Can Moderate Exercise Affect Your Period?

Moderate exercise, or medium-intensity exercise that induces body sweat in approximately 10 minutes, may affect your period, both in negative and positive ways. Choose the intensity of your exercise based on the good and bad manner in which your period is impacted.

  1. Gauging Moderate Exercise

    • To determine if you have achieved moderate exercise intensity, a level that may impact your period, take your heart rate after physical activity and calculate your maximum heart rate. Place two fingers either over the carotid artery in your neck or over the radial artery in your wrist; count the number of times you feel your heart beat in 15 seconds. To get the number of times your heart beats per minute, multiply the number of heart beats by four. Compare that to your maximum heart rate. Determine your maximum heart rate using the following formula: your age minus 220. Moderate exercise will produce a heart rate of 50 to 75 percent of your maximum rate. For instance, if you are 30, your maximum heart rate is calculated as 30 - 220 = 190. Moderate exercise would give you a heart rate of 95 to 143 beats per minute, which is 50 to 75 percent of your maximum heart rate.

    Increased Incidence of Menstrual Disturbances

    • Even moderate exercise can affect your period. A study published in the February 2010 issue of the journal "Human Reproduction" tested hormone levels that affect menstruation in 87 women, linking those levels to exercise. The research indicates that half of women who exercise -- whether moderate or heavy -- experience what investigators call "subtle menstrual disturbances." One-third of these women have more serious menstrual issues, including the complete cessation of the period, although the total loss of menstruation is usually associated with more strenuous physical activity.

    Shorter, Lighter Periods

    • Some women benefit from moderate exercise in that their periods are shorter. If you suffer from a heavy menstrual flow, a lighter flow and shorter duration are beneficial. The cause originates with the estrogen cycle; Dr. Jerilynn C. Prior, Scientific Director with the Centre for Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research, theorizes that even moderate exercise encourages your ovaries to produce less estrogen, which can decrease the intensity of your period.

    Less Painful Periods

    • You may experience cramps with your period -- called dysmenorrhea -- but moderate exercise might help lessen your discomfort. The pain occurs because your uterus produces prostaglandin, a hormone that prompts your uterus to contract. Moderate exercise lowers stress hormones that can flare up and make you feel worse during your period, and it can also decrease your menstrual cramps, which makes exercise important for feeling your best during your menstrual cycle.