20 Ways to Help Period Fatigue
Period fatigue can often occur either in the week before your period during the luteal phase or during your period. It is caused by hormone imbalances and exhaustion in your adrenal glands due to the overproduction of cortisol. There are certain nutrition & lifestyle modifications you can make to support the body and manage your stress response. In some cases, certain supplements may be helpful. Work with your healthcare provider to determine what may be helpful for you.
Here are 20 ways to help period fatigue:
NUTRITION
1. Blood Sugar Balance
Blood sugar balance is extremely important for reducing period fatigue. Your blood sugar balance is referring to the concentration of sugar in your blood. When we eat carbohydrates the sugar enters our bloodstream and then insulin, a hormone, is supposed to shuttle that sugar into a cell a moderate rate. Blood sugar can become imbalanced when we have too much sugar in the blood at once, and then very low levels of sugar in the blood following that. When this occurs insulin is released in extreme amounts which causes stress on the body to produce and secrete that amount into the blood. Over time our adrenal glands, which produce cortisol our stress hormone, can fatigue. Additionally, one of the symptoms of increased blood insulin content is an increase in testosterone production which can also imbalance estrogen and progesterone causing period fatigue.
2. Lower Caffeine
Caffeine is a powerful drug that is a stimulant in the body, which can further promote the stress response in the body. Stress is linked to estrogen imbalances, so lowering caffeine intake when we have high estrogen will cause the body to lower estrogen naturally. Caffeine also affects the way women metabolize estrogen. The consumption of caffeine can cause more estrogen to recirculate in the body when levels are high from the stress response. High estrogen levels are associated with period fatigue so reducing caffeine will have a beneficial impact on stress and hormones.
Source: NIH
3. Adequate Protein
Adequate protein is another one of the ways to help with period fatigue. Studies have shown that moderate protein diets are beneficial to reduce fatigue and stress. Additionally, our body requires protein in general in order to create enzymes that aid in the chemical reactions in our body and if you are not giving your body enough of that then you can start to see energy discrepancies and period fatigue.
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4. Healthy Fat
Healthy fats are necessary for hormone production and secretion so this is why they can benefit period fatigue. Women need at least 17% of body fat for a healthy period, and consuming healthy fats will help you maintain a stable body fat percentage. Healthy fats are unsaturated fats found in only plant foods like olive oil, avocado, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and nuts. For example, flax seeds contain dietary lignans which help to inhibit enzymes that are involved in estrogen metabolism. By balancing out estrogen from decreasing high levels that may come from estrogen dominance, this will improve progesterone. Flaxseeds can help with stress management, which will decrease period fatigue.
5. Hydration
Hydration is so key during menstruation because there is a high content of water in the blood that you are excreting. A baseline suggestion is to get 2-3L of water in per day. Water helps you to absorb nutrients, detoxify any pathogens in your body, and increase digestion. Not drinking enough water can lead to period fatigue because water does fill your body up and help you maintain energy throughout the day. Studies have shown that not drinking enough water can decrease alertness, increased confusion, and decreased sleep quality. It is important to remember that the feeling of thirst is the first sign of dehydration.
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FREE pain-free period 5-day MEAL PLAN:
SUPPLEMENTS
1. Zinc
Zinc is another one of the essential minerals that can help period fatigue. Zinc is needed in many chemical reactions in the body, enzymatic activity, and hormone and mood functionality. When we do not have enough zinc these processes decline and this puts stress on the body causing a state of fatigue. Since zinc also helps to manage and regulate hormones, this mineral can aid in reducing period pain.
2. Omega-3
Omega 3s are essential fatty acids that are necessary for us to consume. They are a specific type of healthy fat that has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help us to fight period fatigue. One cause of fatigue is inflammation, which occurs when your white blood cells sense an invader or an area of injury in the body, so they release chemicals to surge the area as well as increase blood flow there. Inflammation stimulates hormone balances to induce period pain and period fatigue. In addition, when you have chronic inflammation, the body needs to send you signals that something is wrong and needs to be fixed so this is why you may feel energy and period fatigue.
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3. B Complex
A vitamin B complex supplement is another one of the ways to aid in period fatigue. Studies have found that vitamin B7, folate, in women was associated with a decline in ovulatory infertility. It is also a vital coenzyme in many metabolic functions which can assist with fertility. Folate consumption can also decrease the risk of neural tube defects. For prenatal supplements, it is advised to take methylated folate instead of folic acid.
Methylation is a common chemical process that happens in the body where a methyl group which is a carbon with three hydrogens, is added to another compound. Though it sounds like a simple process, methylation is vital for our DNA functioning allowing us to engage or disengage from certain genes. When the process is impaired, it can create a host of issues.
Another important b vitamin is vitamin B6. It aids in helping period fatigue by regulating hormone levels. Vitamin B6 has been broadly accepted over many studies to treat PMS symptoms including pelvic cramps. Estrogen metabolism is another one of the properties of Vitamin B6 which helps convert estrogen into its active form.
4. Magnesium
Another one of the ways to help period fatigue is supplementing with magnesium. Many of us have low magnesium levels, but it goes unrecognized in clinical medicine because levels are rarely evaluated. You can think of magnesium as our calming and relaxing mineral. It helps to loosen tight muscles, maintain the health of our muscles (including our heart – the most important muscle), prevent migraine headaches, balance blood sugar, ease anxiety due to its role in our stress response, and ease period fatigue.
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5. Adaptogens
There are so many adaptogens that help with period fatigue. An adaptogen is an herb that aids the in support your bodies response to stress. They do this by resisting your internal stress response when a trigger event occurs.
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SUPPORT SLEEP
Sleep is super important to help cope with period fatigue. Our stress levels are greatly impacted by the quantity and quality of our sleep due to our circadian rhythm. When we wake up we get a burst of cortisol to allow us to be motivated to start the day and to get out of bed, and as the day goes on the cortisol will decrease to normal levels so that you feel tired by the end of the day. If you are not getting enough sleep or not getting enough quality of sleep this can inhibit cortisol from dropping throughout the day.
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1. Mindful Movement
Mindful movement is any exercise where you are listening to your body and paying attention to the movement. Mindful movement encourages you to listen to what exercise your body wants to do, instead of forcing your body to do something just because you think it’s the norm for working out. The idea is to really engage with your mind and body while avoiding any thoughts that may come in your mind to distract you. This type of exercise is beneficial for period fatigue because it can help manage stress, decrease increased estrogen levels, and it can aid in sleep management because by exerting energy during the day this can allow you to sleep restfully in the night.
2. Meditate
Meditation is a great way to allow you fall asleep better at night. Meditation can be done before bed or first thing in the morning, play around with what works best for you. Starting with 5 minutes a day can greatly improve your mental health, stress levels and improve sleep quality. If meditation is new to you start by listening to a guided meditation and then work up to being able to meditate without it.
3. Night Routine
Your environment should support restful sleep. An optimal sleeping environment is a cool temperature and free from noise and light. What else can you do to set up your room for sleep? Diffuse essential oils, clean your sheets weekly, get new comfy PJs, keep an inspirational book by your bed, clean up your space, and make it an electronic-free zone. All of these can help to get enough sleep so you wake up and feel rested.
4. No Screens 1 Hour Before Bed
This can be a hard one to break. A lot of times we think we'll just scroll until we get tired and fall asleep. The problem is our electronic devices emit light at blue wavelengths, which tricks our minds into thinking it's actually daytime. This interferes with our melatonin production (sleep hormone), so we're not getting sleep when we should be! When this happens we either don’t get enough sleep or don’t feel rested the next day.
5. No Caffeine or Alcohol Before Bed
Caffeine should be avoided because it is a stimulant and will cause you to stay awake longer and ignore your circadian rhythm. Caffeine can increase your stress levels during the day which can promote period fatigue. Alcohol though is a depressant, should be avoided because its effects impair sleep quality and increase wakefulness. Keep in mind that you should take depressants or melatonin to aid in sleep unless advised by your physician.
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TESTING
There are a few things you can check and test to see if they are one of the reasons for your feelings of fatigue.
1. Thyroid
The thyroid is a gland in our throat that needs to release hormones to maintain a stable metabolism among other things. If these hormones are not released as frequently as they should, then this is called low thyroid or in more intense situations, hypothyroidism. The hormones can also be produced too much and this is called hyperthyroidism. Due to an imbalance in hormone production of the thyroid, this can put stress on the body and cause period fatigue.
2. Cortisol
If you had the choice to only get tested for one thing to check to see a cause of period fatigue, cortisol would be the one. Because cortisol is our stress hormone and fatigue is dependent on our stress levels, this identifies the reason that you should check cortisol.
3. Sex Hormones
Sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone should all be checked because a prolonged imbalance can cause period fatigue.
4. Vitamin D
Vitamin D levels should be checked to ensure that supplementation is necessary.
5. Iron
Iron levels should also be checked to ensure that supplementation is necessary due to toxicity.
