The Rollercoaster Called The Menstrual Cycle (And How To Ride It Like A Queen)

One day, you are an emotional wreck; you cry over every little thing and find everyone exasperating. You don’t understand why you are feeling this way until the following day, when you wake up to blood-stained panties. Congratulations, sis! You’re on the menstrual cycle rollercoaster, a ride driven by shifting hormones.

Here’s the good news: This cycle isn’t just about the tough days. Your body actually follows a fascinating and predictable pattern every month, and once you understand it, you can work with it, not against it.

You see, the aim of the menstrual cycle is for you to get pregnant. And when you do, it helps you nurture the pregnancy till delivery. You’re welcome. However, every month you do not get pregnant, you get punished — or rewarded (life is about perspective, after all) — with a bit of bleeding known as menstruation. This is a natural process that connects you to the rhythm of life and the natural world.

Facts About The Menstrual Cycle

1. The length of a menstrual cycle differs from woman to woman. However, the length of a normal menstrual cycle is anywhere between 21 and 35 days, with the average being 28 days.
2. Your cycle length may change from time to time. For example, if you’ve had a 29-day cycle all your life, there may be times in your life when it becomes longer or shorter.
3. The menstrual cycle consists of 4 phases:
   • The Follicular Phase: This takes up the first half of your cycle
   • Ovulation: This marks the mid-point of your cycle
   • The Luteal Phase: This takes up the second half of your cycle
   • Menstruation: This marks the end of one cycle and the beginning of another

The Follicular Phase

In this phase, the brain produces a certain hormone known as FSH (which stands for Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) that causes a pageantry of some sort to happen in the ovary. Here’s what happens: The FSH travels to the ovary, where it stimulates the growth of multiple eggs. These eggs begin to grow in size and produce lots of estrogen. However, just as Charles Darwin demonstrated several years ago, Mother Nature selects only the best. Hence, only the fittest egg— the largest and the one that produces the most estrogen —survives and moves on to the next phase, while the others die off. This surviving egg is the dominant egg.

While this is happening in the ovary, the uterus, or womb, is undergoing a phase of its own. During this phase, the inner lining of the uterus thickens up to 7x its usual size in preparation for ovulation.

Ovulation

At the mid-point of the menstrual cycle, the dominant egg is released from the ovary into the uterus. This event is majorly influenced by a hormone known as LH (Luteinizing Hormone). If you’ve ever done an over-the-counter urine ovulation predictor test, what you’re testing for is the concentration of LH in your urine. LH doesn’t just trigger the release of the dominant egg; it is also a culprit in the raging horniness you feel during ovulation. Remember, we mentioned at the beginning of this discussion that the primary goal of the menstrual cycle is to help you get pregnant. Hence, the heightened desire you feel during your most fertile period of the month is your body persuading you to have sex and get pregnant. During this time, your cervical mucus also becomes thinner and more slippery to make it easier for sperm to swim to your egg. Ovulation typically lasts between 24 and 36 hours.

Luteal Phase

This phase dominates the second half of the menstrual cycle, and this is where most women experience mood swings and other changes collectively referred to as premenstrual syndrome. In this phase, the primary hormone at work is called progesterone. Progesterone keeps the uterus in optimal condition for pregnancy as your body awaits the implantation of a fertilized egg. If this happens and pregnancy is established, the cycle stops here. However, if fertilization and implantation do not occur, the egg shrivels up and dies, and the levels of progesterone drop, signaling the end of the luteal phase.

Menstruation

Once the egg dies, your chances of getting pregnant that month plummet, and your body knows this. Hence, the thickened lining of the uterus begins to shed. This shed lining is what is passed out as menses. As soon as menstruation starts, the cycle returns to the follicular phase.

Riding This Rollercoaster

The first step to taking control of your menstrual cycle is to understand YOUR OWN cycle. How long is your cycle? You can calculate this by counting from the first day of one menses to the first day of the next menses. Do this for several months and determine your average cycle length. With this knowledge, you can easily track your cycle and target your ovulation phase for conception or avoid having sex during that phase if you’re trying to avoid getting pregnant.

If you are avoiding pregnancy and would rather use contraceptives than abstain from sex, it might interest you to know that hormonal contraceptives like oral contraceptive pills, injectables, patches, IUDs, vaginal rings, and hormonal implants manipulate your menstrual cycle to prevent pregnancy. Some contraceptives stop ovulation entirely, while others only alter the uterine lining or mucus. By understanding how each option affects your menstrual cycle, you can make an informed decision on what method of contraception you would like to use.

The menstrual cycle may feel like a wild rollercoaster ride, but once you understand it, you can take control and ride it like a queen. Whether you’re tracking your cycle for better health, trying to conceive, or choosing the best contraceptive method for you, knowledge is your greatest tool. So, start paying attention to your body, embrace its rhythms, and make informed decisions that work for you. Because when you work with your cycle, not against it, you unlock a whole new level of power over your health and well-being!