Are you Prepared for Menstrual Changes? What to Expect at Every Age
Your entire life, every 28 days (give or take a week), your body goes through a lot of hormonal fluctuations with your progesterone and estrogen levels rising and falling to ensure that the biological mechanisms of ovulation and menstruation keep ticking on. You're probably already very familiar with the physical, mental, and emotional changes that come with these monthly hormone fluctuations — but are you familiar with how your cycle (and those symptoms) will change as you age?
Today we’re diving into how your period & hormones affect every aspect of your life and the common characteristics associated with each decade, from puberty, through your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, and the importance of tracking your cycles now, no matter how young you feel. Let’s get into it…
Your period in your 20s
These are women’s most fertile years — In fact, the average age of first-time mothers in the US is 26 and in the UK it’s 29. First-time fathers are older at 31 years old on average.
This is the time many women are likely to have their most regular periods, so it’s often a time when you might be able to notice any oddities about your cycle. If you’re on birth control during this time, you may likely experience lighter flows with less cramping, or simply no periods at all. Talk to your doctor if you’re having irregular periods, heavy flows, or intense pain as these could be symptoms of fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, or premenstrual syndrome.
Hot flashes in your 20s:
Some women do report experiencing hot flashes early on in life, which may just be a regular PMS symptom as hormones fluctuate and can disrupt the body’s temperature regulation system. Progesterone levels rise after ovulating as estrogen levels fall, and the lack of estrogen can cause the hypothalamus (the brain area that works as your body’s internal thermostat), to become more sensitive to even slight changes in temperature. Talk with your doctor if these become a regular occurrence as it could be a sign of an underlying condition, such as thyroid disorder which affects 1 out of every 8 women.
Your period in your 30s
When you hit your 30s, you might notice your period start to change and you may experience new symptoms like more or less intense cramps and pain. Slight changes in your menstrual cycle are often a completely normal part of entering your 30s as estrogen levels may gradually begin their fluctuating decline.
If you have a baby or become pregnant:
After having no period for all of pregnancy, it can take months before your period regulates. If you breastfeed regularly, your period will likely stay away as prolactin suppresses the formation of estrogen that keeps you from having a period. If you don’t breastfeed, you may get your period immediately, but either way, it’s bound to come back a little differently than before. Some women find nighttime bleeding is heavier than pre-pregnancy, while others might experience a shorter cycle.
You might also experience the postpartum hormone crash, which you can read more about here: The Postpartum Hormone Crash: What To Expect & How To Take Charge Of Your Hormonal Health.
Hot flashes in your 30s:
If you experience hot flashes in your 30s, they could be part of perimenopause, and in fact, some researchers estimate up to 70% of women experience hot flashes in the time before perimenopause.
Night sweats in your 30s:
Night sweats are also potentially part of the perimenopause process and changing PMS symptoms! As progesterone levels rise and estrogen levels decrease (which becomes less consistent as we age), the body may release norepinephrine to help regulate mood, behavior, and emotions which can in turn cause the brain to send cooling off signals to produce sweat from slight changes at night. PMS symptoms often appear the week before your period, but tracking your symptoms can help you notice any trends or oddities to discuss with your doctor.
Your period in your 40s
Your late 30s and early 40s is a transitional stage of life where a woman’s body starts undergoing hormonal changes — and is most commonly referred to as perimenopause. The average age of onset for perimenopause is 45, but it can range anywhere from your late 30s to your early 50s. It lasts for around 4-7 years on average, however, it can last anywhere between 2 and 15 years.
At this time, the key reproductive hormones in your body, estrogen, and progesterone start fluctuating. Levels might be higher than normal or lower than normal and periods can become more erratic, sometimes causing bleeding to happen more frequently. You might also experience other symptoms — like hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, mood changes, tender breasts, low libido, vaginal dryness, fatigue, abdominal weight gain, worsening PMS, hair loss, and headaches.
Approaching menopause also increases your risk of major depressive disorder, and it’s believed that 38% of women in late perimenopause experience symptoms of depression.
What to know about fertility during perimenopause:
It’s important to know that women can conceive naturally during perimenopause, but it can definitely be harder to get pregnant due to the irregularity of your cycle. In the past 30 years in the US, women having babies in their early 20s declined by 43%, while women having babies in their late 30s increased by 67%.
Your period in your 50s
It’s most likely that women reach menopause sometime in their 50s — although it’s definitely possible for it to arrive earlier. Menopause is actually just 1 day in your life, and the stage leading up to it (when the majority of symptoms are experienced) is perimenopause — everything after that point is post-menopause.
All of the symptoms that are so often associated with menopause (hot flashes, low libido, and irregular periods to name a few) actually happen during your perimenopausal transitional stage.
In the US, the average age of menopause is 51 and when you reach menopause, it means you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period. This generally suggests that your circulating estrogen levels have reached their “new normal”.
Reaching menopause doesn’t mean symptoms suddenly stop, but they will subside over time and you’ll no longer have a monthly period. If you do experience any bleeding after you’ve reached menopause, then we recommend chatting with your doctor.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean saying goodbye to hormonal fluctuations. Estrogen has a protective effect on our bones to keep them strong and healthy. Within 5 years of going through menopause, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density. It’s why osteoporosis and an increased risk of broken bones are key concerns for post-menopausal women. In fact, about half of women over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis at some point in their life.
Find out more: Perimenopause vs. menopause: what’s the difference?
Why you should start tracking your cycles now
Tracking your cycle at every age and every stage is all about knowing your “normal” and understanding when things are changing and any irregularities you might experience now and in the years to come. Knowing how your body works can help you notice changes and allow you the opportunity to tackle your symptoms as they’re happening.
Have you had significant changes to your period over the years? Let us know in the comments below!
