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Your menstrual cycle is much more than simply getting your periods once a month. This handy guide will help you with all your queries on this topic.
Your menstrual cycle days begin from the first day of your last period and end on the first day of your next. The length of normal menstrual cycle days is different for different women, but the average length of a cycle can be anywhere between 24 to 38 days.
The length of period cycle days is also dynamic – it keeps changing between your menarche (when your periods first arrive during puberty) and menopause (when your periods stop forever).
The key elements involved in and affecting women’s menstrual cycle is a complex interaction between your brain, female hormones – oestrogen and progesterone, the uterus, and the ovaries.
The pituitary gland situated at the base of your brain signals your ovaries to secrete oestrogen and progesterone that prepare the body for a possible pregnancy. Thus, commencing the menstrual period cycle which progresses in four main phases:
At the most basic level, keeping a track of your menstrual cycle can help you be prepared for your periods. But tracking your menstrual cycle can help you in so many other ways as well.
For instance, you are better equipped to understand and deal with the cyclical symptoms if you know what is causing them. Depending upon what phase of your menstrual cycle you are in, you might experience sexual intercourse differently, you might feel bloated, suffer from headaches, get acne, encounter digestive troubles, etc. In fact, many women have also reported that menstrual cycle tends to affect their mental health too.
You can note down your period dates somewhere in a diary or mark those dates on a calendar to help anticipate and plan for your next periods. Tracking your menstrual cycle or periods has also now become much easier with technological advancements. You can do that by simply downloading a period tracking app on your smartphone.
The female menstrual cycle is a very personal experience. Each woman experiences it differently, and that is why it is beneficial to look into the period calculation. To conduct a menstrual cycle calculation, you should start on the very first day of your period and count up to the very last day before your next period begins. However, you should be mindful that menstrual cycles may vary due to several reasons.
For example, if your period started on 1st January and ended on 5th January, you will start calculating your menstrual cycle from 1st January and it will last until your next period arrives. So, if your next period arrives on 31st January, your menstrual cycle lasted from 1st January to 30th January, meaning that your menstrual cycle is on an average 30 days long.
It is important to remember, however, that pre-period spotting doesn’t count as the first day of your period. Your period begins when you start bleeding regularly.
If you monitor your menstrual cycle closely, you can quickly recognize irregularities and atypical periods.
While a single missed, delayed or early period should not raise alarm, if your menstrual cycle is consistently irregular, you might want to pay your gynecologist a visit.
There can be several underlying causes that lead to irregular periods. Some of them are:
There are several science-backed methods that can help in regularizing your menstrual cycle such as yoga, effective stress management, exercising regularly, and eating right. However, if the symptoms persist it is better to seek advice from your health care provider and chalk out a treatment plan that specifically targets the underlying cause of your problem.
Monitoring your menstrual cycle will help you identify the early warning signs. You can then schedule an appointment with your doctor and based on your symptoms your doctor may prescribe lifestyle changes, medication to regularize your cycle, or a combination of both. It is important not to ignore the signs and suffer in silence. Whatever be the underlying cause of irregularity in your menstrual cycle, your gynecologist is qualified to help you find a solution.