Get off birth control! Pilates over running! Cortisol face! Sea Moss?
Across social media, countless health trends are thrown at women. Promises of perfect skin, mood, and sleep are advertised through a regime of supplements, enticing the viewer to completely alter their routine and diet. While these platforms may offer some helpful information, there are a number of dangerous features.This marketing scheme is often driven by idealized fitness gurus and aesthetic influencers, who dually promote specific body standards and false health benefits. With such an overwhelming amount of information, it has become increasingly expensive and difficult to navigate women’s health, distracting from effective, accessible, and affordable solutions for optimal hormonal health.
As someone who has struggled with hormonal imbalance, I’ve directly experienced the consequences of overworking my body. Through much trial and error, I learned a great deal about my body and shifted my attention from quick fixes to answering one essential question: What if I could sync my cycle with my lifestyle?
What Is Cycle Syncing? What Can I Expect During Each Phase?
Cycle syncing is the practice of aligning your lifestyle to your menstrual cycle in an effort to optimize your health and hormones. The Menstrual Cycle itself can be divided into four phases:
1. Menstruation (Days 1-5) At the beginning of your period, your hormone levels are at their lowest so it is crucial that the body isn’t overwhelmed with high intensity activities.
You may feel sluggish and emotional, making gentle workouts, walks, meditation, and quality sleep ideal.
2. Follicular Phase (Days 6-14) Your energy and focus levels improve making it the perfect time to run, strength train, and challenge your body.
3. Ovulation (Day 14) You are at your peak energy level and your emotions are most regulated. Your body is cooperating with you to take on high performance activities.
4. Luteal Phase (Days 15-28) Your body begins to settle down, preparing you for your upcoming menstruation cycle to repeat. It is an important time to relax and prioritize low impact workouts and self care and avoid high performance activities.
Cycle syncing allows you to work with your body’s natural fluctuations instead of against them.
My Journey with Cycle Syncing
For most of my life, I had been extremely active, happy, energized, and focused. I did not struggle with acne, period pain, or other major side effects. However, at the age of 17, I began experiencing extreme side effects of hormonal imbalance. My anxiety skyrocketed, my skin and body suffered, and my periods became unbearably painful and inconsistent.
Frustrated and desperate for a solution, I reached out to my primary care and was dismissed with the advice of eat better, sleep more, wash your face, go on birth control. Everyone around me claimed it was “a normal teenage experience.” However, I knew something was off in my body, as my confidence diminished due to external and internal changes.
During the first year of University, managing these symptoms became increasingly difficult. With the expectation to equally balance schoolwork, to make friends and to live independently,
My symptoms were heightened which made my first year both exciting and stressful. By the end of school year, I felt utterly defeated but then I discovered cycle syncing.
I decided to give it a shot over the summer before completely giving up on my health journey.
I slowed down my routine; I swapped runs for pilates and walks during my follicular phase. I honored my body’s cry for rest. I prioritized sleep, simply by cutting down on my nightly screen time. While these changes may seem minimal, my body truly began to thank me.
Over four menstrual cycles, I saw amazing results. My inflammation decreased, my period became more regular, and my skin drastically improved. For the first time in nearly 3 years, I felt energetic and optimistic. By researching the menstrual cycle and its phases, I now approach each phase of the cycle with guided intentions.
While these steps didn’t solve all my hormonal imbalances, they have allowed me to understand my body better. Most importantly, cycle syncing is feasible and can be tailored to fit your schedule, interests, and goals. Even here, at St. Andrews, to continue to follow this routine.
How Can You Implement This Routine At University?
Now that you have a better understanding of cycle syncing, here are 3 ways that you can incorporate it into your routine at University:
1. Walk with Friends: Combine catching up with a friend with some time outside and exercise. Destressing through a Walk is a great escape and way to procrastinate going to the library.
2. Meditation: Meditation is a quick and easy way to calm your body and can be done anywhere and anytime.
3. App Blocking Apps: App blocking/time limit, you can even replace a morning scroll with a mediation
Although a lot of information was thrown at you, the biggest takeaway is not to stress.
There is an influx of information online and it is easy to find yourself overwhelmed.
My experience is a perfect example of how beneficial small changes are; sleeping more, decreasing screen time, and giving yourself grace. By recognizing the importance of supporting your menstrual cycle, you will benefit in every aspect of your life even if you don’t have hormonal imbalances. The traits of cycle syncing can help you feel more into your body and be the way to a healthier Semester 2!