How stress can affect your menstrual cycle

Written By: Simone Sonnier, UT Physicians | Updated: August 2, 2022

Those who menstruate have all been there — your period is a day or two late and you’re wondering why. Of course, pregnancy is the first reason that comes to mind but there could be many reasons for an irregular cycle.

Randa J. Jalloul, MD

“Stress, whether emotional, nutritional, or physical, can cause an increase in endorphins and cortisol secretion which interrupt hormone production,” explained Randa J. Jalloul, MD, OB-GYN specialist with UT Physicians. “This can lead to an abnormal menstrual cycle. It’s the body’s way of expressing unreadiness for ovulation and pregnancy.”

If the stress is short-lived, you may miss a period or be a few days late. However, if the stress is chronic, more erratic or absent menstruation can occur. Extreme weight changes and physical activity are also common culprits of a delayed cycle.

“Some studies have observed that over 70% of women experience recovery with the resumption of menses if their absent periods were associated with psychological stress or weight loss. Women who recover typically have a higher body mass index and lower cortisol levels than those who don’t,” shared Jalloul, associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston.

If you experience irregular or absent periods for longer than three to six months, Jalloul recommends seeking out medical attention — especially if an at-home pregnancy test result is negative.

“If a patient does not believe they are pregnant and still has continuous issues with their cycle, they should come in for an evaluation,” she said. “We will need to investigate the cause of their menstrual abnormality and rule out many other causes of irregular periods such as hormonal disturbances like thyroid or pituitary problems, polycystic ovaries, or chronic anovulation syndrome. Stress is a diagnosis of exclusion.”

Treatment options for irregular menstrual cycles may include simple lifestyle changes — adequate nutrition, exercise, good sleep habits, and reversing the cause of the stress if known. If an abnormal or absent period is the result of an eating disorder, it’s imperative to establish a healthy weight by working closely with mental health experts to ensure long-term success. Often, hormone replacement therapy and contraceptives are prescribed to help re-establish a proper hormone level for good body function.

Jalloul’s advice is to listen and take care of your body: recognize the signs of stress, be active, take time to unwind and connect with loved ones, treat yourself to healthy foods, and get plenty of rest. To learn more about a healthy menstrual cycle, visit our medical conditions glossary. If you are experiencing abnormal periods and would like to schedule an appointment with one of our women’s health experts, call 832-325-7131 or schedule online.

How Late Can a Period Be? When to Be Concerned

Factors that can affect your monthly cycle include weight change and stress. A period that is a few days late is not usually a cause for concern. But, if it’s a few weeks late, it may be a sign of pregnancy or an underlying condition.

If you don’t have any known condition affecting your menstrual cycle, your period should start within 24 to 38 days of your last period, depending on your usual cycle.

If you’re 7 days past your expected due date, it is considered late. After 6 weeks, you can consider your late period a missed period.

If your period is a day or two later than usually, it’s unlikely to be an immediate cause for concern. Variations in menses can occur due to various reasons.

Several things can delay your period, from basic lifestyle changes to chronic health conditions. Here’s a look at 10 possible causes.

High stress levels can lead to irregular menstruation.

Your body’s stress-response system is rooted in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. While you may no longer be running from predators, your body is still hardwired to react as if you were.

When your stress level peaks, your brain tells your endocrine system to flood your body with hormones that switch on your fight-or-flight mode. These hormones suppress functions, including those of your reproductive system, that are not essential to escaping an imminent threat.

If you’re under a lot of stress, your body can stay in fight-or-flight mode, which can make you temporarily stop ovulating. This lack of ovulation, in turn, can delay your period.

Severe changes in body weight can affect your period’s timing. Extreme increases or decreases in body fat, for example, can lead to a hormonal imbalance that causes your period to come late or stop entirely.

In addition, severe calorie restriction affects the part of your brain that “talks” to your endocrine system and gives instructions for the creation of reproductive hormones. When this communication channel is disrupted, hormonal patterns can change.

A strenuous exercise regimen can also cause missed or irregular periods. This is most common in those who train for several hours a day. It happens because, whether intentionally or not, you’re burning more calories than you’re taking in.

When you burn too many calories, your body doesn’t have enough energy to keep all its systems running. More strenuous workouts can increase hormone release that can affect your menstruation.

Periods typically go back to normal as soon as you lessen training intensity or increase your caloric intake.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a set of symptoms caused by an imbalance of reproductive hormones. Many people with PCOS do not ovulate regularly.

As a result, your periods may:

• be lighter or heavier than standard periods
• arrive at inconsistent times
• disappear altogether

Other PCOS symptoms can include:

• excess or coarse facial and body hair
• acne on the face and body
• thinning hair
• weight gain or trouble losing weight
• dark patches of skin, often on the neck creases, groin, and underneath breasts
• skin tags in the armpits or neck
• infertility

Many people love the pill because it makes their periods so regular. However, it can sometimes have the opposite effect, especially during the first few months of use.

Similarly, when you stop taking the pill, it can take a few months for your cycle to get back to normal. As your body returns to its baseline hormone levels, you may miss your period for a few months.

If you’re using another hormonal birth control method, such as an intrauterine device (IUD), implant, or shot, you might completely stop getting your period.

Perimenopause is the time leading up to your menopausal transition. It typically starts in your mid- to late 40s. Perimenopause can last for several years before your period stops completely.

For many, missed periods are the first sign of perimenopause.

You may skip a period 1 month and be back on track for the following 3 months. Or, you may skip your period 3 months in a row and find that it arrives unexpectedly, often lighter or heavier than you’re used to.

Early menopause, also known as premature ovarian insufficiency, happens when your ovaries stop working before you turn 40.

When your ovaries are not working the way they should, they stop producing multiple hormones, including estrogen. As your estrogen levels drop to all-time lows, you will begin to experience the symptoms of menopause.

Late or missed periods may be an early sign. You may also experience:

• hot flashes
• night sweats
• trouble sleeping

Other signs of premature ovarian insufficiency include:

• vaginal dryness
• trouble getting pregnant
• decreased sexual desire
• mood disturbance or mood changes

Your thyroid is a butterfly-shaped gland in your neck that produces hormones that help regulate many activities in your body, including your menstrual cycle. There are several common thyroid conditions, including hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can affect your menstrual cycle and cause irregularity, but hyperthyroidism is more likely to cause late or missed periods. Sometimes, your period may disappear for several months.

Other symptoms of a thyroid issue include:

• heart palpitations
• appetite changes
• unexplained weight changes
• nervousness or anxiety
• slight hand tremors
• fatigue
• changes to your hair
• trouble sleeping

Certain chronic health problems, especially celiac disease and diabetes, are sometimes associated with menstrual irregularities.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that affects your digestive system. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, their immune system reacts by attacking the lining of the small intestine.

When the small intestine is damaged, it impairs the body’s ability to absorb nutrients from food. This can lead to malnourishment, which affects normal hormone production and leads to missed periods and other menstrual irregularities.

Those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes might also experience a missed period in rare cases. This tends to only happen when blood sugar levels are not managed.

Amenorrhea is when you stop having periods for 6 months or more. It is normal during pregnancy, but it can also be a sign of an underlying condition, such as:

• problems affecting the hormonal system
• a tumor
• a condition you were born with, such as Cushing syndrome

Treatment for amenorrhea will depend on the cause.

If there’s a chance you may be pregnant and your cycles are typically regular, it may be time to take a pregnancy test.

It’s best to do this about 1 week after your period was supposed to start. Taking a test too early can result in the test being negative even if you’re pregnant, as it’s too early for the test to pick up the pregnancy hormone in the urine.

If your periods are typically irregular, it can be harder to find the right time to take a pregnancy test. You may want to take a few tests over the course of several weeks, or talk with a healthcare professional to be sure.

Other early symptoms of pregnancy to watch for include:

• tender, painful breasts
• swollen breasts
• nausea or vomiting
• fatigue

Can periods be late by 10 days?

If your period is seven days late, it’s considered late. If you’ve gone 6 weeks without a period, it’s called a missed period. This can and does happen, and there are many possible reasons.

What is considered a very late period?

What you can consider a very late period will depend partially on your cycle. Menstrual cycles can vary widely, usually from 24–38 days. If you go 6 weeks without a period, it’s considered a missed period.

Why is my period 10 days late but I’m not pregnant?

Pregnancy is not the only reason for a late or missed period. Other factors include excessive exercise, changes in body weight, and stress. Maybe you are pregnant but tried a pregnancy test too early to confirm the result. If applicable, try testing again 21 days after you had unprotected sex.

How long after a missed period should I worry?

People’s menstrual patterns vary widely. If you miss a period and this is unusual for you, it’s a good idea to seek medical advice. Also, see a doctor if you miss a period and a pregnancy test shows negative but you have other symptoms. It could be a sign of an underlying condition that needs medical attention.

Your period is generally considered late if it has not occurred within your cycle’s usual time frame since the start of your last period.

Many things can cause this to happen, from routine lifestyle changes to underlying medical conditions. If your period is regularly late, make an appointment with a healthcare professional to determine the cause.

Delayed periods and stress: signs and causes

Can stress be the cause of delayed periods and why?

The menstrual cycle is an important criterion for assessing the state of the female body. A delay in menstruation can signal the presence of pregnancy, hormonal changes in some cases caused by stress factors, diseases of the reproductive system, menopause, or even tumors. If there is a clear relationship with stress and after excluding other possible causes of the delay, a stress-related menstrual disorder is diagnosed.

Diagnosis of the disease causes difficulties and takes time, since it is not always possible to objectively assess the effect of stress on the body. Each person has their own threshold of sensitivity to stress, and for some women, even minor stress at first glance can affect the delay in menstruation.

The reason for the delay in menstruation can be stressful factors such as the loss of a loved one, dramatic changes in life, problems at work, intense physical or mental stress, trauma, busy schedules and lack of sleep.

Menses delayed due to stress: symptoms

If the menstrual irregularity is associated with stress, in addition to the absence of menstruation, a woman may be disturbed by other symptoms associated with a reaction to acute or chronic stress:

• Irritability or depression

• Anxiety, tearfulness

• Permanent fatigue

• Memory impairment

• Indifference to the world around and what is happening

• Decreased or opposite excessive appetite

• Change in body weight

• Sleep disturbance

How does stress affect the cycle and why does stress delay menstruation?

The delay in menstruation after stress occurs due to the effect of stress on the hormonal background. That is why stress is the reason for the delay in menstruation.

In short, as a result of prolonged or intense stress exposure, a large amount of stress hormones – cortisol and prolactin – is produced. Excessive production of stress hormones leads to disruption of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis – the hormonal chain that regulates the reproductive system.

Mismatch in the work of this chain leads to an imbalance of sex hormones. As a result, the growth of follicles in the ovaries stops and, in some cases, the maturation of the egg – ovulation does not occur and menstruation does not come.

This mechanism has evolutionary significance – under stress, the body has the task of mobilizing and preserving itself in the first place, and not leaving offspring, and therefore there is a delay in menstruation.

How long can menstruation be delayed under stress?

The beginning of a new cycle always falls on the first day of menstruation, and the duration of the cycle itself is very individual and normally ranges from 21 to 35 days. A woman needs to focus on the usual schedule. If your period is delayed by 3-5 days or more, you should take a pregnancy test and consult your doctor. The exceptions are the first two years after the onset of menstruation in adolescent girls, the lactation period and the onset of perimenopause.

The duration of the delay depends on the intensity and duration of the impact of stress on the body, as well as on the ability of the body to resist it. It has been proven that prolonged stress lowers the threshold of sensitivity to stress and even minor problems can become critical and lead to serious consequences.

Consultation with a gynecologist is necessary in case of:

• Changes to habitual cycle time

• Too heavy or scanty periods

• Severe pain during menstruation

• Bleeding outside of menses

In the absence of pregnancy, episodic menstrual irregularities do not pose a serious threat to women’s health, but if the irregularities persist for three or more cycles in a row or bring significant discomfort, you should consult a gynecologist for advice. It is necessary to identify the cause of the violation of the rhythm of menstruation.

The doctor will ask the necessary questions, conduct an examination and prescribe an examination. In the absence of visible reasons for the delay, the doctor will pay attention to the mental state of the woman.

Why is amenorrhea dangerous?

Amenorrhea is the absence of menses for 6 months. A long delay in menstruation indicates a violation of the hormonal balance in the body of a woman and other, often serious, pathologies. This affects not only the ability to conceive a child, but also the state of the whole organism as a whole. In case of a long delay in menstruation, a consultation with a doctor is necessary.

Delayed period due to stress, what should I do?

First of all, you need to minimize the level of stress in your life as much as possible. It may be worth considering psychotherapy or consulting a doctor for medication. Consider relaxation techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, dancing, and moderate exercise.

Set a daily routine and allocate enough time for rest. Normalize your sleep patterns. It would be better to stop using gadgets 2-3 hours before bedtime – when used, the brain receives a large flow of information and cannot fully relax, and the blue spectrum of screen radiation can disrupt the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. Try to go to bed and get up at the same time, sleep in complete darkness and silence for at least 7-8 hours.

Eat properly and in a balanced way. Include enough protein and fat in your diet. Give preference to unsaturated fats – nuts, cold-pressed oils, oily fish. Eat more vegetables and fruits, they are rich in natural vitamins and minerals. Give up strict restrictions and diets, because any diet is stressful for the body.

Follow the doctor’s recommendations, often with stress-related disorders, the doctor may limit himself to prescribing herbal preparations or vitamin-mineral complexes, including inositols. For example, Dikirogen contains two active forms of inositol at once, which contribute to the normalization of the balance of female sex hormones and the maturation of the egg, which means the onset of ovulation. In addition, myoinositol helps to reduce the level of the stress hormone prolactin. Manganese in Dikirogen is involved in the regulation of the hormonal and nervous systems. And folic acid, which is part of the composition, has a positive effect on the condition of the skin and hair.

A delay in menstruation due to stress can lead to serious disruption of the reproductive system. It is necessary to seek help from a specialist in time and take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem.

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Can there be a failure and delay in menstruation due to stress and what to do about it?

Last updated: 06/24/2022

Contents:

Types of stress and its causes

Effects of stress on the female body 900 05

How long can a period be delayed under stress

When worth going to the doctor

How to deal with stress

The menstrual cycle is a very important criterion by which to assess the condition of a woman’s body. With regular and normal bleeding, the absence of alarming symptoms, you can visit the gynecologist 1-2 times a year for prevention.

And any cycle failure and delay is a reason for an unscheduled visit, since it is important to find out the cause of the violations. One of them can be nervous tension and excessive worries – stress and menstruation are interconnected, and in the article we will tell you exactly how.

Delayed periods due to stress is quite common. Thus, the body protects itself from the influence of negative factors. The following causes can cause stress:

• problems in the family and at work;

• grief and loss – divorce, death of a close relative;

• exhausting physical activity;

• emotional overstrain, protracted conflicts;

• previous injuries, operations;

• a radical change in lifestyle;

• moving to a region with a different climate.

Stress, even if it concerns only the emotional sphere, affects the physical health of a woman, and the reproductive system is no exception. Moreover, all types of stress can influence it:

• Short-term: this is a protective reaction to a negative environmental factor. Such stress is natural, passing, and, as a rule, does not lead to serious changes in the functioning of the body, all reactions are temporary.

• Long-term: prolonged exposure to a stressor leads to pathological conditions.

Delayed periods due to stress develops mainly due to hormonal changes. This happens due to the influence of stress hormones – cortisol and prolactin: an emotional outburst causes changes in the adrenal glands and the pituitary gland – the gland that produces prolactin.

Normally, prolactin has high values ​​only during pregnancy and breastfeeding. If a woman is not pregnant, a large amount of prolactin leads to a slowdown in the thyroid gland and ovaries, negatively affects the mammary glands, and also causes a violation of the relationship with the pituitary gland. This is reflected in the level of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and sex hormones, which leads to an increase in the duration of the cycle, the interval between menstruation becomes longer. Sometimes periods can even stop altogether.

There is another mechanism for the development of delay due to stress. The latter leads to an increase in the level of the stress hormone cortisol, which also contributes to the disappearance of menstruation. And other consequences include a deterioration in the condition of the skin, the formation of fatty deposits, male pattern hair. A constant increase in cortisol can cause obesity and lead to the development of polycystic ovary syndrome.

If the level of prolactin is elevated, the herbal drug Cyclodinone® based on sacred vitex can help normalize the hormonal background. The drug is available in the form of oral drops and tablets. The drug was developed in Germany according to the unique concept of phytoneering.

Normally, the duration of the menstrual cycle is very individual. Therefore, it is important for a woman to focus on her own characteristics in order to determine how long a delay in menstruation lasts under stress . It is believed that the absence of menstruation for 3-5 days after the date of the expected bleeding is a cause for concern.

This does not apply to teenage girls with irregular periods or women who have entered perimenopause (usually between 40 and 45 years of age).

Any delay, especially if it occurs frequently, is not normal. It is important to consult a gynecologist, and if the reason for the increase in the interval between periods is really stress, he will refer you to specialists of a different profile, for example, a psychotherapist.

The following symptoms are very alarming:

• no periods for more than 90 days;

• bleeding longer, more profuse than usual;

• menses very painful;

• 90,004 periods less than 21 days apart or more than 35 days apart, three cycles in a row;

• observed intermenstrual bleeding.

With such symptoms, it is worth contacting a gynecologist as soon as possible.

Stress is an inevitable part of life, so it is not always possible to completely protect yourself from worries and upheavals. It is important to learn how to resist overload, quickly and successfully adapt to change, and be able to restore emotional balance.

How to restore cycle if there was a delay in menstruation due to stress? Let’s consider several ways.

Recreation

Everyone can have their own way to relax: for some it’s a warm bath with their favorite aromatic oils, for others it’s an active vacation like a bike ride or a short trip. This will help you forget about worries and get positive emotions. It is important to allocate time and energy to rest even in a busy schedule: without giving yourself positive emotions, you risk becoming even less productive.

Sleep

Without good quality sleep, there is no point in establishing a menstrual cycle: it has been proven that a good night’s rest (7-9 hours) helps to feel better, prevents overeating and weight gain, and promotes good skin condition and complexion. And excellent health and pleasant appearance are the key to a positive mood.

Daily routine

The cyclic nature of the processes in our body obliges us to pay attention to the daily routine: it is better to get up and go to bed at about the same time. Failure of menstruation due to stress can develop against the background of exhausting loads, irregular working hours, combined with nervous tension, so it is important to regain an acceptable schedule.

Nutrition

The quality of nutrition greatly affects the functioning of the reproductive system. The daily menu should include fresh vegetables and fruits, a sufficient amount of protein, complex carbohydrates. It is better not to allow fasting and strict restrictions, unless a medical condition requires it and is not recommended by a doctor: rigid diets can do more harm than good. In cases where excess weight occurs, it is better to consult a nutritionist and develop your diet taking into account the needs for nutrients.