Why am I so tired on my period?
You wake up, you get your period... are you in the Oh No!, or Oh Yay! Team? Betcha you’re in the Oh No! Team - because you were raised to think periods are annoying, useless and painful. The media fed you lies about white pants, blue liquid, and smiles on your period - which is so far from the truth. So every time you get your period - you say ‘bugger’. I see you.
And then it gets worse… we talk negatively about our periods to our friends and our daughters overhear us. They associate bad feelings with periods, and the cycle repeats itself again. But it’s not your fault, and it’s not too late. You're here after all reading this blog.
Our periods are a very important part of being a woman, without them, we couldn’t have babies. If this is annoying for you - you're probably in the Oh No! Team. This is great because you’re here reading this blog, and I’m going to explain WHY you feel tired and what you can do about it. (HINT it doesn’t include drinking more green smoothies 🙈)
1. Firstly - stop being a robot
Yip - that's right, you are not a robot. And that might just be the end of the blog.
Except you probably won’t stop trying to be a robot without more convincing, oh how complicated we are!
Let’s have a chat about robots - they are made of metal, they are programmable, they don’t have emotions, they are consistent, and they don't feel stress or emotions. They don’t eat inflammatory foods, they charge up (themselves even). No one has to tell the robot to do its job twice. They can’t perform the miracle of making life. They don’t age (unless left in the rain) and they can’t raise your children. They don’t rest.
Now let’s have a chat about women - they create human life, they have hormones, and they have emotions and needs. They change their mind and need relationships. They feel deeply what others around them feel. They get stressed and don’t always do the right thing. They make mistakes and they need (quality) sleep. Often they can’t switch their brains off at night. They age gracefully.
Quite different huh, but what happens when you get Mums trying to be robots? (something I see all around me at the moment)
You get Mumbots. 🙋🏼♀️
Mumbots don't rest, they try to do everything all the time. They don’t ask for help, support or emotional labor. They don't think they need quality sleep, they feel deeply but don’t show it. They work hard without taking breaks. They try to do everything. They have a menstrual cycle. They get resentful and worn down.
Have you ever tried to be a Mumbot? 🙋🏼♀️ I have.
It didn’t last long. I burnt out. It was messy, hard and emotional. It was also a long recovery. It’s not something I want to put myself, or my family through again. I sure did get the message that I’m not a robot. But I see a lot of women trying to be Mumbots, probably more than ever.
Stick with me - there is a link here to your period. 🩸
Your period is your body asking for rest. When you have your period, you feel tired, that is because your oestrogen (an important hormone) is low. Oestrogen is like our energetic hormone - the more of that we have the more energy we have (up to a point, because too much oestrogen makes us crazy).
So no oestrogen makes you tired and exhausted. When you have your period you have no oestrogen. No
So… it’s completely normal to be tired on your period. Yip, you aren’t a robot, your body doesn't function like a metallic computerized machine - you are more than that. Trying to be a Mumbot is going to end in tears (just ask me, I know).
Now if you are trying to be a Mumbot at the moment, you won’t want to hear this - you need to rest on your period.
That’s right - you need to slow down, even stop and take a break while you bleed.
You are not a robot, you are a woman, and you have a menstrual cycle.
SO feeling tired is normal, it’s a blessing even, it’s your body's internal reminder every month to take a break.
It’s not your fault that you don’t know this. No one showed you or taught you how to rest, or how to listen to your body.
Sometimes though - there are other reasons we feel tired, on our bleed or all cycle long.
Other reasons that make you feel exhausted on your period could be;
- Too many sweet foods leading up to your period
- Too much estrogen in our system (not benign detoxed efficiently)
- Blood sugar too low (no metabolic flexibility)
- Cramps (link to blog)
- Heavy blood loss (more than 80ml)
- Not resting enough
- Living a stressful life
- Inflammation in your body
- Not getting enough quality sleep
There are a few ways you can combat being so exhausted on your period.
But before I tell you about them I need you to know feeling tired is normal, and to be expected, while you bleed. The ads where you saw a woman riding a moto scooter in white pants while she bled, is not normal woman behavior - that’s a wanna-be Mumbot. Don’t be like her, be a real woman, who rests when she bleeds.
Great - thank you for understanding that very important piece of womanhood, if you could also model it and give your daughters permission to rest on their bleed that would be great - will save so much heartache later on.
What to do about feeling tired during your period:
Eat nourishing foods
Our body is needing warmth, comfort, and nutrition during our bleed. So eating nourishing broths, soups, and stews are going to give your body what she needs.
It’s even better if you batch cook these the week before your period, so when you need them they are in your freezer ready to be defrosted and devoured. Adding dark leafy vegetables in to your stews is going to help too.
Ask for support before you need it;
This is a tricky one - the week leading up to your bleed take a pause and think ahead. You already know you are going to be tired (or flat-out knackered) in a week's time. So prep for this, ask your partner, Mother, and support circle for some help. Help can look like any of the following;
- Cooking meals
- Child care
- Quality time together
- A sleep in
- A massage
- Whatever you want
Asking for support is hard, but it does get easier. Your cycle will be easier and breezier if you lean on your village during your period.
Rest deeply in micro-moments
You have kids, a job, a home, a partner, parents, friends, pets etc. I get it, me too. And keep in touch, on top of, caring for, feeding, walking, cleaning, maintaining - it’s a lot. And if you don't do it - who will? Probably no one.
But does it really matter that the washing isn't folded for 5 days each month. Could instead you trust that next week (in your Maiden phase) you’ll have enough energy to do all the jobs and more?
Could you replace your washing folding time with a nap, a read of a novel, or a cup of tea outside? Can you not reply to unurgent emails and instead walk on the grass barefooted, write in your journal, or lay on the ground?
These are micro-moments, small moments in your day that you can have a rest, very small moments, less than 5min at a time.
Can you give yourself a moment or two? I hope you can just try it one time, and see how it feels. Make a note of it, and see if in 2 weeks' time, you have more energy.
I love the quote that says;
"Do something today that the future you will thankyou for."
Well, the future you will thank yourself for resting on your bleed.
Focus on quality sleep
If you have a newborn you can skip this part - your body is fuelled with oxytocin, and its getting you through.
For the rest of you - read on.
We all have varying hours of sleep we need each night, and this changes through our cycle doesnt it. As I sit and write this blog, its past 11pm but I’m on day 11, and I don’t need as much sleep as I will in 10 days time.
Netflix, TV, blue light etc. are all messing with our brains and our hormones. So is late night snacking and caffeine. For the few days you have your period, get some quality sleep booked in. Make it a priority and set up a sleep routine before you get into bed.
You’ll know what feels good, but it’s probably along the lines of salt and lavender bath, cosy pajamas, dim lights, clean sheets, soft music, a journal, or a novel, and potentially an orgasm if that helps you sleep deeper. That might not be your idea of a dreamy sleep routine - but it’s mine. Feel free to take it and test it out.
This tip is probably going to make the biggest difference in helping with your period exhaustion.
Some other resources on the blog that might be helpful to reduce your tiredness on your period;
So you want to feel less exhausted during your period? This is what you just learned by reading the (whole) blog.
- Understand that you need to rest because you aren’t a Mumbot (take the cycle quiz here)
- Eat nourishing wholefoods ( warm and easy to digest ones are best) link to 30 days of eating
- Ask for support before you need it
- Set up a period cave
- Deal with your cramps
- Get better quality sleep during your period
If you feel that you need some support to get to the root cause of your period book a Period Power chat 🩸 with me.
