It’s the second day on your period, and you have finally fallen asleep after a long day, but then as you begin to doze off, a sharp pain stings your lower back.
WATCH: Emma Chamberlain’s guide to how to look cute when you’re on your period.
It’s period pain, and you know that you’re in for a long night as you attempt to contort your body into all sorts of positions to try and feel some relief.
Period pain can range from a mind nagging to debilitating pain, but no matter how intense your experience is every month, it’s still a frustrating part of having a uterus.
General Practitioner Dr Jill Forer explained to Girlfriend why you experience period pain and what’s exactly happening inside your body.
“The reason people get pain is because of prostaglandins, which are like pain mediated protein molecules that are excreted as the lining of the uterus breaks down, and the blood vessels break down, and you get pain, which is mediated by a pain prostaglandin,” explained Dr Jill.
When you are not bleeding, you may find yourself experiencing random pain in your ovaries at certain times during the month.
This pain happens when your egg pops out during ovulation, and this occurrence has a very fancy German name.
“You can get pain when you get your egg pops out of the ovary; this is called Mittelschmerz, which is a normal phenomenon that can cause severe pain, but it is short-lived, and that goes away,” said Dr Jill.
Here are some at-home hacks to help you through period pain.
Heat packs
Gynaecologist Julie Levitt revealed to Women’s Health that she applies heat to her body when she is working to help ease her pain.
“When I’m on the go, I stick an adhesive heating pad or rub some tiger balm onto my lower abdomen so that I can keep on seeing patients, or rocking skinny jeans while I’m bleeding,” said Julie.
This Gyno-approved treatment works because applying heat on your body allows the uterine muscles to relax, and as a result, cramps begin to subside – a hot bath can also help if you don’t own a heat pack.
Over-the-counter pain relievers
The Mayo Clinic suggests taking over-the-counter pain relievers ibuprofen or naproxen “the day before you expect your period to begin” because it will help you control the pain from cramps.
Be sure that you are taking the pain killers correctly by reading and following the instructions written on the box.
Move your body
Although it’s tempting to skip your regular exercise routine when you are on your period, exercising is actually one of the best ways to relieve period pain.
According to Healthline, the exercises don’t need to be strenuous to be effective; in fact, high-impact workouts aren’t recommended.
Exercises ideal to take up during your period include light walks, yoga, Pilates or easy aerobic exercises.
Orgasm
In May 2020, adult toy company Womanizer and moon cup suppliers Lunette conducted a clinical study to find our if orgasms actually relieve period pain.
And the answer was, yes.
The survey got 486 different women of varying ages to drop their traditional methods of pain control when on their periods and to masturbate instead. And, over six months, they found that, when regularly masturbating, not only did the intensity of their period pain dramatically decrease, but the frequency of it did, too.
Herbal Tea
For some reason, tea is the one thing that heals everything — feeling stressed? Have a tea. Are your hands cold? Have a tea. Are you having period pain? Have Tea!
Of course, tea won’t stop the pain entirely, but just like heat packs, the warm drink will relax your uterine muscles.
Healthline recommends herbal teas like ginger, mint and chamomile.
But sorry, coffee lovers, it’s best to avoid the bean juice while on your period.
American endocrinologist Dr Rocio Salas-Whalen told Insider that caffeine can “increase how many cramps you experience and cause vasoconstriction (the narrowing of blood vessels)’ which can make the pain worse.
Avoid certain foods
Increasing your intake of whole foods such as vegetables and fruits can help ease period pain.
Medical News Today reported on a 2018 study that found the vegetarian diet and simple eating resulted in fewer cramps.
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