PMS is a real thing. Yes, you’ve heard this term probably a thousand times, but just believed that it’s just a layman’s term for being extraordinarily emotional or sensitive. PMS is elaborated as Premenstrual Syndrome. It is a condition, which affects a high percentage of women during certain days of their menstrual cycle, or some days before it. The syndrome affects women’s emotions, physical health, and mental wellbeing.
This state of being is so prevalent that it affects almost 90 per cent of women during their periods. As much as it doesn’t disrupt a person’s daily life, it impacts it quite a bit. Most diagnoses confirm that PMS symptoms occur five to eleven days before your period and gradually go away once your menstruation starts. The reason or cause behind the syndrome is still unknown, unfortunately.
However, many studies claim that the cause of PMS is a change in both sex hormones and serotonin levels before your menstrual cycle.
The symptoms can range from mood swings to fatigue. These include irritability, emotional outbursts, anger, depression, nausea, over sensitivity, abdominal bloating, anxiety, etc. The symptoms can vary from mild, to moderate to severe. Fortunately, PMS symptoms can be moderated with correct treatment, including lifestyle changes and medication.
6 Tips To Make PMS Easy For You
1. Medication To Ease PMS Symptoms (Consult With Your Ob-gyn)
Most women suffer from body aches, abdominal cramps, and even headaches. Most often, you can take pain medications if the pain becomes unbearable. Regular painkillers such as ibuprofen or aspirin are readily available. But you should consult your ob-gyn before taking any medication. Your doctor knows your body better.
According to studies, anti-depressants also help in changing the levels of serotonin in the brain, which, in turn, helps with severe symptoms of PMS. But once again, it is advisable to consult your doctor before consuming any unfamiliar or new medications. You should also be aware if you are allergic to certain kinds of medications.
2. Lifestyle Changes
It is essential to bring some lifestyle changes to go through a peaceful period of PMS. We recommend a few options, such as:
- For abdominal bloating, the intake of fluids should be increased.
- Reduce your intake of sugar, salt, and caffeinated drinks, including alcohol. Along with it, maintain a balanced diet, which shall help in improving your overall health.
- Include sources of Vitamin D in your diet.
- To avoid fatigue, sleep for a minimum of 8 to 10 hours at night.
- Include cognitive behaviour therapy in case of severe symptoms. Individual researches show this has been effective to quite an extent.
- Introduce self-care frequently.
- Use hot water bags to ease cramps. It’s a known fact that heat makes everything better.
- You can also include regular hot water baths. For further relaxation, you can add Epsom salt to your bathwater. The magnesium in the salt helps in relaxing sore muscles and makes you feel light all over.
Lifestyle changes have been significant for quite a large percentage of women suffering from mild to moderate symptoms. It has also proved to be a successful treatment for this syndrome.
3. Include Magnesium And Calcium Supplements In Your Diet
Include magnesium, and calcium supplements in your daily diet, to deal with PMS easily. Magnesium helps in reducing cramps and alleviates tension. Magnesium is found in food items like almonds, leafy green vegetables, including spinach and kale. Apart from the food items, magnesium supplements can also be taken on each day of the condition, which is generally fourteen to eleven days before your menstrual cycle.
4. Include Regular Exercise
It is essential to indulge in some daily physical activity. Exercising is an excellent way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Physical activities help in lifting moods and ameliorates depression as well. Studies claim that endorphins are released during exercise. Endorphins are feel-good chemicals that are released in the brain. Thus, these chemicals counteract the hormones released during PMS, helping to ease PMS symptoms.
5. Avoid Carbs; Include Frequent Small Meals
Cravings during PMS is inevitable and understandable. But at the same time, it is essential to control our urges and not give in to carbs. These empty carbs will elevate your symptoms and make them worse. It is likely to affect your mood and cognition and even increases abdominal bloating. However, you can indulge in savoury-sweet food items, once in a while.
Apart from avoiding carbs, it is essential to consume small frequent meals throughout the day. The frequent intake of food will help in keeping your blood sugar level steady. This, in turn, will help in avoiding crying spells and irritability.
6. Control And Manage Stress Positively
It is essential to manage unnecessary stress. Excessive stress will worsen PMS symptoms. Now stress in the daily life of every individual is something unavoidable. We can include relaxing tips and tricks to keep stress at bay, at the least. The methods include mediation, yoga, and deep breathing. It helps in keeping the emotional state of women stable during these challenging times.
We hope the above methods come in handy during your next menstrual cycle. It is essential to maintain a healthy lifestyle, includes magnesium and calcium in your diet, and indulge in daily exercise to ease PMS symptoms. It is a real thing. And most women have to deal with it. Wishing you a happy life and a happy menstrual cycle until next time!
