UNDERSTANDING THE SEASONS OF YOUR CYCLE
When you start your period, write ‘day one’ next to the date in your diary, then do the same counting up for the next month. You’ll know where you are in your cycle on any given day, and can plan according to your seasons:
WINTER: DAYS 1-6
Winter is menstruation and starts on the first day of bleeding, or a day or two before. For most women, this is a dark, cavernous time of resting, resetting and letting go. Our hormones – oestrogen and progesterone – are at their absolute lowest on day one so we don’t have the physical resources we do at other times of the month. In the first day or two, it’s natural not to feel at your peak. But oestrogen starts to rise as soon as you start bleeding, which will begin to make you feel better.
SPRING: DAYS 7-13
You’ll have more energy, feel more playful, and be ready to come back out into the world. This is the follicular phase and, personally, I feel productive during the time. For some women who find bleeding painful, spring is a brilliant time. For others, it’s more tender. Emotions generally aren’t as temperamental as they can be later on, either, because hormones are on a steady increase.
SUMMER: DAYS 14-21
Summer is characterised by ovulation. If you have a 28-day cycle, you’ll ovulate around day 14. This is ‘superwoman’ season: oestrogen is at its peak when you’re ovulating, and a bump in testosterone makes us feel strong and resilient. Because our body wants to procreate, we have more cervical fluid and higher libidos, and more tolerance for people. Once the body has realised it isn’t going to conceive, however, progesterone is high and oestrogen dips up and down, before they both start a steady decline. This is called the luteal phase. The end of summer can be challenging for some women; they’ll stop feeling like that superwoman.
AUTUMN: DAYS 22-28
With progesterone and oestrogen declining, we feel slower and more tired. Dreams tend to be at their most vivid now. Some women – including me – also feel creative in autumn. But as we move back down to menstruation, we might feel moodier and less willing to be around people. Some women like this part of the cycle because feeling like ‘superwoman’ doesn’t suit their personalities; they enjoy moving back in towards themselves again.