Fatigue and periods: how are they linked and how to respond?

Among the many symptoms that affect women shortly before and during their periods, we very regularly find fatigue. The latter has several explanations, such as difficulty sleeping during your period, hormonal fluctuations or even blood loss and anemia. While it is therefore quite normal to be tired just before and during your period , it can be particularly disabling. Let's discover together, in this article, 8 tips to avoid being too tired during your period .

8 tips to avoid fatigue during your periods

If poor lifestyle habits can tend to exacerbate your fatigue during your period, good lifestyle habits can, on the contrary, help to alleviate it. In addition to the introduction of these, we give you other tips to limit the fatigue linked to your menstruation!

1. Before you start: consult a doctor

We already talked about it a little earlier in this article: fatigue is not only linked to periods and we must not neglect that it can be linked to other pathologies, physical and psychological. It is therefore important to consult your doctor if you suddenly feel a change in your state of health (fatigue, weight loss, pale skin, etc.).

2. Get enough rest

Our first tip for feeling more rested is to get enough rest. This should seem obvious to you, but it is possible that over the years and with changes in habits, your need for sleep has simply increased. Where seven hours was enough for you before, you may now need, on a daily basis or during your period, eight or nine hours! Try moving your bedtime forward and see if that helps you feel better!

To make it easier to fall asleep, we recommend that you set up a bedtime routine. Screens help excite our brain: slowing down our exposure before bedtime is interesting. In the thirty minutes before going to bed, prefer to do your night care, enjoy a herbal tea and read a good book to more easily achieve restful sleep.

3. Take time for yourself

It's not always easy to take time for yourself in our busy lives. And yet, these moments of break, dedicated to your rest but also to activities that recharge your batteries, are essential for your proper functioning and your mental health.

Taking time for yourself doesn't necessarily mean booking a massage or going to yoga: it could be watching a film you wanted to see, reading a book sitting on a terrace before going home, having a drink with friends... Taking time for yourself means taking time to do an activity that motivates you – whatever it may be!

🌸 This is all the more important as many of you experience stress and more or less significant depressive episodes during your period. Find our article on depression before and during menstruation to find out more about it.

4. Maintain a balanced diet

We mentioned it a little earlier: good lifestyle habits are your allies in feeling better rested. This involves in particular a balanced and varied diet, with the fewest processed products, low in fat and salt.

Because periods are also the time when cravings can manifest (and cravings rarely go to apples!), do the best you can ❤️

5. Consider taking supplements

Do you sometimes have a little trouble maintaining a balanced diet? Food supplements may be of interest. Although they do not in any way replace your diet, they can provide you with interesting and essential nutrients and help you overcome your fatigue.

6. Hydrate (and limit alcohol)

Water is also essential to nourish your body. During the period around your period and throughout your menstrual cycle, it is essential to drink regularly and in good quantities (around 1.5 L). This promotes the proper functioning of your body.

🚩You certainly know this but let us say it again: alcohol is not a great way to hydrate... on the contrary, alcohol dehydrates! This is why to avoid a hangover, we tend to recommend drinking as many glasses of alcohol as glasses of water! Even more, alcohol tends to intensify the pain associated with periods.

7. Exercise

Although it is not always easy to exercise during your period (ouch the pain...), it is nevertheless very beneficial. To alleviate your painful periods but also to make you physically tired: physical fatigue allows you to sleep faster and more deeply. Practice the sport that you like and does you good: walking has many virtues but you can totally opt for other sports, depending on your tastes and habits!

🚩If you feel really tired, avoid sports that are too abrupt, collective or jerky. You are more likely to injure yourself if your attention and your body are not at their peak!

8. Limit caffeine

This may seem counterintuitive to you, but it is worth limiting caffeine during your period if fatigue is your enemy. The latter gives a one-off boost (you feel a peak of energy) but after this boost, your energy level will drop even lower and you will feel more tired.e… even more, we often tend to using caffeine as a “cover from misery”: we deny our body the right to be tired and we always push it further… which exhausts it even more. In other words, limit caffeine to be more aware of your limits and listen to yourself better.

💡Did you know? Theine, caffeine and mateine ​​are three names for the same molecule! (The name simply changes depending on the drink that contains the molecule.) This is why drinking a lot of tea can also be harmful. Prefer plant infusions without caffeine or theine.

What products can help me feel less tired?

Beyond the tips proposed above, here are several products that may interest you and boost you to feel less tired.

A herbal tea to hydrate you and get to sleep

Herbal tea is a very interesting product to help you fight against the fatigue you feel during your period. In fact, it allows you to combine hydration, the benefits of plants and a sleep ritual.

CBD to alleviate your pain and get sleep

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a molecule derived from hemp flowers and more precisely from the subspecies of hemp, Cannabis Sativa sativa. It is known to be interesting for its relaxing, anti-anxiolytic and anti-inflammatory properties. It is thus beneficial for alleviating pain, reducing anxiety and facilitating sleep . This is why taking CBD can help relieve fatigue.

We particularly recommend:

• A sublingual CBD oil: this involves placing the CBD oil under the tongue, a particularly permeable mucous membrane of the body which allows rapid assimilation of the CBD. This allows you to quickly benefit from the effects of CBD and above all to see how much CBD you need to feel the effects. 🌈 On our e-shop, we have a 10% CBD oil from the Équilibre CBD brand that we like.
• A CBD massage oil: massaging painful areas (for example the stomach or legs) allows you to benefit from the effects of CBD.
• An intimate CBD oil: CBD can help alleviate the pain associated with painful periods through massages of the intimate areas and the vaginal mucosa using an intimate CBD oil. 🌈On our e-shop, we recommend a CBD lubricating libertine oil . We especially love it!
• CBD herbal teas: herbal teas are very interesting for ingesting CBD in a different way and in particular for integrating it into a daily routine to achieve sleep. In addition to CBD, we can benefit from other plants that act synergistically. 🌈On our e-shop, we have several CBD herbal teas, such as the Rituel de Morphée infusion by Mijane.

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A massage oil to alleviate your pain

A massage oil is interesting. It has two effects: the first helps to reduce the pain associated with painful periods and thus allows you to sleep more quickly; the second allows you to relax. Taking the time to have a massage or to have a massage before sleeping allows you to set up a soothing well-being ritual.

🌈On our e-shop, we love the Happy Cycles body care serum from Miyé . During your PMS and during your cycle, use it to massage your painful areas: stomach, legs, chest. It is 99% natural, made in France, organic and vegan.

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Food supplements to limit your fatigue

A varied and balanced diet provides access to the balance of nutrients in your body in order to promote its proper functioning. Food supplements allow you to supplement your body when food is not enough or when it cannot metabolize all the foods ingested. To limit your fatigue, especially during seasonal changes and the onset of your period, supplementing with food supplements is interesting.

🌈On our e-shop, we recommend the brand's anti-fatigue food supplements Even if your fatigue is generalized and is not only expressed during your period. They are designed specifically against fatigue around three key ingredients: ginseng to strengthen the human body, hibiscus to provide vitality and vitamin C to reduce fatigue!

🌈If your fatigue is linked to your period, we recommend the hormonal balance food supplements from the Gyneika brand instead. They are designed to alleviate symptoms linked to hormonal imbalance, including chronic fatigue during this period. They are formulated around three key ingredients: ashwagandha to promote hormonal balance, magnesium bisglycinate to reduce fatigue and stress and chasteberry to promote hormonal balance and contribute to comfort during the cycle.

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Is it normal to be tired during your period and what are the causes?

Yes, as we said in the introduction, it can be normal to feel tired before and during your period. Depending on the menstrual cycles, fatigue can even begin up to two weeks before your period, throughout the luteal phase. Find out below the reasons why you are tired during your period.

🚩 Small necessary disclaimer which may seem obvious to you. Fatigue is not a symptom specific to periods and can be linked to other pathologies. If you have been feeling extremely tired for some time, we recommend that you consult a healthcare professional about this. He will be able to determine if your period is to blame.

Hormonal fluctuation

Before your period, the first element that can explain the fatigue you feel is hormonal fluctuations. Sex hormones (estrogens and progesterone in particular) are the conductors of the menstrual cycle: their level regulates the cycle and the functioning of your body. As the period approaches, the progesterone level and the estrogen level are at their lowest (it is even their low level that triggers the period!). This variation can cause fatigue in you!

Pain and cramps

As the period approaches and then during the period, the pain induced by the various symptoms of the period (migraines, menstrual cramps, chest pain, leg pain during the period, back pain linked to the period and so on ) can cause fatigue. Fighting pain and forcing yourself to “function” on a daily basis can be exhausting. Try to see if your company offers menstrual leave ( some French organizations are starting to do so !) and/or negotiate teleworking during your period if your work allows it.

Sleep problems/lack of sleep

Menstruation is often accompanied by sleep disturbances. This, in particular because they cause stress and pain which prevent you from falling asleep and having restful sleep. It’s easy to understand how this lack of sleep can impact your fatigue!

Blood loss

Penultimate reason that can explain your fatigue during your period and just after: blood loss. If your periods are heavy , in flow and in duration (more than 5 days), it is possible that the blood loss caused by your periods will make you tired. Some women therefore find themselves in a situation of anemia (lack of iron) (1) and can feel unwell because of their heavy periods!

Amplification linked to lifestyle

Finally, your lifestyle and lifestyle habits can have an impact on your fatigue and amplify the fatigue linked to your period. This is the case of lack of exercise, poor diet, poor hydration or even too much stress.

Sources:

1. Anemia: the fault of the rules and the patriarchy , Néon