New Hormonal Symptoms? How Your Cycle Changes As You Age & Taking Control

We’re going to state something that might be a little bit obvious, but bear with us here – every 28 days (give or take a week based on your particular cycles) your body goes through a lot of fluctuations, with your progesterone and estrogen levels rising and falling to ensure that the biological mechanisms of ovulation and menstruation keep ticking on. You're probably already very familiar with the physical, mental, and emotional changes that come with these monthly hormone fluctuations — but are you familiar with how your cycle (and those symptoms) will change as you age? 

Today we’re diving into how your period & hormones affect every aspect of your life, from puberty, through your 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, and what happens to your cycle if you fall pregnantt– and the importance of tracking your cycles now, no matter how young you feel. Let’s get into it…

Your period & hormones during puberty

Generally, women begin menstruating between the ages of 11 to 14 and cycles can last around 24 to 38 days. 

Fun fact: Women use over 9,000 tampons in their lifetime and spend over $18,000 USD on feminine hygiene products on average. That’s a lot.

Your hormones as an adult

After puberty, women continue to menstruate until menopause occurs around ages 40 to 51, except during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Add all those periods together and that’s roughly 3,500 days -- about 10 years -- that women spend menstruating in their lifetime. 

Over 90% of women report experiencing symptoms around their period due to changes in hormones, including 3 out of 4 women who specifically report feelings of PMS.

What those hormonal symptoms look like can change as you age:

Your period & hormones in your 20s

This is the time many women are likely to have their most regular periods, so it’s often a time when you might be able to notice any oddities about your cycle. Talk to your doctor if you’re having irregular periods, heavy flows, or intense pain as these could be symptoms of fibroids, PCOS, endometriosis, or premenstrual syndrome.  

Hot flashes in your 20s:

If you’re experiencing hot flashes in your 20s, this may just be a regular PMS symptom for some women, as there’s a bit of a hormonal fluctuation around ovulation (day 14) that can disrupt your body’s temperature regulation. Progesterone levels rise after ovulation as estrogen levels fall, and a decrease in estrogen can cause the hypothalamus (the part of your brain that acts as your internal thermostat, keeping everything at homeostasis), to become more sensitive to slight changes in temperature. This can cause your body to respond with sweat to cool off when it’s not really necessary. However, if hot flashes become a regular part of your monthly cycle in your 20s (or early 30s), it’s best to talk with your doctor as this could be a sign of an underlying condition, such as thyroid disorder which affects 1 out of every 8 women.

Your fertility in your 20s:

Your 20s is also the time women are most fertile. If you’re on birth control, you could experience lighter flows with less cramping, or simply no periods at all. If you’re trying to conceive, then here’s what to expect when you’re expecting:

Your hormones during pregnancy:

The average age of first-time mothers in the US is 26 and in the UK, that’s slightly higher at age 29. First-time fathers are older at an average age of 31. 

You may not have your period during pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean you hormones aren’t changing and going wild as your body works to grow baby. Estrogen increases up to 1000x during pregnancy – that’s more than you’d produce on your own throughout your entire lifetime! The significant increase in estrogen is thought to contribute to many of the 1st trimester symptoms including fatigue, increased appetite, skin changes, mood swings, and may also contribute to nausea (though the hormone hCG is thought to be more of a contributing factor with that).

Your hormones during postpartum:

Remember that pregnancy estrogen spike? That doesn’t last once baby is here, and your estrogen levels drop dramatically within 24 hours after birth. The fall in estrogen and progesterone actually helps to facilitate the production baby’s first milk, colostrum! To compensate for this decline, the “love hormone” — oxytocin — increases during this time, and is responsible for social connection and bonding and to help you connect with your baby. It can take up to 6 months before estrogen and progesterone are back to their pre-pregnancy levels (and if you’re breastfeeding it can take a little longer). 

These hormonal fluctuations and changes that come with stress and sleep changes are contributing factors to a woman's increased risk of experiencing anxiety and depression during this time.

You might also experience the postpartum hormone crash, which we have a whole post on here: The Postpartum Hormone Crash: What To Expect & How To Take Charge Of Your Hormonal Health.

Your period during postpartum:

After having no period for all of pregnancy, it can take months before you have a period or have regular cycles. If you breastfeed regularly, your period will stay away as prolactin suppresses the estrogen formation that keeps you from having a period. If you don’t breastfeed, you may get your period immediately, but either way, it’s bound to come back a little changed. Some women find nighttime bleeding is heavier than pre-pregnancy, while others might experience a shorter cycle.

Your period & hormones in your 30s

When you hit your 30s, your period may not be what it was in your 20s, and some women may experience new symptoms such as lighter periods. Slight changes in your menstrual cycle are a completely normal part of entering your 30s as estrogen levels may start to begin their decline. Any symptoms are likely connected to perimenopause as it begins in mid-to-late 30s.

Hot flashes in your 30s:

If you experience hot flashes in your 30s, they could be part of perimenopause(keep reading for more on that), and in fact, some researchers estimate up to 70% of women experience hot flashes in the time before perimenopause.

Night sweats in your 30s:

Night sweats are also potentially part of the perimenopause process and changing PMS symptoms! As progesterone levels rise and estrogen levels decrease (which becomes less consistent as we age), the body may release norepinephrine to help regulate mood, behavior, and emotions which can in turn cause the brain to send cooling off signals to produce sweat from slight changes at night (like being bundled up in a nice warm blanket). PMS symptoms often appear the week before your period, but tracking your symptoms can help you notice any trends or oddities to discuss with your doctor.

Your period & hormones in your 40s 

Your late 30s and early 40s is a transitional stage of life where a woman’s body starts undergoing hormonal changes that lead up to menopause – this stage is known as perimenopause. The average stage of onset for perimenopause is 45, but it can range anywhere from your late 30s to your early 50s. It usually lasts for around 4-7 years, however, it can last anywhere between 2 and 15 years.

At this time, the key reproductive hormones in your body, estrogen, and progesterone start fluctuating. Levels might be higher than normal or lower than normal and periods can become more erratic, sometimes causing bleeding to happen more frequently. You might also experience other symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, mood changes, tender breasts, low libido, vaginal dryness, fatigue, abdominal weight gain, worsening PMS, hair loss, and headaches.

Approaching menopause also increases your risk of major depressive disorder, and it’s believed that 38% of women in late perimenopause experience symptoms of depression. 

Your fertility during perimenopause:

You can conceive during perimenopause but it can definitely be harder to get pregnant due to the irregularity of your cycle, which means you’re not ovulating in as predictable of a pattern. In the past 30 years in the US, women having babies in their early 20s declined by 43%, while women having babies in their late 30s increased by 67%. 

Your period in your 50s 

Here’s something that’s not discussed often: menopause is actually just one day in your life.

Yes – you read that right! All of the symptoms that are so often associated with menopause (hot flashes, low libido, and irregular periods to name a few) actually happen during your perimenopausal transitional stage.  In the US, the average age of menopause is 51.

When you reach menopause, it means your circulating estrogen levels have reached their “new normal” and you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a period. If you’re having any bleeding after you’ve reached menopause then we recommend chatting with your doctor. 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean saying goodbye to hormonal fluctuations. Estrogen has a protective effect on our bones to keep them strong and healthy. Within 5 years of going through menopause, women can lose up to 20% of their bone density. It’s why osteoporosis and an increased risk of broken bones are key concerns for post-menopausal women. In fact, about half of women over 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis at some point in their life.

Find out more: Perimenopause vs. menopause: what’s the difference?

Why you should start tracking your cycles now

So if you’ve ever tried to conceive, you may have tracked your cycles – but there are so many more benefits to tracking your cycles than falling pregnant – although we admit that is a great reason to track your cycles! 

Tracking your cycle at every age and every stage is all about knowing your “normal” and understanding when things are changing and any irregularities you might experience now and in the years to come. Knowing how your body works can help you notice changes and allow you the opportunity to tackle your symptoms as they’re happening.

If you want to know more about your hormonal health as you age, check out our sister app MBODY.

Are you tracking your cycles? Let us know in the comments!

---