The Impact of Exercises on Menstrual Health and Cramps.

By Dr. Shruti Akshantal,
Doctor of Pharmacy.

Being physically fit and active is an important aspect of living a healthy lifestyle it’s likely to develop personality and boost your confidence! It is the only most important thing that you can do for your health, in the short term it helps to control appetite, boosts mood and improves sleep; you may also experience sore muscles, lose weight, sleep better, and gain strength. But what you may not imagine is that regular exercise can produce changes to your menstrual cycle, too! The Impact of Exercises on Menstrual Health and Cramps is more then you can imagine.

The changes may be subtle or extreme dependent on many factors that influence how your body reacts to your increased activity level. Exercise can support your mood as feel-good chemicals called endorphins are released. Ever felt a warm fuzzy feeling after exercise? It’s down to those endorphins they also have a positive impact on pain perception too which in turn is a bonus! Many studies prove that exercising daily can lead to a lighter flow during the cycle. The possible change that may contribute to a lighter flow is the moderate weight loss that can come with regular exercise. Body fat or adipose tissue produces a type of estrogen. Excess estrogen in your body can produce the lining of your uterus to build up more than usual during the first half of your cycle. The thicker the lining of the uterus, the heavier is your menstrual flow. With weight loss, you decrease the amount of estrogen in your body, which in turn decreases the cyclic buildup of the lining of your uterus. A thinner lining means decreased flow during your menses. Being physically active also helps in maintaining the regularity in your cycle which is an amazing indicator of your menstrual health. Overall exercise plays a vital role in maintaining your menstrual health.

Now the question arises what type of exercise? Studies support cardio is one of the most effective methods to maintain good menstrual health. An hour thrice a week of your favorite cardio like Zumba, Bollywood dance or aerobics may do the needful and also gives you a fun activity to go to. Keeping your mind and body fit at the same time? Why not try Yoga. A Doctor suggests doing yoga every day for 15 minutes will give you an unproblematic reproductive life.

The majority of the women these days suffer from PCOS and PCOD which may cause problems in the reproductive life, exercise and a healthy diet has proven effective in curing these major diseases. Let’s burn the myth of not exercising during periods, light cardio or yogasanas like cobblers pose, head to knee pose, seated straddle and goddess pose during periods prove effective to help beat many symptoms of PMS like bloating, cramps, heavy flow, and others.

In the end, we can say that exercise has a very effective role in maintaining menstrual health. The Impact of Exercises on Menstrual Health and Cramps is always under estimated. Women living a sedentary lifestyle with no exercise experience heavier periods and have tough PMS symptoms. Get moving. After all who wouldn’t want a pain free stress free period?