8 things to stop doing when you are on your periods!

Periods can either make you super hyper or either a couch potato, there’s no in-between. When we are on our periods, we usually crawl up in our beds with a hot water bag and definitely eat A LOT of food while we binge on our favourite shows. We have a lot of cravings and mood swings on our periods. It's natural to have cravings during menstruation, but indulging in too much junk food can lead to bloating and feeling sluggish. but not many of us know about the few effects that some of these have on our health because of our period habits.

Here are 8 things that you’re not supposed to do when you’re on periods:

Avoid Salty Food-

This is the time when you crave a lot of food, especially things like chips, fries and mostly junk food. Most of us don’t know that eating salty food during our periods has an effect on our health. Eating salty food during periods will make women feel more bloated and also play a role in worsening the cramps than it already is. This is the reason why we should avoid salty food and eat healthy because we really don’t want to end up with really bad cramps and a bloated stomach.

Unprotected sex? No way-

Periods can get tricky; you can go from don’t touch me at all to getting very horny. Having sex during periods is considered good for women because it reduces the cramps and obviously gives a lot of pleasure (until and unless your partner is comfortable doing it.) Since, most of us think that having sex during periods prevents chances of pregnancy which is a huge myth, but they also go in for unprotected sex. It is very important to have sex with protection because blood acts as a medium in transferring the virus and bacteria from the vagina to the pelvis, which is why having unprotected sex during periods can lead you to STD’S (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) and many bacterial infections.

No to Dairy foods-

A bowl of Mac N Cheese or a cheesy grilled sandwich is all it takes for us to be happy. We all love cheese as much as you do… but you might want to consider this option while you’re on your period. Eating foods that have dairy in it can create indigestion and problems of gas, this discomfort in the stomach can make the person very annoyed. If you love a lot of dairy in your food, then you might want to skip it, especially during your periods because we don’t want you to have an upset stomach as well as an upset uterus.

Coffee is not your Best Friend-

Our day doesn’t start without coffee and for all of you out there who loves coffee, we’re sorry to break your heart but coffee during periods is a NO! Coffee contains caffeine and consuming a lot of caffeine is bad but consuming a lot of caffeine during your period is even worse. The caffeine causes a lot of mood swings and discomfort, we tend to become very restless and irritated during this time. Cramps are something that we want to avoid and drinking coffee can worsens your menstrual cramps, maybe you can switch to something like green tea when you’re on your  periods to feel less bloated and irritated. We all know how much you love coffee, but coffee can wait.

No compromise on sleep-

Sleeping is something everyone loves to do. You’re bored? You sleep; You’re lazy, you sleep; You’re sad, you sleep and when you’re happy also, you sleep. We usually don’t give a lot of attention to our sleeping patterns normally and compromise on it, but pulling an all-nighter during periods is a big NO! We already go through a lot of hormonal changes during periods but staying up all night or sleeping for just a few hours might not only affect your hormones but also increase the severity of our period. All the girls out there thinking that it’s okay to skip your sleep and it’s no big deal, you definitely don’t want to stress yourself out and be in tremendous pain. So, SLEEP because sleep is the mantra to all your problems.   

No Smoking – especially during periods-

Smoking is a very big taboo for girls in most parts of the country, but today girls have come out open and tend to do what they wish. Smoking or no smoking is completely your personal choice, but smoking during your period is something we wouldn’t want you to do. Periods are painful and smoking makes it worse, girls who smoke tend to go through more pain than non-smokers. The cramps can last up to two or more days and can be very painful, which is why we recommend you to say no to smoking while you’re menstruating.

Waxing will be a No! –

Waxing? What does waxing have to do with periods? Maybe if you want to get a bikini wax done then yeah… but still how? Waxing itself is painful and everyone who has got waxing done knows what we’re talking about, when you wax during your periods the pain increases because your skin becomes more sensitive and your pain receptors are heightened. This will increase the pain in your body and you will feel ten times worse than what you actually feel. There are other options which you can try out other than waxing, get yourself pampered with a spa treatment. 

Changing the pad or tampon-

This is one of the biggest mistakes that most of us do and need to stop doing right now! We all should understand how important period hygiene is and should start following it for our own benefit. Most often we forget to change our pads or tampons because of our work schedules or busy days. We should change our pads or tampons every four hours to avoid odour, bacterial infection and heavy bleeding. This way we can avoid infections and maintain period hygiene. Most of us do not follow this and should start doing it right away because no one is going to benefit from this except ourselves.

You know, we all end up doing a bunch of stuff, and sometimes, well, let's face it, we mess up or just don't know how to handle it. And yeah, there are times when we simply skip doing something because we're not in the mood, right? But, how about we turn things around? Let's start doing things right, for a change, instead of repeating those same old mistakes. It's time to make a fresh start, starting right now!

Remember, each person's experience with periods is unique, and it's essential to listen to your body and make adjustments that work best for you. By being mindful of these potential pitfalls, you can take better care of your health and well-being during menstruation.