11 Things You Didn't Know About Your Menstrual Period
1. Girls are getting their periods younger
Previously, the average age when girls attained puberty used to be 13 - 14 years. However, of late girls attain puberty when they are even younger. According to some recent surveys conducted in America, in 2014 the average age when girls attain puberty is 12 years. This might be attributed to several reasons including of environmental stress, changing diets, environmental stress and premature rates of puberty. One of the ladies interviewed says that she was shocked to get her periods at the age of 10 while one of her friends did not attain puberty until the age of 18.
2. Dairy makes cramps worse
It might be a shock to some – dairy
products makes one’s cramps get worst whether they are lactose intolerant or
not or having an allergy for milk or not. Milk in itself is not a natural product
ever since one is weaned off from their mother’s milk.
One of the student’s
testimonials informs that she had stopped consuming milk given in her school and
that month she hadn’t experienced any cramps and did not even realize that she
had her periods. According to her, this would subside after a month but it has
helped her with the cramping. Nobody says that one has to totally give up ice
creams but to restrain from having it during periods. This would definitely
make women feel better.
3. Caffeine makes your cramps worse
Caffeinated drinks or products
including coffees & chocolates aggravate the pain. This can be attributed
to the fact that caffeine has the tendency to make one’s blood pump faster,
which means there is more blood in and around the uterus. This would make it
difficult to force the blood out of one’s body, thus leading to cramping.
Hence
it is advised not to have coffee or chocolate during periods. Halting the
intake of coffee otherwise is also a good option as it is bad for the health. Moreover,
caffeinated foods/ drinks generally have dairy products mixed with them.
4. How much blood?
It is a common misunderstanding that women lose lot of blood during heavy flow days. It is said that in an average, throughout the periods, a woman would normally discharge totally two to four tablespoons of blood. However, it might seem more due to retention of water.Read - Menstrual pain & blood flow problems - best spices & kitchen remedies
Read - Menopause, hot flushes, night sweats Home remedies
5. Sex during menstruation
According to certain researches undertaken by healthcare research organizations, it has been proved that a woman could get pregnant during their menstruation. However, it is not considered to be the most fertile time to get pregnant.The fertile period would be around their ovulation period, when an egg gets released. Couples who try to conceive usually track the fertile period with the help of an ovulation calculator in order to calculate the most favorable period to get pregnant successfully.
6. Nobody knows why periods sync & how
Though there are certain studies
which suggest that periods of best friends/ partners/ roommates/ sisters
synchronize when they spend a lot of time in each other’s presence, there is not
much proof which suggests that this does not happen also.
There have been
instances when such women appear to get periods either at the same time or one
after another immediately. However, there isn’t enough proof whether it is true
or not.
7. Period irregularity
Similar to the several factors that drive the commencement of menstruation, there several factors that impacts the regularity of one’s cycle and it differs from one woman to another, at different period of their life. Such factors include stress, diet or influence of being under certain medications. Irregular cycles could lead to spotting or getting a late period or a lengthy period, or at times completely missing a cycle.
8. Exercising can help with cramps
Though one might feel uncomfortable
to exercise when they have bad cramping that they can barely move, walking and doing
yoga actually relieves one from cramps. It is advisable to exercise more on
normal days which would help one when they have cramps.
9. Sex drive during menstruation
Certain hormones such as progesterone are at their lowest during menstruation. Such hormonal fluctuations could drive the urge for intercourse and cravings for intimacy.
10. If you get thin enough, you'll stop getting your period
There is a relation between body fat
and puberty. Normally, for a teenager to attain puberty, it is said that she should
have minimum 13 percent of her body weight to be fat. Hence it is common that girls
who are fat are prone to start getting their periods earlier than thin ones.
This holds good for adult women too. If a woman starts to shed weight and has
lesser percentage of fat in the body, they won’t get periods and it is not very
healthy.
11. Eat healthier to lessen your cramps
If one eats healthy and stop
consuming junk food, the can get relief from cramps. Instead of French fries,
if one eats many fruits & vegetables often, they will feel better and their
cramps will not be tough.
