There’s a lot a year can teach you about yourself. Yes, the dramatic, movie-style moments teach you a lot, but the small, repetitive ones do to. The days your jeans don’t fit, the week you cry over one text, the month your skin breaks out for no reason. For me, this was the year I finally stopped brushing all that off and started paying attention to my menstrual health. Menstrual health in 2025 was so much more than pads and cramps, it was about understanding hormonal shifts, emotional effects of hormones, and all the tiny cues we’ve been trained to overlook.
Before I dive in, I’d like to say every cycle has its own personality, and every person has their own baseline. I’m sharing mine it the hope that it makes you feel seen. If anything, I want to remind you that your body is always communicating, sometimes you just need the right tools or context to understand the message.
So here it is: my hormonal year in review, what my period taught me in 2025.
1. Travel Always ALWAYS Messes With Your Period
Let’s start from the start — January was chaos. I kicked off the year in a freezing European city, living on pastries and mulled wine, walking 20,000 steps a day, sleeping at odd hours, and basically flipping my entire routine upside down. And of course… my period just didn’t show up.
Cue the panic spiral. The “what ifs,” the Googling, the convincing myself something was wrong. But the truth was embarrassingly simple, my body was confused. A sudden temperature drop, jet lag, new foods, disrupted sleep, it was like I had shocked my system.
When I got back, and my period came back (of course), the panic settled and realised every time I travel somewhere drastically different, the timing of my cycle shifts. I looked it up and my research showed that seasonal hormonal fluctuations are real, and travel counts as its own season. I realized my body wasn’t malfunctioning, it was just adapting.
That trip taught me not to take every delayed period so personally. My hormones aren’t plotting against me. They’re just responding to the environment I throw them into.
Any Contraceptive (Even A Non-Hormonal One) Can Mess With Your Period
Mid-year, I got a Copper IUD. It’s non-hormonal, which is exactly why I picked it (read more about birth control options here). I assumed nothing major would change. Spoiler: everything changed.
My periods had always been light and easy, almost suspiciously drama-free. And because I never struggled with period drama before, I’d shrug off other women’s experiences too. Not in a mean way, but in that naïve, dismissive way of someone who simply hadn’t felt it themselves. I’d hear friends talk about debilitating cramps or heavy flow and think, “Wow, that sounds awful,” but never really get it.
Then the IUD arrived, and humbled me.
I went from a calm, four-day period to a full seven-day saga. Heavier flow, intense cramps, deeper fatigue. Apparently, copper IUDs create a tiny inflammatory response in the uterus to prevent pregnancy, and that inflammation dialed everything up. Suddenly, my uterus had opinions. Loud ones.
For the first time, I truly understood why so many people dread their cycle. The cramps were sharper, the exhaustion lingered, and the emotional effects of the strain hit harder because my body was genuinely doing more work. And with every wave of pain, something in me softened, not just toward myself, but toward every person who has ever had a period that felt bigger than them.
It made me empathetic in a way I didn’t know I needed to be. I finally understood that everyone’s cycle is different, and the same person can have different cycles at different points in life. My easy periods didn’t make me stronger, just uninformed. My harder ones didn’t make me weaker, just human.
Periods in My 30s Are Nothing Like My 20s
My 20s were chaotic, and my cycle reflected it. My periods were irregular, sometimes skipped, sometimes spotting, sometimes a flood. My sleep schedule was a joke, my stress levels were unpredictable, and I treated my body like it was indestructible.
Now? My 30s feel like a different species. Not perfectly predictable, but much more stable. My cycle length is more consistent, my PMS patterns repeat themselves, and there aren’t many surprises.
I learned that my hormones were never “out of control” in my 20s. My life was. Once I stopped living like a ping-pong ball and started paying attention, my cycle finally found a rhythm, and I finally understood what my body was doing.
However, one curious thing has changed. My bloating has gotten more dramatic in my 30s, enough that I rotate between different jean sizes depending on where I am in my cycle. When I mentioned this to my other 30-year-old friends, every single one said, “Oh my god, same.”
Apparently in your 30s, progesterone fluctuations can be a bit stronger in the luteal phase, which means more water retention, slower digestion, and that lovely tight-jeans feeling. Estrogen dips can also shift how puffy or compact your body feels. Basically, hormones are doing something different now. And honestly? How cool is that!
Infections? Never Heard of Her (This Year)
For the past few years, I would get two or three vaginal infections annually. The kind that are annoying, itchy and painful.
But in 2025? Not a single one.
Working with Nua, on this very blog, taught me to rethink intimate hygiene, hydration, and the tiny daily habits that affect vaginal health. I started choosing breathable fabrics, avoiding fragranced products, and changing out of sweaty clothes sooner. I even drank more water.
Menstrual health in 2025, for me, became more holistic. Less about the bleeding week and more about the entire cycle.
And boom! No more infections. Turns out, all those tiny changes people always tell you to make and you think, “How could this really make a difference?”, let me tell you, it does!
The solutions for good menstrual health aren’t always dramatic. Sometimes they’re as simple as fewer infections, more comfort, better daily habits.
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Sleep Is Basically Hormone Therapy
I got an Oura Ring this year, and pairing it with hormone tracking apps opened up a new universe of connection between sleep and hormones.
The months I slept well? My cravings were calmer, my mood was better, my PMS less volatile. The months I slept badly? Everything fell apart. My cycle felt more intense, my emotions felt louder, and I was more stressed overall.
Hormone awareness made me realize how deeply sleep affects everything from cortisol, hunger signals, energy, to menstrual symptoms.
Using insights from period tracking and sleep data together made patterns unmistakable. Less screen time, an earlier bedtime, and an actual nighttime routine helped stabilize my entire cycle.
Bottom line? Sleep is not optional. It’s hormonal maintenance.
Body Temperature Is an Underrated Hormone Whisperer
One of the most interesting features of the ring was the temperature data — and it quickly became my most accurate cycle indicator. I found that my body temperature rises after ovulation and during my period and stays stable for the rest of my cycle.
Once I started paying attention to those tiny shifts, everything clicked.
I realised that whenever I suddenly felt warmer than usual (that subtle internal heat), my period was usually just a few days away. It was almost like my body whispering, “She’s coming.” And for someone who spent years guessing and hoping, that level of predictability felt strangely comforting.
Temperature changes were so precise that they often clued me in before mood shifts or cramps did. What surprised me most was how much more accurate these temperature shifts were than any app prediction. Most period tracking apps rely on historical data to predict when your period will start. But your temperature reflects what your hormones are doing right now, taking into consideration any recent physical or mental stress. So when my ring sent me a notification that my period was approaching, it was almost always spot‑on.
And honestly, you don’t need a ring to notice this. That subtle rise in internal warmth? That feeling like your body is running a tiny furnace? It’s one of the most overlooked, reliable signs that your period is on the way. Once you start paying attention, you’ll notice your own pattern.
Resting on My Period Isn’t Lazy, It’s Intelligent
This year, I finally let myself rest on Day 3 of my period, usually the heaviest day.
Not pretend-rest. Not scrolling and calling it rest. Actual rest. Lying down when the cramps hit, taking a nap, slowing down without guilt.
Before this, I’d force myself to work through the pain just to prove I could “handle it.” I’d sit at my laptop foggy, unfocused, and cranky, pushing out work that wasn’t even good, just technically done. I’d call it productivity, but really, it was me barely functioning and pretending it was fine.
When I finally let myself rest, the difference was wild. Instead of dragging the discomfort across an entire day, I condensed it into one intentional 2-hour break. I’d wake up actually refreshed, the cramps eased, my brain switched back on. I worked better, faster, and with way more clarity than I ever did while trying to power through.
Understanding menstrual symptoms helped me see that rest isn’t weakness, it’s strategy. It’s a form of menstrual self-care we should normalize, not hide.
My Body Was Always Talking, I Just Started Listening
If I had to summarize my menstrual health in 2025, it’s this – I stopped fighting my cycle and started learning from it.
Menstrual cycle tracking, hormone tracking apps, temperature data, and simple awareness helped me understand the emotional effects of hormones, see seasonal hormonal fluctuations, and build routines that support me instead of drain me.
I learned that my body sends signals like energy shifts, skin changes, cravings, mood dips. When I finally slowed down enough to notice them, everything made more sense.
These little shifts weren’t random or dramatic, they were clues. They helped me respond before things spiralled, adjust before I crashed, and care for myself without guilt.
2025 became the year I realised my period isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a monthly conversation. And when I actually listen, my body just feels easier to live in.
