It's no secret that a huge change in routine has the ability to have some pretty significant affects on our bodies - and lockdown has been been the biggest proof of this.
We're working differently, socialising less, sleeping more (for the most part) and we've been stuck in our homes for the last eight weeks by order of the government.
Only time will tell what this is doing to us - but there's bound to be some interesting changes to come out of it, both psychologically and physiologically.
Advert
For instance, we've already noticed changes in our sleep, skin, mental health. And for women, lockdown is even messing with our periods, too.
Women everywhere are reporting changes in both their menstrual cycles - whether their period is coming late, early, or not at all - and their actual periods - whether they're heavier, lighter, or come with more painful cramps.
"Ladies: Anyone else finding their menstrual cycle is even worse during this corona lockdown?," one woman tweeted.
Advert
"Is #lockdown screwing with our menstrual cycles? Interested to know if anyone is noticing anything different," another asked, four weeks into quarantine.
"Are my periods on lockdown too?? Bc they're late smh," a third tweeted, concerned.
Advert
But it seems these women are far from alone. In fact, gynaecology expert Dr Anita Mitra conducted research with 5677 women in lockdown and found that 65 per cent reported changes in their menstrual cycle or hormonal symptoms.
So what's the deal? What is it about lockdown that's messing with our periods so much?
According to most expert opinions out there, there's one main factor for all the irregularity - and that's stress.
We're all dealing with the lockdown differently, but some might be experiencing more stress than usual, whether that's stress about losing work and income, being deprived of social contact or anxious about their health in general.
"Excessive stress has a huge impact on our wellbeing, and this includes the menstrual cycle," Valentina Milanova, Founder of Daye, tells Tyla.
Advert
"There's no one way your period may be affected when you're stressed, but your period may show up late, early, stop altogether, or even be heavier and more painful."
The founder of the CBD tampon brand said that her company has been hearing many similar stories from their community over the past month of lockdown.
"I think most of us have experienced a late period at some point in our life because we stressed, so it's not surprising that so many people are noticing their cycles being a little irregular during lockdown," she adds.
As well as timings being off, lockdown appears to be affecting women's period pains too, with some reporting most intense and painful cramps.
Advert
A 2004 study found that women with high stress were twice as likely to experience painful periods, which would explain this.
So there you have it: if you're finding your periods to be all over the place RN, you're far from alone and it's a probably totally normal byproduct of stress.
However, if you're still concerned it's probably best to chat to your GP.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels
