Can Women Exercise During Periods?

Hello everybody,

I am Dr. Smita Vats. I am a practicing gynecologist. So, one of the common questions that we are often asked whether or not they can exercise while they are having periods? So, here I would like to make one statement that although in India the cultural values that we are brought up with, the girls are not usually encouraged to be physically active during their periods. But actually it’s a myth and you should really be as active as you can be during the periods. Because you see not only does it improve the blood circulation throughout your body as well as to your reproductive system but it also improves your core muscles strength, it improves the overall endurance for the pain as well as the threshold for the pain one has. So it helps during the cramps, and pains during the periods to a much better extent as you would have otherwise if you are not exercising. It also helps you get rid of excess water attention in the body by sweating in other means that you have gained during your premenstrual period.

Exercises also supposed to be a very good mood elevator and stress buster because it releases a lot of hormones in the body which are mood elevators and it overall improves your general feeling of well being and helps build up a positive attitude. Having said that, if your body is demanding rest and you feel tired or exhausted, take rest, take a while to recharge your battery and then move ahead. There is no need to over exhaust yourself, push yourself beyond your physical limits. But at the same time, there is no need to be physically, completely inactive during your periods. So, the different kinds of exercises that you can indulge in are light aerobic exercises, swimming, if the flow is not very heavy, you can use menstrual cup or tampon and go for a small lap of swimming, cycling is good, walking on a treadmill is again a very good exercise, yoga is supposed to be a very good exercise, it improves overall oxygen of body, it improves the core muscles of the body, it helps in overall fitness of the body. So, device the kind of exercise that you would want to be doing throughout the month and if you are already doing some sports or some dance or some other physical activity like long tennis or anything else, do continue with that during your periods, it will help you to take the pains better and feel overall better throughout your periods. And if your body demands rest, take rest. So the bottom line is to listen to your body. Push yourself a little bit far but at the same time don’t push it so far. So listen to your body, workout, take rest and be well.

Thank You.