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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.

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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.