Do you also regularly get headaches just before or during your period? It is a common problem. For many women, monthly discomfort is not limited to abdominal cramps and cravings; hormonal headaches can also be an annoying complaint. In this blog, we'll tell you more about this monthly ailment.
Period Headache: What is it?
Common complaints before and during menstruation include bloating, uncontrollable cravings, painful breasts, and abdominal cramps. But for many women, it doesn't stop there, and they experience throbbing headaches monthly around their period.
The cause of this is the hormone estrogen. This hormone drops just before your period begins, leading to increased pain sensitivity. Additionally, low estrogen levels can cause blood vessel constriction, and before you know it, you're struggling with a severe headache.
Other possible causes of headaches around menstruation include extreme blood loss, poor sleep, and dehydration. Therefore, taking good care of yourself and supporting your hormones is essential. But how do you do that?
Relieving Hormonal Headaches
Proactively taking good care of yourself and your hormonal balance can significantly alleviate complaints around your menstruation. That's why we're happy to share 6 practical tips to keep your hormones balanced:
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Pay attention to your nutrients
Are you aware of what you eat and drink in a day? And how often do you eat? The composition and frequency of your meals are of great importance to your hormonal balance. Avoiding foods like sugars, coffee, alcohol, and processed foods is advisable to get and keep your hormones in balance.
On the other hand, drink at least 1 to 1.5 liters of water or herbal tea per day and ensure at least 500 grams of vegetables per day, preferably organic.
Finally, there are specific supplements you can use to support your hormones. You can consider vitamin B6, which helps regulate hormone activity. And zinc also contributes to a normal hormonal balance.
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Exercise!
Sufficient exercise is also important for a good hormonal balance. When you exercise, various hormones such as endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin are activated – all hormones that contribute to a good feeling.
Does this mean you now have to hit the dumbbells daily? No. Walking, swimming, yoga, and cycling are also great forms of exercise to regulate your hormonal balance!
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Prioritize your sleep
Too little sleep or poor quality sleep affects your hormonal balance. Therefore, a good night's rest is essential. Ensure sufficient rest and relaxation before going to sleep, as this promotes your sleep quality.
Try to reduce screen use after 8 PM or use blue light blocking glasses. A pleasant meditation or gratitude exercise can also help you unwind and go into the night without stress. When you experience stress, your body produces the stress hormone cortisol, which inhibits the production of the sleep hormone melatonin and is detrimental to your hormonal balance.
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Avoid toxins as much as possible
Healthy eating, sufficient sleep, and exercise are things that positively influence your hormonal balance. But there are also things that can worsen a hormonal imbalance. These include smoking and drug use, but also less obvious habits and products can throw your hormones out of balance. This has to do with toxins.
Toxins are poisons that damage our bodies, brains, and hormonal balance. Toxins cost your body an enormous amount of energy to break down. You could better use this energy to get and keep your hormones in balance.
If you want to learn more about toxins, download our free e-book on this topic here!
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Ensure sufficient relaxation to counterbalance your stressful moments
As stated above, stress is toxic and disastrous for your hormonal balance. So try to reduce or even avoid it as much as possible.
As humans, we are built to manage an average of 20 minutes of intense stress, followed by at least 5 minutes of relaxation. However, our stress moments often last much longer these days, and we hardly give our bodies time to recover. As a result, our parasympathetic nervous system remains almost continuously activated, leading to exhaustion and many complaints.
So stress is not really bad, but counterbalance it with more than enough relaxation to nip hormone-related complaints, such as period headaches, in the bud.
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Be careful with xenoestrogens
Xenoestrogens are also called 'pseudo hormones'. They behave like hormones, but are not actually hormones. Xenoestrogens are chemical substances that you absorb through your metabolism, your skin, and your lungs, among other things. You can ingest these substances through your food, cosmetic products, and polluted air you breathe. And once these xenoestrogens are in your body, they can seriously disrupt your hormonal balance (and other internal processes)!
Tips to minimize contact with xenoestrogens:
- Choose organic fruits & vegetables as much as possible
- Do not store food in plastic containers, but use glass or stainless steel storage containers
- Never heat your food in plastic and do not drink hot beverages from plastic cups
- Use natural cosmetics and household items as much as possible
- Bring your own fabric fruit and grocery bag
