How is the menstrual cycle like a wave? 🌊

One of my favourite things to do when demystifying the menstrual cycle is using the analogy of a wave. Comparing our menstrual cycle to the ebb and flow of a wave helps to simplify our understanding of the menstrual cycle down to two phases (instead of four). What I also love about the wave analogy is that it captures the subtle differences in energy in each phase beautifully. There’s a bit for prior knowledge that comes in handy, so bear with me.

First up, we need to understand the two phases of the menstrual cycle, that is, the time leading up to ovulation and the time after ovulation leading up to your period.

Day 1 of your cycle is the first day of your period. In a regular 28 day cycle, ovulation will occur around day 14-16. Although a 28 day cycle is what's often referred to as what's "regular", regular can actually be anywhere from 21-35 days.

The first phase is known as the follicular phase. It's called the follicular phase because the eggs in our ovaries live in little houses called follicles. It's during this phase that the follicles are maturing ready for ovulation.

The second phase is called the luteal phase. It's known as the luteal phase because the gland that produces progesterone, the dominant hormone in the second part of the cycle, is called the corpus luteum.

Soooo, how is the menstrual cycle like a wave?

A wave flowing in towards the shore is like our follicular phase. Ovulation is represented by the transition between flow and ebb, when the wave reaches the highest point on the shore. The ebb of a wave away from the shore is like our luteal phase. Our period is represented by the transition from ebb to flow, as the wave begins to build again.

Follicular Phase (Flow)

Day one of our period marks day one of our cycle and thus the start of the follicular phase.

The flow of the wave into the shore is energetically moving towards. Similarly, as we transition into our follicular phase, it feels like we are energetically moving towards things. This is mainly due to the role of estrogen as we move towards ovulation.

If you think about what characteristics would be helpful for your fertile time of the month, you can think of estrogen supporting those characteristics. Almost like the best wing-person you could ask for.

As estrogen increases we may feel more social, more likely to say yes to that party or group event. We are generally better at public speaking and work tasks may not feel as much of an uphill battle.

If moving your body is part of your routine, it may feel easier at this time. You may feel stronger and more able to move your body at a higher intensity, or for a longer duration. This is because of estrogen’s direct impact on the strength of our muscles.

The action of estrogen on hormonal and nerve pathways can mean that your appetite is a little lower.

Estrogen supports vaginal lubrication making sex more pleasurable, which makes a lot of sense at this time of the month. Testosterone also does a little jump right before ovulation, revving up our libido or sex drive.

Ovulation occurs in the transition between the two phases. Just like when the wave reaches the highest point on the beach before it ebbs back out to sea.

Ovulation occurs as our estrogen takes a dive and a mature egg bursts from its follicle into the nearby fallopian tube. The egg is viable for 12-24 hours during which time it can be fertilised by sperm.

Luteal Phase (Ebb)

The ebb of a wave is moving away from the shore. As we transition into our luteal phase, it can feel like we are energetically moving away from or inwards.

The follicle that once housed our egg morphs into the corpus luteum and begins to produce progesterone. The word progesterone derives from pro-gestation and thus is pro-pregnancy. Progesterone becomes the dominant hormone in this phase, supporting the nourishment of the uterine wall, ready to support a fertilised egg if conception occurred that month.

If estrogen is our little social wing-person, progesterone is our couch companion. Progesterone can be thought of as the more nourishing and calming hormone.

Progesterone has a soothing effect on our brain and nervous system via its impact on a neurotransmitter called GABA. GABA makes us feel nice and calm and can even improve our sleep.

Progesterone not only energetically slows things down, but it also slows down our digestive system. It does this by relaxing the muscles in our gut to give us time to absorb more nutrients from our food in order to nourish our uterine lining ready for pregnancy. As a consequence, we may notice we go to the bathroom a little less often during the second phase of our cycle.

Remember above how I mentioned that estrogen can reduce appetite? With estrogen levels being lower in this phase, we will generally notice an increase in appetite leading up to our period. It is also thought that we burn more fuel at this time, so honouring this increase in appetite is important.

As the ebb of the wave begins its transition back to flow, this marks the beginning of our period and a return to the follicular phase. If we did not conceive, the production of progesterone plummets. As progesterone levels decline, so to do the soothing effects and we might notice some mild pre-menstrual symptoms.

During this time we produce a hormone-like substances called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins stimulate the contraction of uterine muscle. With this, the lining of our uterus sheds. Hello period day 1. Because prostaglandins are made by almost every cell in our body, it’s common for them to also cause contraction of our gut muscle resulting in loose bowels.

Just like the cyclic nature of waves, these symptoms will pass, estrogen will start its climb and the cycle will begin again.

Nadia xx