Irregular periods could also be due to work stress

Period issues could be due to many things. Other than poor sleep, eating disorders or poor dietary patterns, even work stress can lead to period irregularities. Work stress, also called as burnout can also negatively impact the health in many ways. Not only your personal but also your social life can get affected and can give you troubles mentally as well. Not just that but burnouts can also give you irregular periods.

The period cycle starts after every 28 day and can sometimes be longer or shorter depending on the irregularities and abnormalities that your body faces due to various reasons including burnouts.

Dr Nitu Bajekal, senior gynaecologist says that in some cases, periods can even stop altogether due to burnouts. It is also possible that the prolonged nature of the cycle can also occur more frequently but you can also experience a missed period because of stress.

This is because the menstrual cycle is regulated with the help of hormonal signals which pass down from the brain to the ovaries thus regulating the progesterone and oestrogen. She says, "Stress, burnout, anxiety, and traumatic events can all upset the delicate hormonal balance in a woman's body, causing the brain to send signals to the ovaries to go to sleep."

Cortisol which is the stress regulating hormone can also control the reproductive hormones due to which it can cause menstrual irregularities.

Symptoms of work stress affecting periods:
Reduced professional efficiency, the feeling of depleted energy or exhaustion, inability to concentrate are a few you should watch out for.

How to manage work stress related period irregularities:
Exercise and meditate whenever you can, also eating healthy will help. And if at all you feel that you've been having irregular periods for too long and the reason is stress, do consult a doctor and get your condition fixed before it deteriorates any further.