Music to My Menstrual Cycle: Learn Your Body’s Natural Symphony
Music is truly one of my first loves. Having said that, it makes sense to me that I would think about our cycles in the context of something musical!
All of the hormones in your body are like different instrument players in an orchestra 🎻🎺🎷🎼, and your body itself is the conductor (the one responsible for leading the orchestra and keeping the musicians together).
Some of the main players when it comes to your cycle are estrogen, progesterone, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH).
Together these players influence the natural series of changes your body goes through during your cycle. They do this by increasing ⬆️ and decreasing ⬇️ in levels during certain phases.
In an orchestra, the conductor might instruct the violins to crescendo (increase in volume 🔊) and the cellos to decrescendo (decrease in volume) simultaneously to achieve a specific sound. Your body conducts your hormones in the same way. For example, your body's progesterone levels rise around or after ovulation, and the estrogen levels decrease.
These fluctuations happen because these hormones in certain concentrations help your body prepare an egg for ovulation and prepare your uterus for the possibility of a pregnancy 🤰. If no egg has been fertilized, the outcome is usually your body preparing and having a period instead🩸.
An overview of some of the key hormone players in each menstrual cycle:
Estrogen: estrogen is THAT GIRL. She is the “feel good” hormone that can boost flirty and fun energy as your body prepares for ovulation. Estrogen is responsible for thickening the uterine lining in anticipation of a pregnancy. This hormone also plays a significant role in other biological systems (meaning it is necessary for your overall health). Healthy estrogen levels can protect you from dementia, bone density loss, heart disease, and high blood pressure, to name a few benefits!
Progesterone: progesterone is our mellow fellow. The hormone kicks in around ovulation and balances out the effects of estrogen by promoting relaxation and good sleep. Progesterone is the one that controls and maintains the buildup of the uterine lining in anticipation of a pregnancy. She’s keeping it all together in the hopes of possible procreation! If an egg isn't fertilized during ovulation, progesterone levels fall, and the uterine lining is shed through menstruation. Like estrogen, healthy progesterone levels also play a role in overall health and wellness too!
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH): released by the pituitary gland in the brain, FSH stimulates ovarian follicles to mature in preparation for ovulation. For some reason, as I type this, I imagine FSH as the one warming up a crowd before a boxing event like, “Let’s get ready to rumbleeee!!” As the body approaches perimenopause, FSH levels slowly rise to a level to signal ovaries to stop releasing eggs.
Luteinizing Hormone (LH): released by the pituitary gland in the brain at ovulation, LH triggers the release of a mature egg from an ovarian follicle. In other words, LH is the one making the beat drop, the one who triggers ovulation.
**Note: I refer to these hormones as the “four key hormone players,” but of course, we have a multitude of hormones that serve different functions in our bodies and work together for our health (e.g., testosterone, cortisol, thyroid hormones, etc.)
Hormone Levels and Irregular Menstrual Cycles
🚨 Something to keep in mind: if your hormone levels are off (like if you produce too much estrogen or too little progesterone) this can throw off your cycle 😕. Thrown-off hormone levels could manifest as irregular periods, significantly longer or shorter menstrual cycles, moderate to severe PMS, or issues like PCOS and endometriosis.
I suggest talking to your OBGYN or primary doctor about comprehensive hormone testing if you sense something may be off or want more in-depth information about your inner orchestra.
Our hormone levels and our cycles at large can be affected by a variety of sources, but at the base of every imbalance is… drum roll please… stress! If you experience irregular cycles, check out the graphic below about the importance of checking what sources of stress may be affecting you in this way.
So to recap 📝: your body instructs your hormones like a conductor conducts an orchestra 🎻. When the hormones are working together in harmony, increasing and decreasing naturally when prompted, your cycle plays out like a beautiful symphony 🎶. But if some of your players are not in tune, playing too loud, or playing too soft, the song starts to sound off 😣.
Are you familiar with your hormones? 🤔 Share this post with someone you love who has a symphony of their own 💕
Written by Valencia - Founder of Flow in Sync LLC