Missed or late periods can have many causes other than pregnancy. If you’re sure that you’re not pregnant but worried about your delayed period, then we’re here to help you out. We discuss the top reasons why you could have missed your period.
Stress!
Stress affects your body in many ways, including messing up your period cycle. In fact, your body’s stress-response system is rooted in the same part of the brain that controls reproductive hormones. Stress can then cause ovulation and periods to delay or altogether skip a cycle.
Managing stress could bring your cycle back to normal again. If it doesn’t, your period delay or suspension may be due to other causes – we suggest speaking to a medical practitioner.
Weight Fluctuations
Drastic changes to your weight can put your body’s natural hormone off-balance and thus affect your period timing. Severely overweight or underweight women may also experience problems with their cycle but managing your weight can return your cycle to normal.
Extreme Exercise
Intense exercises can produce hormonal changes which then affect ovulation and menstruation.
Hormonal changes occur when you burn more calories than the amount of energy your body is producing. This can lead to a hormonal imbalance and throw your menstrual cycle off, leading to missed or late periods. But periods typically go back to normal as soon as you slow down training intensity or increase your calory intake.
Missing periods due to excessive exercise is called exercise-related amenorrhea and usually impacts women with low body weight or very little body fat.
Hormonal Birth Control
Contraceptive pills work by controlling oestrogen and progestin hormones. So, when you go on and off birth control, you may experience a change in your cycle. Similarly, if you stop the pill completely, you may experience period irregularities which can take up to six months to return to normal.
Essentially, any hormonal contraceptives, including hormonal implants or injections, could delay or suspend your cycle.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
PCOS is a common condition which causes your body produces too much androgen hormones. Cysts form on your ovaries as a result of the hormone imbalance. As a result, your periods may be lighter than usual, arrive at inconsistent times, or disappear altogether.
Perimenopause
Menopause usually occurs between 45 and 55. However, it’s not unusual for women under the age of 40 to experience early menopausal symptoms, including missed periods. This is called perimenopause and signifies a decrease in your egg supply.
Thyroid Problems
The thyroid gland plays an essential part of the female reproductive system because it is important for the function of the ovarian, uterine and placenta tissue. Therefore, an overactive or underactive thyroid gland could cause period irregularities. However, with proper treatment, your period should go back to normal.
There are many different causes for late or missed periods. However, if you’re unsure, then it’s best to take a pregnancy test early so that you can plan accordingly. Surecheck tests are over 99% accurate and detect pregnancy from day one of your missed period.
Wondering how pregnancy tests ACTUALLY work? Learn about the scientific processes behind Surecheck.
