Why Cycle Syncing Works
Written By Kim Deschamps | September 27, 2022
Your menstrual cycle contains four distinct hormonal patterns. Each hormonal ratio changes your brain chemistry week to week throughout the month. Your neurochemistry is not the same from one day to the next, so why should your eat, behave, and move the same way day in and day out? You shouldn't!
The very premise of sameness doesn't allow you to challenge your health and personal power as you could if you worked with what was actually going on in your body and your brain at the time. Each of the four distinct hormonal patterns within your menstrual cycle outfits you with different gifts and natural capabilities. Cycle Syncing means selecting behaviours that nurture you and engaging in activities that you can excel at based on what's going on biochemically and physiologically at that time. This includes:
Choosing foods that provide the nourishment you need at each point in your cycle.
Choosing forms of exercise that honour and maximize your physical abilities during the four hormonal phases. This step of cycle or hormone syncing can support you if you aren't getting your cycle regularly due to menstrual issues like PCOS, as it can help regulate your cycle, or during the somewhat unpredictable transition of peri-menopause, can help create a sense of stability, and can even be utilized after menopause to continue to engage your body cyclically. Women who have had hysterectomies or oophorectomies can even utilize the structure of this cyclical planning and embodies time management to regain their connection to their feminine biochemistry and to lunar cycles, aka the phases of the moon.
Choosing tasks and activities - from cleaning out your closet to asking for a raise - that take advantage of what you're mentally and energetically poised to do because of your hormonal flux.
Now, does this sound like you?
"There aren't enough hours in the day."
"My anxiety is through the roof."
"Sometimes it's hard to stay focused."
"I'm overwhelmed by my schedule."
"I feel like I'm short-changing my kids."
"I feel frazzled."
"I don't have the energy to do it all."
"I don't have enough time for my relationships."
If you answered yes to any of the above phrases, you are likely working against the flow of your cycle, living in a 24-hour cycle (circadian rhythm...aka a man's hormone cycle) and ignoring your second clock (infradian rhythm, your 28-day cycle- menstrual cycle). The secret is not to find more time in the day, the secret actually lies in doing less... bare with me. It's almost a radical thought in our society, which forces the more-is-better philosophy down our collective throats. The idea of less can seem downright treasonous. But, I can assure you that doing less is backed by science. It's time to let go of these old patterns and get in tune with a female-centered productivity paradigm that's based on your biology.
Side Effects of Syncing with your Cycle:
Feeling yourself building energy, not draining it.
Finding yourself in the right place at the right time more often.
Feeling really good about who you are.
Feeling good in your body all month.
Having time work for you, rather than twisting yourself around for time.
Feeling less stress, but getting more done.
Effortlessly maintaining a healthy weight.
Deriving more enjoyment from your work.
Feeling aligned with the process of creation.
Not feeling so much pressure to be perfect.
Feeling like your body is a clear channel for your passion and purpose to come through.
If you're thinking the concept of doing less is impossible in your deadline-driven, and multiple calendars + commitments world, think again.
Here is my story and how cycle syncing has changed my life:
I am a passionate, creative, and determined 37-year old woman with ADHD, a business owner, a women's health physiotherapist + yoga therapist, a wife, and a mom of 2 small children (5 and 2 years old). I was struggling deeply with burnout, recovering from postpartum depression + anxiety, and managing my home + work life until I found cycle syncing. Cycle Syncing was a GAME CHANGER for me! (all caps required!) When I first came across cycle syncing I was instantly drawn in because it was the first time where I felt like finally something that makes sense and their is a solution included!
I continued to read, study and learn more so that I could 'fix' the root to my challenges, calm my brain, improve my menstrual cycle, balance my weight, improve my sleep patterns and energy. It was simple, I needed to honor my menstrual cycle and I needed to stop fitting in with the 24-hour schedule + clock that society has placed upon us as being normal for both men and women.
Take note on this piece of information ladies - did you know that a man's hormone cycle is 24 hours? Isn't that crazy!? Whereas our hormonal cycle is 28-days (give or take a few days). Our hormones are literally not the same day in and day out as a man's is, yet we are expected to show up at the same capacity and more every day single day. This information instantly grabbed my attention and I continued to explore my menstrual cycle, my symptoms, my behaviours, my emotions, my intuition, and what I was naturally drawn to at different points in my cycle. What I found during this awareness practice was truly incredible!
I am by far more creative and focused in on planning + organizing in my Follicular Phase, I am drawn to people and more outgoing during my Ovulatory Phase with greater communication skills + connection ease, I am hyper-focused on task completion and productivity in my Luteal Phase, and I am highly reflective and intuitive in my Menstrual Phase. Anytime I said yes to tasks, events, or commitments that were outside of my naturally fit phase of my menstrual cycle, I paid for it. I slept poorly, my mood was effected, I felt overwhelmed + irritated, my appetite and sleep were disrupted, and my menstrual phase was less than ideal which included added PMS.
What did I do next? Well, as an ADHD brain would do, I hyper-focused and set up my calendar (ie. outlook calendar) to outline my menstrual cycle and the four phases of my cycle. This allowed me to naturally and more intentionally choose tasks, activities, events when I was in the right phase of my cycle where my hormones were juuuuust right for each of those skill sets and requests of my time to significant reserve my energy. I then set up my project planning system/ task manager (ie. asana) the same way I did with my calendar and started organizing when I would complete certain tasks and projects to meet deadlines with greater ease and more enjoyment. It's been so amazing + I am feeling SO much better.
Kim Deschamps
Physiotherapist, Pelvic Health Therapist, Yoga Therapist, Lifestyle Medicine Practitioner