One thing many of my charting clients ask me is “why do I get really hot just before my period?”. I also have a few clients who have this issue on the first day or two of their period and they come to me with confusion.
It’s funny how our bodies work sometimes, especially if you are used to being cold throughout most of the month. This is not an early onset menopause causing hot flashes. So what is going on?
During the second half of the cycle, if we have successfully ovulated, our ovary produces vast quantities of progesterone, the heating hormone. The progesterone levels rise so we gradually get warmer and after approximately two weeks, if the egg wasn’t fertilised at ovulation, then our progesterone and oestrogen levels fall and this triggers the release of the uterine lining aka your period.
Different women have the progesterone drop of at different points, some have a gradual decline a few days before their period starts, others have a steep decline in the first few days of their period. But the important thing to remember if progesterone is high, your temperature will be higher than normal.
The great thing about this is we can “hack” this knowledge when we chart out cycle to see what is going on with our hormones and whether we have ovulated by charting our temperature every day.
There are however some things you can do to help you sleep:
- Cool your room down before you go to sleep. This can include using fans or air conditioning and closing the curtains during the day.
- Get cotton sleepwear that allows for more airflow around you when you are sleeping.
- Don’t exercise too close to bed time.
- Put a sheet in the freezer and take it out before bedtime. Use this sheet on your body or on top of you instead of a duvet or blanket.
Learn More About Your Menstrual Cycle
I have a course on how to chart your menstrual cycle that you can sign up to here.