Each month, women are fraught with uncomfortable, and sometimes debilitating, menstrual pain that results from their average monthly menstrual cycle. The menstrual cycles of women often vary in severity and length, with some periods being intensely painful for the entire seven days. The cramping, aches, discomfort, headaches, and bloating, just to name a few of the symptoms, are often unpleasant and can be intrusive to your daily routine.
Nobody likes dealing with this time of the month, when on average a woman’s menstrual period can last up to seven days total. Women also experience irregular periods and elongated lengths of time where bleeding is present.
Your period doesn’t have to be a long string of days of unending menstrual bleeding and cramps; there are many natural ways to reduce the length of your period’s cycle and shorten the duration of the side effects.
Exercise
Exercising can seem like a laughable thing to do in the face of painful menstrual cramps and unpleasant period symptoms. However, increasing the amount you exercise throughout the rest of the month can have an effect on your period by shortening the length of it when it does come, as well as alleviating painful symptoms such as cramps and PMS. Females who are overweight are commonly observed to have a heavier menstrual flow than females who have less body fat and who exhibit lessened flows and shorter periods. Mild to moderate exercise helps significantly lighten your menstrual flow and reduce the length of your cycle, making for an easier period.
Natural Herbs
Natural remedies can be ingested to both relieve menstrual symptoms and help shorten your cycle. Tea made from red raspberry leaves, for instance, is extremely beneficial to the reproductive system of females and can help shorten menstrual periods, strengthen the uterus, and exert labor control. Other natural remedies, such as chaste berry, yarrow, and maca root, are linked to control of the menstrual flow and treating irregular and painful periods. Chaste berry is typically used in tea form and controls prolactin, the hormone that triggers menstruation, which can allow you to have shorter periods with a lighter blood flow. These natural herbs can reduce the duration of your period substantially if taken consistently.
Drink Water
It’s important to hydrate no matter what, but hydration is especially important during your period cycle since the loss of water in the body can cause the release of the hormone vasopressin, which can cause severe cramps. Drinking plenty of water can also help shorten your period and reduce the painful side effects of your menstrual cycle.
Have an orgasm
Getting an orgasm, whether through masturbation or engaging in sexual intercourse, has been linked ending your period early. The extra contraction that takes place in the uterus during an orgasm helps result in a faster shedding of menstrual flow. Having intercourse during your period can help due to the idea that prostaglandins in the semen cause contractions and cervical ripening, which also result in the shedding of menstrual blood and tissue. So next time you have your period, try to achieve orgasm and see if that works for you.
Eat a balanced diet
Eating a healthy diet is key to maintaining a healthy reproductive system, and can even lead to shorter and less severe periods. Avoiding foods that contain too much salt and staying away from processed and fast foods can help. Making sure your body is getting the nutrients it needs can help speed up the process of your menstrual cycle and lessen the intensity.
Incorporate fruits and vegetables in your meals. Additionally, indulging in dark chocolate can also help since dark chocolate contains beneficial antioxidants that can boost your mood and reduce certain period symptoms.
Oral contraceptives
Using oral contraceptives is a convenient way to shorten the menstrual cycle if you’re comfortable with shifting your hormones. Birth control pills help increase the flow rate while decreasing the amount of blood, and can help significantly lessen your period and its side effects. Taking birth control pills can cause shorter periods on a regular basis because their purpose is to stop the ovulation process.