27 Jul Why Is My Menstrual Cycle Getting Shorter?
You may be asking yourself: “Why is my menstrual cycle getting shorter?” Well, you’re in the right place. We’re about to deep dive into all the things that could be impacting your cycle and why your body is deciding to making this process shorter. I know that our bodies can be as mysterious as a secret treasure map. So, when your periods decide to take the express route, it’s perfectly normal to wonder what’s going on.
Your body is always speaking to you and we have to learn to tune in and listen to what it’s saying. I always preface when I talk about sex hormones that sex hormones tend to be FOLLOWERS, not leaders. So, when your menstrual cycle is changing, there typically means something deeper is going on. Welcome to functional medicine + I’m excited I get to nerd out with you for a little bit.
So, let’s answer your question on “Why Is My Menstrual Cycle Getting Shorter?”
What Is Considered A Short Cycle?
With age, your cycle length can change. They can become longer or shorter. If you’re having a cycle that is shorter than 24 days, that would be officially considered a short cycle and something that you want to explore deeper (don’t worry – we’ll get there!). If you’re used to a cycle that is 31 days, but now it’s only 27 days long , but it is still consistent – that may be just you adjusting to a new normal. Check with your doctor, but that can be a normal change as we age.
What’s Happening During Short Cycles?
If you’re having a period that is 24 days or less, you are most likely not ovulating, which will lead to not making progesterone. If you don’t have progesterone, then your uterine lining that you’ve built in the first half of your cycle won’t be able to hold and you’ll bleed early. But, we don’t just stop at “you don’t ovulate or have progesterone”. The answer isn’t just to give progesterone. And this is where we get into the “pill for every ill” situation. The answer is to uncover WHY aren’t you ovulating (therefore not making progesterone)?
Some reasons your ovulation may be impacted causing your short cycles are:
- High stress (In constant fight or flight, so your body doesn’t feel safe for ovulation. Safety in the body is KEY to ovulating.)
- Undereating/undernourishment
- Overexercising (especially if you’re pairing this undereating)
- Nutrient deficiences
- Thyroid health
- Mitochondria health (remember, this is the little factory that makes hormones. If you don’t have even proper amounts of estrogen to trigger LH that triggers ovulation, then the process will be halted. So if all your hormones are low + assuming you’re in the reproductive phase of your life (not menopause), then I would start to question if something is going on in the factory. That’s a whole topic of itself – we have to look at nutrient status, toxins, etc. See it’s not as simple* as we want it to be sometimes) 😛
- Gut issues (Yes, even gut issues can cause chronic internal stress on the body and certain components of bad gut health (like increased lipopolysaccharides) can cross the intestinal barrier and cause inflammation to the ovary).
Other reasons may be that you having super short follicular phase (this can be common when you’re approaching closer to menopause since ovaries are aging) or a short luteal phase where you’re struggling to make progesterone, but you’ve had that ovulation triggering event. The above root causes are absolutely still something to go through + ensure you are checking these boxes.
I told ya we’d deep dive into all the deep root cause reasons why your menstrual cycle is getting shorter.
What To Do Next About Shorter Cycles
If you’re ready to stop asking the question: Why Is My Menstrual Cycle Getting Shorter? It’s time to reach out to our team to schedule a free intro call, so we can come up with a game plan on how we can do the right testing and create a customized supportive diet and lifestyle that will help support your sex hormones + have better cycles.
