Are you tired of being tired?
Are you tired of feeling tired all of the time? Have you tried all of the regiments, diets and exercises with minimal success? Many women’s health experts are demonstrating that this lack of success could be due to the fact that you are not in sync with your innate infradian rhythms.
You have probably heard of the circadian rhythms that we all share as human beings. This rhythm is the rhythm that controls our sleep and wake cycles according to light and dark. It has been transformational for me to realize the weight of the reality that as fertile woman we also have another cyclical rhythm that controls our hormones, behavior and body temperature. This rhythm is called the infradian rhythm. This biological rhythm is one that is not often learned in depth in our medical school curriculums and therefore is forgotten throughout society as well. This rhythm is a 28-35 day cycle of differing phases of our menstrual cycle and there is about one week of each of these four phases. Each of these weeks require a new way of eating, exercising and respecting the hormonal changes of our bodies.
Day one of your menstrual cycle begins the day you start bleeding this phase lasts about a week. You will often feel more inclined to rest, go inward, eat rich and nurturing warm foods. This is a powerful inclination that is healing your body, this is because during this phase your basal body temperature and energy reserves drop. I like to refer to this time in the cycle, as the reflection and nurturing period.
After your menses flow has ceased your body enters the follicular phase this is when the hormone estrogen begins to rise in our bodies which increases our basal body temperatures. This is a time to increase activity and start eating lighter on the food chain to counteract the warmer state of our bodies. This week of the cycle is a good time to take on projects and start new goals, it’s a time of preparation and when you are living in synch with your cycle you will have a natural inclination to start these new endeavors.
The following phase is the ovulatory phase this is when our body temperature increases even more and when hormone levels rise to their maximums for the month. Our bodies do this in an attempt to release a healthy viable egg to be fertilized. This week of the cycle it is best to cool the body with raw vegies, fruit, salads and juices. This is the week of the month where that juice cleanse you were thinking of doing, could actually be beneficial for your body. Socially this is really the time you will find yourself wanting to connect with other humans. During ovulation our bodies have the most energy and this is the time when pushing yourself harder with exercise, will benefit you the most.
Next we enter into the luteal phase. This is where hormone levels especially estrogen levels begin to lower and immune function declines. This is the bodies attempt to hold onto the fertilized egg and not reject it as a foreign substance. This is a time to cook warmer meals, and work through life by completing any tasks you have been working on. It is a time to focus more on yourself. And if pregnancy is not something your body is experiencing after this phase you will naturally enter back into day one of your next flow where bleeding is a healthy and cleansing process to shed the uterine lining.
I often tell my patients to connect with their bodies and try to feel into these cyclical behaviors and eating patterns. The trouble arises when woman ignore these natural inclinations and live out of sync with their bodies. I understand it is very difficult to listen to our bodies when the demands of everyday life interfere with our time, but I am here to spread the message that tuning into your body in this way will allow you to live in your optimal health. It is something I work towards for my longevity and health and is an everyday practice that is really worth our attention.