Stress can make your period pain worse, research finds

Has anyone else noticed that your period pain is worse than usual? The cramps are so bad that all you want to do is curl up on the sofa and cry over old episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. You’ve no interest in eating anything other than chocolate digestives and you’ve so many spots on your face that you could play join-the-dots.

Well, it turns out that stress can make your period worse!

A study, which was published in the Journal of Women’s Health, discovered that there could be a link between the intensity of our period pain and stress levels.

Women who experienced a great deal of stress in the run up to their period experienced more extreme pain, compared to those who weren’t stressed out. Four times as many women who were stressed revealed that they experienced moderate to severe pain during their period.

The team commented, “Each woman is an individual, and some women may experience severe symptoms that require medications. However, future studies may show that stress reduction techniques can prevent or reduce the severity of premenstrual syndrome, which might provide a cost effective alternative to medications for some women.”

Experts believe that practicing mindfulness, yoga and exercising can help alleviate some stress.