The three phases of your menstrual cycle and how they affect your life
As a woman, you go through different phases every month that are linked to your menstrual cycle. Get to know these phases and how they can affect your life.
Women sync: Sara Norrbom and Susanna Moen
Have you ever felt changes in your mood, sex drive, hunger, or confidence during your cycle? Did you ever think about how it might be linked to the menstrual cycle? In this article, we’re going to get an understanding of the phases of the menstrual cycle and how you can use them to your favor during the month.
Get to know your menstrual cycle
Your menstrual cycle is a great tool to understand your body. With the right knowledge, you can work with your cyclical changes and at the same time achieve a new dimension of health on a physical, mental, and personal level.
In Womensync, we have divided the menstrual cycle into three phases.
Phase 1 = is when you have your period
Phase 2 = is the day after your last day of bleeding until ovulation
Phase 3 = is the day after your ovulation until you get your next period
The menstrual cycle
Phase 1 - the days you bleed
Phase one is the first day of a new cycle and is all the days you bleed. How many days your period is, is individual and can vary from cycle to cycle. At the beginning of this phase, many women can feel a bit more tired than usual which is a reflection of their low levels of hormones. As the days go by and your period ends your hormones will increase and so will your energy.
Advice for when you are in phase 1:
– Phase one can be thought of as the perfect time for a restart. As the energy grows, use it to implement new ideas and routines.
– If you feel tired at the start of the phase, make sure you give yourself space for recovery.
– If you experience PMS in different forms you can use movement and calmer types of exercise as tools to ease any symptoms.
– As the days go by you can start feeling more social so it can be a good time to start planning more social activities by the end of the phase.
Phase 2 - the days before and during your ovulation
This phase starts the day after your period ends and lasts until your ovulation. During phase 2, your key hormones, estrogen, and testosterone, rise and peak when you ovulate. Maybe you can recognize yourself feeling extra strong physically during this phase. It’s because of your testosterone! Estrogen on the other side can increase your confidence and sex drive, bring you an energy boost and it’s also common to feel more social during this phase!
Advice for when you are in phase 2 (before ovulation)
In this phase, you usually feel more energetic and at your strongest physically. Use this time to take on challenges and maybe push yourself a little extra.
Use your biological confidence boost to network, pitch an idea or socialize.
Remember to also make space for recovery, thus your body needs to feel safe in order to ovulate (and ovulation is the key event in the menstrual cycle).
Phase 3 - from ovulation until your next period
This phase starts the day after ovulation and continues until your next period. This is the phase when our hormones are the most volatile, this can sometimes be reflected in our moods and feelings. Some women describe it as you can be the queen of the world one day and the other day you just want to pull the cover over your head. Remember that this is just your hormones playing tricks with you, it will pass.
Just because it’s common for many women to experience PMS symptoms during this phase doesn't mean it has to be that way. These symptoms can often be decreased through changes in your lifestyle.
Advice for when you are in phase 3
Use this phase to look inwards! In this phase, you often feel more in tune with your feelings so it is a great opportunity for personal development.
It’s common to feel an urge for physical touch (rather than sex) during this phase which you can use as a great tool to increase feelings of calmness and happiness.
Use gentle movements such as yoga, walks, or strength training as a tool to get rid of unwanted PMS symptoms.
Don’t make rushed decisions in this phase such as quitting your work or ending a relationship. See if the feeling remains in the next phase.
Conclusion
As women we are cyclic and that is completely natural. This is something we can use to our advantage when we have the right knowledge. It’s normal that your need for sleep differs, that you may feel more or less strong depending on where you are in your cycle but also that sex drive, emotions, and hunger change. The outcome of your menstrual cycle is largely influenced by your lifestyle such as diet, movement, recovery, stress, and toxins. If you haven't read our book Womensync - For life in sync with your female biology - do so! In the book, we cover everything about the menstrual cycle and how you can influence it through lifestyle.
Womensync is a company within Female Health and Lifestyle founded by Sara Norrbom and Susanna Moen. Their mission is to offer knowledge, inspiration and products to help women feel their best, the whole month and in every stage of life. They also run the
