Carline is an advocate for women's empowerment and environmental issues, such as plastic pollution and its effects. She is a passionate writer who wants to make a difference.
Period hacks are practices that will make your periods feel less like a burden.
Periods can suck. They can be painful and messy, yet we have to embrace it because periods are a part of womanhood. But does it really need to be bad all the time?
Every month, some of us are dreading our periods, especially during the summer when we plan out-of-town beach trips. Didn’t you know that there are period hacks to make your monthly period bearable? Make it suck less?
We’ve gathered information from the Internet for hacks you can do to make it a less problematic experience.
Comforting yoga poses
Child’s pose
The child’s pose stretches your back muscles and provides light compression at the belly, giving it a soothing massage. This is the best pose when you’re having abdominal and back cramps.
Just breath in and forget about the pain.
Personally, this is also my favorite yoga pose, whether or not I’m on my period. When I look down, it feels like the world doesn’t exist and I can just stay at that position forever.
Standing forward fold
Photo Credit: Roman Davayposmotrim, Pexels
Standing forward fold pose stretches the bottom half of the body letting your butt muscles and hamstrings relax which greatly helps with cramps.
Supine twist
Photo Credit: Jeff Nelson, Yoga Journal
Supine twist gently massages the abdominal area and helps your muscles on the lower body move around. You can do this with either one or two legs.
The more you twist, the more you will help your muscles stretch and lessen stomach cramps.
Hot compress
Invest in a heating pad. It does wonders for abdominal cramps. It stimulates blood flow, subsequently making your painful cramps disappear.
This electric heating pad in Amazon is SUPER FAST HEATING. It penetrates muscles and cramps in seconds.
Your other options? You could just buy a heating pad that you could put in the microwave or you can DIY by putting warm water in a bottle.
Painkillers
There’s a technique with painkillers: it is advisable to take them two days before your period.
Prostaglandins are the hormones that trigger your body into your menstrual cycle and it spikes several days before. Hence, you get cramps before your actual period comes.
Decrease your period cramps by taking pain meds ahead of time.
It is suggested that you avoid caffeine tablets, as it may make your PMS symptoms worse. Stick to Ibuprofen or Paracetamol.
Avoid drinking cold beverages
Photo Credit: Mr. Food
When you have a period, there’s nothing more comforting than ice-cold water or your favorite smoothie. But did you know that drinking cold beverages can make your period more painful?
Eating ice cream and drinking cold beverage may cause menstrual blood to stop flowing.
Well, this is actually an ancient Chinese belief and I haven’t found a scientific study behind it. But ever since I got my very first period, I’ve been hearing this from elders and my personal experiences proved that they were right.
Cold foods such as ice cream may lead to severe cramps, further worsening the condition.
Eat veggies
Photo credit: Alexander Raths, Adobe Stock
When you have your period, do you crave for a juicy, medium-rare steak? Or don’t you just want to run to the drive-thru and order a Big Mac?
Here’s why: when you’re on your period your iron levels are down hence the craving for meat.
But did you know that vegetables can offer the same amount of iron?
Instead of reaching for a greasy burger, why not choose the healthier alternative? Spinach and kale are iron-rich foods, just like meat.
Dark Chocolate
Photo Credit: Ayman alakhras, Shutterstock
Yes, finally, something that everyone loves: chocolate!
Dark Chocolate contains magnesium which fights cramps. If you’re watching your sugar intake, there’s a sugar-free variant. And that’s not all.
Dark chocolates also help with mood swings and depression, which is pretty common when you’re having PMS.
Dark chocolate stimulates the production of endorphins in the brain. Endorphins trigger the feeling of pleasure and euphoria. It’s the kind of high we experience after a sprint or a good workout.
Stay hydrated
You can get easily dehydrated when you’re on your period, especially on heavy days, and you may not even notice it.
So before it comes to that, drink a lot of water, as much as you can.
Dehydration can cause bloating, fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating.
It’s better to stay off sugary drinks as it will spike your sugar levels and will just make you even more dehydrated than you already are.
Stay off caffeine
Photo Credit: efetova, Adobe Stock
Last but not least, stay off caffeine or decrease your intake. Caffeine elevates the estrogen levels in the body. It’s also a diuretic, which means that you will urinate a lot, which will also exacerbate the symptoms of dehydration.
If you can’t say no to coffee, then have a little bit and then switch to tea for the rest of the day.
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It is suggested that you avoid caffeine tablets, as it may make your PMS symptoms worse. Stick to Ibuprofen or Paracetamol.
