The Menstrual Cycle: Integrating Its Rhythm into Our Routine
A common misunderstanding that I run into when supporting women with their menstrual cycles is the belief that what works on one day of their cycle should work just as well on another. Many become frustrated when their usual routines no longer deliver the same positive results on certain days. These results usually pertain to energy levels, exercise stamina, sleep quality, acne breakouts… the list goes on. Without a deeper understanding of their menstrual cycle and how the industrial world at large was not designed around this monthly cycle, I don’t blame them for feeling frustrated.
If we zoom out a little bit, our societal and work structures for the most part function off a solar, 24-hour cycle where we are expected to provide the same energy, effort, output, and productivity on a daily basis. This system has created a deep-seated illusion that every human can operate in the same identical capacity as the day before, barring any external changes, and produce the same outcomes. It’s no wonder cycling women get frustrated, for example, when their routine helps them feel super energetic and on top of the world early on in their cycle only to find their mood and energy levels plummet with the same routine a week later for no obvious reason. We would love to feel like anything is possible every single day, but that consistency can feel elusive when our hormones are naturally- and normally- fluctuating throughout the month.
Cycling premenopausal women follow a lunar or monthly cycle, not a solar or daily one. Simply put, cycling females experience fluctuations in their sex hormones, mainly estrogen and progesterone, every day over an average of 28 days (cycles can be longer or shorter) as opposed to over just 24 hours. That means that we are changing a little bit every day throughout the month due to these hormonal changes. What works for us on day 12 of our cycle during our late follicular phase when our estrogen is peaking may not work for us on day 21 of our cycle during our mid-luteal phase when our progesterone is peaking- these hormones behave very differently in our bodies.
I think of it as having a varying hormonal landscape throughout the month. Just like any literal landscape communicates its needs to us- via the wilting flower, the sunburnt leaves, the dehydrated soil- our hormonal landscape communicates its needs to us throughout the month as well. Unfortunately, due to lack of research, education, and prioritization around female bodies, we and others around us often don’t know how to listen to those needs. We force ourselves to stretch, shrink, and fit into our external circumstances to the point of exhaustion rather than appropriately support and nourish ourselves to function at our best capacity throughout our cycle.
This is why I love running the DUTCH Cycle Map in addition to the DUTCH Complete or Plus with my female patients in my practice. As the name implies, the Cycle Map provides a map of their estrogen and progesterone throughout their cycle. This information along with what we find on the Complete or Plus is such a helpful tool for understanding if there are overt issues with their menstrual cycle and where they may need extra support given the clinical symptom picture.
To be very clear, having a monthly cycle is NOT a weakness- it’s actually our superpower! And most importantly, we are not failures for feeling the quite literal ups and downs of our hormones. It just means that we may need more nuanced care or additional support at certain times during our cycle to feel our best, and that is completely valid. The degree of this care of course depends on the degree of hormonal fluctuations, our individual sensitivity to such fluctuations, the quality of our menses (more on periods later), and other factors.
The bottom line is hormone fluctuations are a normal and natural part of women’s physiology that we shouldn’t feel the need to ignore or push through. Our menstrual cycle deserves to be nurtured and cared for in a way that supports our daily quality of life.
If you want to learn about your own menstrual cycle and how you can support it, book your discovery call with me. I’d love to work with you.
Legend of Terms
Menstrual Cycle: The menstrual cycle is calculated as the number of days from day 1 of your period (first day of bleeding not just spotting) to the day before your following period. The first day of your next period starts back at day 1. A healthy cycle includes menstruation, follicular, peri-ovulatory, and luteal phases. Many individuals refer to their period as their cycle, but our period or menses is just the period of time we bleed a the beginning of our menstrual cycle.
Premenopausal: Women who are still cycling; this includes perimenopausal women. The opposite of post-menopausal women who are no longer cycling.
Copyright © 2026 Kaitlin Tyre, ND