Myth: Periods sync when you are around other women for long periods of time
According to Dr Harris, if you ask a group of women, most of them would say that the more time they spend together, their periods start to sync. But that might not actually be the case.
“Travelling with sporting teams, going onto camps, living with housemates or partners – anecdotally it happens. We don’t have research around why it might happen though. Unfortunately, this is the same for many topics around women and girls – the research hasn’t been done.”
But ob/gyn Stasia Jhaveri, MD, from the Cleveland Clinic says as far as she’s concerned “periods don’t work that way”.
“For healthy people living together, proximity doesn’t change cycle timing or frequency,” she noted.
Verdict: More research is needed, but looks like no.
Myth: You shouldn’t work out when you have your period
While it can be tempting to snuggle up on the couch with a bag of Doritos and the Kardashians, it turns out that movement can actually help with symptom management, according to Dr Harris.
“Get out there and move whenever you want to. Everyone who menstruates (gets their period) experiences their cycle very differently. Some barely notice their cycle, others have significant impacts.
“What we need to be encouraging is movement and exercise for women and girls – get out there and meet the daily exercise guidelines at a minimum – 30 minutes a day. Exercise and movement has significant health and well-being impacts, and can be very useful for symptom management including pain and mental health,” Harris continued.
Her advice for those wanting to keep moving when they have their period is simple: modify when needed, but also don’t underestimate your menstruating body.
“One great thing to remember is that women exercise at every stage of their cycle, and perform incredibly at every stage of their cycle - including breaking world records when they are on their period.”
Verdict: Listen to your body and work out when you please.
Myth: Losing your period is a badge of honour
Athletes and Femmi founders Lydia O’Donnell and Esther Keown experienced this first-hand, training to the point of losing their periods in hope of reaching their athletic prime. But in actual fact, health issues were the root cause of the loss of their periods, and landed O’Donnell in hospital.
Now the duo are determined to change the narrative to celebrating the period and say the key is education, which begins at school level.
“Our goal now is to get a period every month and celebrate that because it means we are healthy and we’re looking after ourselves. If we can give that message to young girls and say that to them, knowing that going through puberty your menstrual cycle may not be super regular for the first couple of years, but knowing that by the age 15 or 16, if you can have a regular cycle like go you, that’s awesome,” the pair shared.
Dr Harris agrees, noting that amenorrhoea - losing your period - is a dangerous health condition, usually occurring when the energy you are expending (exercise, school, work, puberty, friends, stress, family, brain power) is not matching the energy you are taking in (food).
“It can mean increases in injuries such as bone stress fractures and tendon issues, increased illnesses and inability to adapt to training, and in the longer term can cause osteoporosis and infertility. The menstrual cycle and periods can be used as a vital sign – if you are getting them regularly, you have that energy balance right. If they stop, you need to seek medical attention.”
Verdict: If your period stops, speak to your doctor.
Myth: The menstrual cycle is only a week-long
Understanding your cycle, and using a period tracker like Cycle Tracking, is crucial to understanding your body and what’s happening with it, says the Period Preacher. The more you track, the more you know and understand the monthly phases.
In fact, Peach describes it in her TedX talk as a “superpower” that with more understanding we can use to our benefit.
“The menstrual cycle is so much more than just the presence or absence of your monthly blood. It’s called a cycle for a reason, with four unique hormonal phases. And just like the seasons, they each come in turn with their own strengths and ways of making us feel. And once you know about them, you can use them to plan and maybe even enjoy your whole month.”
Peach explains that the month-long process is like a woman’s “spirit level”.
Verdict: The menstrual cycle consists of four hormonal phases.
Myth: You shouldn’t talk about your period
Apple Women’s Health Study, conducted with Harvard revealed that there was a level of shame attached to periods and speaking about them, saying, “The negative perception of menstruation at a societal level is often internalised at a personal level. Feelings of shame, embarrassment, or fear can hurt self-esteem and influence behaviours.
“Research has found that stigma prevents women from seeking health care for menstrual-related pain. Since the topic of periods is often avoided in conversations altogether, there is a lack of understanding about when menstrual symptoms require medical attention. Menstruation has also been used as a reason to justify excluding women from health research. As a result, gender inequality has limited researchers’ understanding of menstrual, reproductive, and women’s health.”
Femmi backed this up, saying, “It really does come down to this lack of education and the fact we can’t even speak about our periods. If girls could actually speak about periods in a really empowering way and be confident in the way that they talk about their periods, I think the environment would change around them.”
However, O’Donnell and Keown note that it’s not just women who need to be part of this conversation, it’s everyone.
“It’s trying to involve everyone in the conversation as much as we can. And I’m pretty sure every man who’s reading this knows a woman in their life. They probably have a daughter or a wife or a mother, and they have probably seen how these things impact them. How freeing would it be for them to actually be able to have open conversations about it?”
But it’s not all bad news, with O’Donnell sharing that dads are starting to join the conversation already.
“We have some dads of young girls learning from our Femmi podcast. I think they go to our podcast because it’s a safe environment for them where no one else can hear that conversation. It’s just them - they’re becoming educated about their daughters, and that’s pretty cool.”
Verdict: Normalise the conversation - that includes the blokes.
