Nothing strikes worry into the heart of any girl or like a missed period, except if she is trying to get pregnant of course. Pregnancy is the first thing that we think of whenever our period is delayed. But is pregnancy the only reason for women to have a late period? Not at all!
Here are some of the lesser known and yet most common reasons why you might have missed your period:
- Stress. Stress can affect many things in our lives, including our periods. At times we’re so stressed out that our body decreases the amount of a hormone (GnRH), which causes us to not ovulate or menstruate. In addition, it can get us to produce the stress hormone, cortisol, which is a harmful toxin.
- Change in Schedules. Changing schedules can really throw off your own body clock and effect not only whether you are getting enough sleep but also the quality of sleep and amount of melatonin, the sleep hormone, which is released within your body.
- Being Overweight. Carrying around too much body weight can hormonally shift your cycles and even stop them. Most women will see a return to normal cycles and fertility with the reduction of some fat.
- Being Underweight. If you do not have enough body fat you will not have normal periods, at times we can even result in the periods stopping completely. This is called amenorrhea. Usually a body weight gain will help you get your periods to return. Not getting periods is a common result in women and girls who have eating disorders.
These are all factors which contributes to hormonal imbalances and they can all be fixed.
The area of the brain called the hypothalamus, together with the pituitary gland, which also is in the brain, controls the hormones necessary for reproductive health.
Six hormones serve as chemical messengers to your reproductive system.
These hormones include:
- Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)
- Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
- Luteinizing hormone (LH)
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
- Testosterone
During your menstrual cycle, GnRH is released first by the hypothalamus. This causes a chemical response in the pituitary gland and stimulates the production of FSH and LH. Estrogen, progesterone, as well as testosterone (yes, the “male” hormone) are produced by the ovaries in response to stimulation by FSH and LH.
When these hormones work harmoniously, normal menstrual cycles happen.
Whenever this balance is disturbed, it can lead to the development of a great excessively thick uterine lining. This thickness can contribute to more bleeding than usual. It can additionally result clots in the menstrual blood when the lining is lose, make your periods irregular or make them stop all together. Detoxing can help you in that front and we would highly recommend you read our guide for managing menstrual pains as it can provide great insight into the matter.
A great start would be to start including for “good fats” in your diet, and lose weight as described in our guides.
