How Your Hormones Can Help You Show up & Shine at Work
When it comes to your work or occupation, it’s essential for your energy, stress response, creativity and performance to have a work life balance. I know what you’re thinking… easier said than done, right?… Or is it?
The thing is, as women, we are conditioned to see our female clock, menstrual cycle or our “hormonal” traits as a disadvantage, a weakness or otherwise incompatible with the workplace. But, understanding where you are in your monthly hormone cycle can actually be a really powerful way to help you shape your work schedule and interactions with others, so you feel less drained by work, find it easier to stay on task and you actually show up and shine in business the way you were designed to.
When we consistently ignore this part of our physiology and work against our bodies and hormones, we can end up wired and tired, setting goals we can’t achieve. Don’t get me wrong, this is not your fault and it’s all too easy to do in today’s modern working world, which is set up and structured around a circadian, 24 hour clock, rather than a super-circadian or monthly one.
So, here are some highlights to think about to help you map your work/life schedule and finally help you bring a bit more balance back into it too:
Follicular phase (lasts 7-10 days & immediately follows your period): rising oestrogen boosts the brains working capacity and memory making this a great time for mentally challenging tasks, problem solving, strategising, planning and creativity. Focus your energy on new projects, new business or building new relationships. Brainstorm with colleagues and set new horizons, but DON’T overcommit yourself to actions later in the cycle. You may not be able to see them through and you will wind up feeling burnt out over the next few weeks.
*Note, this phase may be longer or shorter, depending on your cycle length. The other phases are generally consistent.
Ovulatory phase (lasts 3-4 days): as oestrogen peaks, you may feel an increase in mental sharpness, creativity and communication as a result of increased synaptic connections, according to a study in the Journal of Comparative Neurology. Oestrogen also supports serotonin release, which is our happy / social hormone. This is a great time to schedule presentations, difficult or key conversations with your team, manager or partner. It’s a great time for any marketing or advertising tasks and social media visibility as you’ll feel outgoing and more naturally energised.
Luteal phase (10-14 days before your period): alterations in oestrogen and progesterone levels in this phase lend themselves better to detail driven tasks, running reports, editing content and any admin that you’ve ignored all month. You may feel like you just want to get your work done! You may also start to have a little less natural energy for socialising, engaging with others or any outward facing tasks (think endless face to face or Zoom meetings) or networking opportunities. You can still do them but try scheduling those (if you can) in one of the other phases so they seem less draining to you. Early on in this phase (or before it), practice saying ‘no’ to people! If you’re a ‘people pleaser’ you may have taken on too much just to be nice. I can safely say that most of the women I am lucky enough to work with fall into this category. Accept that you can’t please everyone, not everyone will like you (yes, I’m afraid so!) and you need to prioritise your own selfcare right now.
Menstrual phase (3-7 days, aka. your period!) – during this phase the communication between the right and left hemispheres of the brain is more powerful than at other times. This makes it a great time for evaluation and analysis. If you’ve gone a bit off track in your follicular/ovulatory phase, you’ll be able to adjust the path more intuitively in this phase. It’s a great time to listen to your gut instincts. If you spot the same thoughts or gut reactions to something month to month, this may be your intuition helping you to work towards a better direction for you. Like your luteal phase, you may find you have less natural energy for socialising or engaging with others, but it really depends on your cycle. For some women, oestrogen can start to rise as early as day 2 (second day of your period), so you may really enjoy this phase and feel energised, so (as with a lot of things) listen to your body and adapt to it😊.
Coming from an ex-production superpower (and a burnt out one at that), I totally understand it can seem hard (and even a bit complicated) to say no, to slow down or work according to a different rhythm. I love to be go, go, go at all times of my cycle, but I’ve come to appreciate that I can still be productive at any point – just in different ways.
Remember that wherever you are in your cycle, you deserve rest and time-out. Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few moments… including you.
Finally, if your periods have stopped as a result of hypothalamic amenorrhoea, the priority would be to get your period back. Just focus on that for now. If you’d like to get in touch with me to see how I can help, drop me a line at hello@hollydunn.co.uk.
Holly x
© Holly Dunn Nutrition