Have you noticed that your period may arrive unexpectedly right after you’ve travelled 300 miles in a certain direction?

Traveling does affect a woman’s menstrual cycle. If you have been traveling recently, especially if it involved a change in time zones or climate, your cycle may shift.

Why does this happen? Is it normal?

Your body has so-called circadian rhythms that are basically your body’s clock telling you when to sleep and wake up. These circadian rhythms are directly influenced by sunlight and synchronized with your daily cycles. Information that your eyes perceive goes to a special part of your brain that makes melatonin (a sleep hormone) and cortisol (a stress hormone). Both these hormones have a direct influence on the main female hormone estrogen.

If you travel through a few time zones at once, your circadian rhythms can be disrupted. This may lead to fluctuations impacting the synthesis of cortisol and melatonin with a further effect on your well-being.  

If you experience jet lag and a temporary disruption of your sleep patterns, your menstrual cycle will go back to normal on its own some time after traveling. If there are any other reasons for your irregular cycle, only a doctor can diagnose them.

Keep logging your data with the MIA app daily to discover more fascinating things about your own body.