- Ovulation (8-16 days)
- Luteal (17-28 days)
What is a menstrual phase?
A menstrual phase, also the first phase in the monthly hormone cycle, starts with your periods. This phase starts because the egg from the previous cycle was not fertilized, and so the thickened lining in the uterus sheds through the vagina. The levels of estrogen and progesterone drop dramatically during this phase.
What is a follicular phase?
The follicular phase also starts from the first day of the periods, and so is overlapped with the menstrual phase. It is also called as a pre-ovulation phase. This phase marks the preparation of an egg for this hormonal cycle. The levels of estrogen start to rise during this period as the follicles secrete estradiol while preparing the egg. You will start feeling more energetic and confident during this period.
What is an ovulation phase?
This phase is where the process of ovulation starts. Your ovary releases a mature egg that travels down the uterus for fertilization. This is basically the time when the chances of getting pregnant are very high. The levels of estrogen and testosterone will be highest during the period. You will feel most confident and upbeat with high sex drive during this phase.
What is the luteal phase?
The luteal phase, also known majorly as the PMS phase, is when the levels of progesterone take a climb and later nosedives towards the end of the cycle. Because of constant changes in the hormonal balance, this phase is normally associated with moodiness, cravings of sugar and salt, and irritation.