Coronavirus Effects - How Your Menstrual Cycle Maybe Getting Affected

Periods are painful, unwelcome, and quite frankly just annoying when they intrude on a lovely day. But as much as you dread them, it’s way scarier to not have your period show up on time, is it not? 

Turns out the stress and change induced by this deadly pandemic could be a reason your period is delayed. 

Here’s the thing: The feeling of being united together in these stressful times of a world pandemic, especially with social media acting as “man’s best friend” right now, is very temporarily soothing to the mind. But this doesn’t mean you’re not feeling any stress. You probably are, without even realizing it.

A 360-degree change in your routine - right from work timings, to eating and sleeping schedules and even socializing patterns - all broken in a span of a few weeks. This is bound to bring underlying stress to your mind and body even if you don't consciously feel it all the time. 

As a result of this stress, your body is bound to react - either in the form of breakouts, chest pains or even with causing havoc in your period cycle. 

Let’s get science-y

Stress activates a hormonal pathway that allows the release of what is known as cortisol AKA the stress hormone. Now the excess release of cortisol tends to suppress normal levels of reproductive hormones. This, in turn, leads to abnormal ovulation that disrupts your menstrual cycle. This is also why doctors claim that birth control pills might not be so effective at stressful times (especially if not taken at approx the same time every day). Even trying to conceive a child with abnormal ovulation may become more difficult than usual. 

Although these are some extreme consequences (and quite normal at these times), you may experience other, not-so-drastic changes such as heavy blood flow, longer cycles, or more intense pain than usual. 

How to try and bring back things to normal? 

If you’re a blessed soul with a cooperative uterus, good for you. But if you experience any of the above-mentioned abnormalities, acknowledge that it is mostly okay and not a reason to panic. You can use a period tracker like clue or flo to make note of your period dates, inconsistency in flow/cramps/duration, and set up a call with your doctor if the irregularities continue to remain even months after the lockdown. 

Other than that, since you’re now aware of WHY your period cycle is affected, you can aim to reduce cortisol levels in your body and bring down that stress either by practicing deep breathing/yoga every day, ditching negativity brought by news channels, getting sufficient sleep at normal hours and simply focusing on self-care.