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You might be familiar with it: a sharp reaction that you feel rising before you've even said a word. Or that one remark you normally shrug off, but which now lingers. The tears that suddenly well up. As a woman, you are sensitive to change during your monthly cycle. In certain phases, you may feel somewhat more emotional or irritable, especially during periods of stress or hormonal shifts.
In this blog, I give you five tips for more peace, balance, and relaxation, tailored to your cycle and stage of life.
1. Eat cycle-friendly
Your blood sugar level and how you feel are closely connected. Fluctuations in your blood sugar, for example after eating fast sugars and white bread, can affect your energy level and mood. Many women recognize that they feel calmer and more stable when their diet consists of slow carbohydrates, healthy fats, and sufficient protein.
Nutrition tips:
- Start the day with a protein-rich breakfast, for example: scrambled eggs with avocado and vegetables.
- Eat a balanced meal with protein and healthy fats, such as avocado and fatty fish, every four hours. Preferably limit yourself to three, or a maximum of four, meals per day.
- Avoid refined sugars, soft drinks, white bread, and cookies that cause a blood sugar spike followed by a dip.
- Choose complex carbohydrates such as sweet potato, quinoa, or brown rice.
- Drink plenty of water and avoid excessive caffeine consumption or drinking alcohol. Pay extra attention to this in the period before your menstruation.
2. Live with your cycle
The second half of your cycle (the luteal phase) often calls for more rest. Many women feel more irritable or tire more easily during this time. Instead of forcing yourself, you can try to adjust your activities to your rhythm.
This is how you support your cycle
- Sleep is key: Go to bed an hour earlier in the second half of your cycle.
- Plan breaks: Ensure moments of rest throughout the day, take breaks, take a short walk outside, breathe deeply, or meditate briefly.
- Choose liver-friendly meals: Support your liver with foods such as artichoke, bitter vegetables, turmeric, and lukewarm lemon water.
3. Exercise to prevent a short fuse
Exercise can help release tension and find more peace. However, intensive training at times when you have low energy can actually be extra taxing. Tailor your exercise to your cycle. Exercise tips:
- During or just before your period: Choose a gentle, calm form of exercise: walking in nature, yin yoga, or swimming laps at a leisurely pace.
- Luteal phase (second half of your cycle): Do short, non-exhaustive workouts. Think of Pilates or low-intensity strength training.
- After your period (follicular phase): Your energy levels are often higher now, so this is a good time for something more intense like cardio or HIIT, but pay attention to your body's signals.
Above all, try to exercise without performance pressure. It is not about burning calories, but about calming your body and keeping it in balance.
4. Make decisions with room
Sometimes it seems as if everything is 'too much,' especially in the days before your period. Many women notice that they react more emotionally or that things feel heavier. It can help to postpone decisions for a while and look at things from a distance.
Tip: Sleep on it for a few nights. Write down your thoughts, but do not take any action yet or make a final decision. Usually, everything feels different after your period, and at that moment, from a place of clarity and calm, you can better decide what is truly important to you.
5. Ensure rest, space, and slowing down
Having a short fuse is nothing to be ashamed of. It is a signal. Your system is asking for rest, space, and slowing down. Take that, be kind to yourself. Plus: the better you know your cycle, the more control you can get over your mood.
Relaxation tips:
- Track your cycle (e.g., via an app, a cycle tracker, or My Cycle Book ) and don't plan too much during your menstrual phase.
- Plan your heaviest tasks for days when you feel more energetic.
- Turn off your screens before sleeping. take a short walk outside in nature just before sleeping, and
- Try to do nothing more often, even if it's just for ten minutes. Create a period relaxation ritual: a hot water bottle, a cup of tea, a book, and no appointments starting from day 25 of your cycle. Make it a moment for yourself.
Finally
Although we may sometimes doubt this, know that a short fuse is not a character flaw. It is a biological signal calling for gentleness, calm, and support. Learn to listen to your body, and it will become easier to take good care of it. You won't just feel it yourself; those around you will surely notice it too :-).
Do you need help getting your hormones back in balance? And could you use some help with that? Then book a 1-on-1 consultation with one of our hormone therapists. You can find more information here .
