Is your Period Changing? Our Expert Explains What to Watch For

Noticing a change in your regular menstrual cycle is not uncommon, however, it’s a really powerful indicator that something might be changing in your body. Paying attention to your cycles is one of the best windows into your internal functioning. That’s why cycle tracking is so important when it comes to optimizing your health and wellness as a woman.

Download the MBody app today to easily track your cycles and symptoms.

Period changes can be due to lifestyle factors (ranging from significant weight changes to travel to dietary modifications), underlying stress, medications, and certain medical conditions. Ultimately, it’s an indicator that your hormone levels (primarily estrogen and progesterone) are out of their normal rhythm.

A changing period isn’t necessarily a reason for immediate alarm, but if you have concerns about sudden changes to your cycle, please be sure to bring them up with your doctor so you can rule out anything more serious.

Now, if you’re a female in your late 30s, 40s or 50s, period changes are to be expected, due to the natural hormone fluctuations that occur as we age. In fact, one of the earliest signs of perimenopause is changing periods. In this video, MBody founder, Melinda Nicci, discusses what period changes related to perimenopause might mean and what to expect at this time in your life.

Side note: perimenopause is not menopause. It’s the period of time before a woman goes through menopause where estrogen levels begin declining, and it can last anywhere from 2-12 years.

Video transcript:

——

If you’re used to having regular cycles and then suddenly, that starts changing, that just means that your body is starting to adapt to the next phase of your life.

Going through the perimenopause is not a trajectory where it’s smooth and gently drops, it’s more like [up, down, up, down, up].

So you can have surges in hormones — your estrogen might be high then it starts depleting a little bit. Your progesterone goes up and down as well, and that kind of rollercoaster will manifest itself in a bunch of symptoms in your body.

A key one of those symptoms is a change in your regular period cycle. Your cycle may be longer than it normally is. If you’re actual period time was 3-4 days and it now stretches to 5-7 days that’s absolutely normal and it’s just your body adapting to the change in hormones and what’s happening inside your body.

Some people report very heavy periods but for, like, 2 days; very intense, very heavy, and then nothing. Or it may be spotting in the middle of your period. Anything is possible right now. All of these changes are due to the reduction in estrogen that your ovaries are producing and the fluctuations, throughout your cycle, of estrogen and progesterone.