Nope, it doesn’t involve popping prescription pills or supplements. All it takes is snuggling with your pet, splurging on a sundae, going to a baseball game, treating yourself to new shoes, taking a walk, dancing or doing anything else that helps you banish stress during the second half of your monthly cycle. A just-released study shows that high levels of tension during these two weeks leading up to your period makes you two to three times more likely to experience premenstrual syndrome, including sadness, crying spells, irritability, body aches, bloating, back pain, headaches and cramps, than women who aren’t as stressed-out, reports the Journal of Women’s Health. And the news is worse if you suffer from chronic stress; women in the study who felt tension during the second half of their cycle for two cycles in a row were an astounding 25 times more likely to suffer from intense premenstrual symptoms. What’s the link? A high production of the hormone cortisol, which the body produces when you feel stressed, increases moodiness and exacerbates pain.
[photo: Never Cool in School / Leslie Kalohi]
