10 Ways to Support Your Period

Periods can suck. They can also be a time to take a break from the business of life and take care of yourself. We've collected the best period care tips to support your next cycle

1. Unschedule. Be proactive and avoid as much as possible scheduling important meetings or events during your period. If your period is sneaky (like many of ours are) and shows up unexpectedly, review your calendar to see what you can take off of your plate to allow added time for rest and care.
   
   
2. Meal prep. With the likelihood of increased anxiety and fatigue, cooking is probably the last thing you want to focus on during your period. To avoid caving and ordering take out every night (which can be costly and nutrient less), we recommend meal prepping a few frozen meals to have on hand during your period (thing lasagna, smoothie packs, cut veggies ready to roast...etc.). No shame if that meal prep looks like a frozen pizza… just add a bagged salad and you’re good!
   
   
3. Extra hydration. During your period, your body is releasing a lot of toxins, help keep your body flowing with extra water (or herbal blends) throughout the day. We recommend upping your average intake to 2L (or more).
   
   
4. Mood and regulating blends. Choose herbals with supporting benefits like dandelion leaf to aid in easing fluid retention and swellings or peppermint and chamomile to soothe digestive issues (which are especially prevalent during periods). Our period support blend, In the Flow was formulated for the specific purpose of easing the painful effects of periods.
   
   
5. Walk. While moving around may not sound like the most fun when you're dealing with period pain, light exercise (like walking, stretching or restorative yoga), releases muscle tension and can help ease pain. We recommend scheduling a morning and/or evening 15 minute walk around your neighbourhood.
   
   
6. Comfort watch. Period hormones can mess with all sorts of things like your ability to regulate stress and anxiety. Thats why watching a movie or tv show that you’ve already seen (and love) will help with bringing back a familiar sense of calm. Our pick: Harry Potter (all of them).
   
   
7. Track. Proactively supporting your period by tracking flow, mood, pain and other symptoms will give you a roadmap of how to prepare for future periods. We recommend tracking via a short journal on your (personal) Google cal, but theres lots of affordable apps available to help track as well.
   
   
8. Increase iron. While the body is removing toxins and excess hormones from our bodies during menstruation, along with it comes iron. Increase your iron with supplements or foods like spinach (totally counts if its thrown on top of a frozen pizza).
   
   
9. Comfort prep. Like meal prepping for your closet, “comfort prepping” a few loose fitting outfits that make you feel put together help you feel confident while your body feels tired/slow/bloated/uncomfortable. We recommend wide leg pants and a cozy sweater.
   
   
10. Drop the delicacy. While periods themselves are very delicate and temperamental, the actual act of menstruation is not. Do yourself a favour and remove any period shame (like being embarrassed to ask for a tampon or not wanting a partner to know). Less time focusing on society's senseless taboos, more time taking care of you.
    
    Any tips that we missed? Share them with us on instagram @tease_tea!