Why Am I So Tired Before My period?

Feeling tired before your period is common, but is it normal? In this article, we’re diving into premenstrual fatigue and answering your question: Why am I so tired before my period?! 

 Why Am I So Tired Before My Period?

 Add feeling exhausted to the long list of premenstrual symptoms women experience right before their bleed. Think pms symptoms like headaches, breast tenderness, mood swings, irritability, bloating, water retention, and pain. 

The good news is that it’s normal to feel a bit more depleted 5 or so days right before your period. When you should become concerned is being chronically fatigued for longer than those days leading up to your period, and when you are unable to do physical activity. Here’s what’s happening in your body:

 1 – Hormone Fluctuation 

In the second half of your luteal phase, right before your bleed, estrogen levels are dropping. A decline in estrogen levels at this time can lead to lower mood, lower energy, and feelings of exhaustion and depletion. This is why you may feel more inclined to stay in rather than go our and socialize. And also why you may get more easily irritated and emotionally reactive. You may also notice that you tend to feel a little sick or run down right before your period. This is because our immune function becomes a bit suppressed so that we don’t react with hostility if we conceive. 

All of these things lend themselves to feeling more tired and craving down time, cozy naps, and nights inside with a big bowl of pasta and a side of chocolate. 

 Beyond estrogen, right before your period you’ll also experience a drop in serotonin levels. Serotonin is your happy chemical that begins to drop creating feelings of irritability and melancholy. When you feel more irritable and sad, chances are you’ll lack energy and drive. Just feel into this, you have a heightened sense of intuition, and these feelings of powerful. This is a great time to journal and take note of the changes you want to make in your life. Maybe the first being with hormone and energy wellness. 

2 – Poor Eating Habits 

We know that right before your period our food cravings go up. Give me all of the chocolate and carbs I can get my hands on—but falling prey to these cravings can only make fatigue worse. So while feeling a little more depleted right before your bleed is normal, you’re not doing your energy any favors by indulging in processed carb and sugar cravings. 

It’s so easy to reach for a pint of ice cream, a bag of chips, and a loaf of bread the week before your period. But all of these processed foods deplete energy by wrecking gut health, throwing blood sugar out of whack, and disrupting hormone balance. 

To allow yourself a little more room for energy, say no to overindulging in processed foods. The number one way to reduce cravings is by making sure your body is getting enough minerals, vitamins, and nutrients. Oftentimes, for example, when we crave chocolate, our body is really just craving magnesium! Making sure you have proper stores of vitamins like C, D, and K (great for blood building and minerals like zinc, iron, and magnesium, you’ll curb those cravings. 

I love to use, and always recommend to clients, our superfood greens power. It’s not just for boosting immunity, but also fostering all day energy. It’s packed with nutrients that help flood your body with everything its deficient in. Drinking this in the morning has helped cut my PMS (premenstrual syndrome) cravings, allowing for a healthier cycle and more energy! Get the best greens superfood powder here. 

3 – Poor Gut Health 

A little play off of this last one, but something that is often overlooked. If you are always chronically fatigued before your period, you may need gut support. If the integrity of your gut lining has been compromised with processed foods, antibiotics, and stress, then food and nutrients can be leaking into the bloodstream causing energy loss and other issues. When food doesn’t properly assimilate in the body, you’re missing out on important nutrients and your body is using energy you need for brain function and physical activities, and putting it towards fighting inflammation caused by poor gut health. 

 The solution here is to get your gut right! This is crucial for chronic fatigue!! One of the best things you can do for your gut health is adding a collagen supplement that also includes stress-fighting adaptogens. Adaptogens help you become more resilient to stress, improving gut health and hormone health! Ashwagandha and schisandra are some of my absolute favorites. I made sure to include them in our superfood powder, Beauty Collagen Complex—another superfood supplement that helps foster consistent energy and hormone balance for a better week before your period and also help with period pain and a healthy progesterone level. 

 Get better gut health with some of the best herbs for energy before your period here. 

4 – Dehydration 

Another reason for extreme fatigue before your period is dehydration. Did you know that most people are chronically dehydrated and they don’t even know it?! Craziness. Not getting enough properly mineralized water in your body can be one of the main causes around premenstrual fatigue. 

 The fix here is to make sure you’re getting enough water in—the right kind. First off, you need to be consuming at least half of your weight in ounces of water per day. Then, you need to make sure it has electrolytes! Purified water is no good here. We want mineralized water. Think potassium and magnesium. And B vitamins are also crucial for energy. In our superfood powder, Hydration Superfood Energy, we made sure to add it all. Crush low energy with a daily dose of our strawberry kiwi superfood powder. It’s delicious and sure to properly hydrate and mineralize your body for less fatigue before you bleed. Oh, and also less cramps (;  

5 – Poor Sleep 

This should be obvious, but often overlooked. Take note of how you are sleeping the week before your period. Oftentimes, we get worse sleep or have more sleep disturbance the week before we bleed and the first few days of our bleed. Of course that lends itself to less energy throughout the day. 

What do to? Switch away from caffeine to a caffeine alternative. Go to bed earlier! Do not miss the 10pm angel train. Ditch blue light before bed, and instead opt for a book near candle light, or at the very least, blue light blocking glasses. Make a wind down routine that you can stick to. One that will help alleviate stress and help you fall asleep and stay to sleep. A personal favorite for me is a bath with essential oils and calming music.  I also love to stretch and self-massage. 

What about an iron supplement?

Low iron is always a reason for low energy but conventional iron supplements are a no go for me, unless you have iron deficiency anemia or extreme heavy menstrual bleeding.  Not only do they make you constipated, they are an intense version of something you can get through food. Pumpkin seeds, spinach, liver, red meat, white beans, and lentils are some of the most iron rich foods. Consume a lot of these in the days coming up to your period. If you don’t love these foods, try our insanely delicious superfood greens powder to get your iron in and up your energy levels. 

When does premenstrual fatigue start being not normal?

Like we said, premenstrual fatigue is normal. But at what point is it not normal? When you are chronically fatigued for longer than the five days leading up to your period and the first two or so days of your cycle, it’s time to look a bit deeper into:

• Your sexual health 
• Iron deficiency anemia 
• premenstrual dysphoric disorder

I hope this article has helped you understand why you are so tired before your period. You can find the best supplements for period fatigue in our online store. To shop our superfoods for improved energy and hormone health, go here.  If you are interested in more period tips and are also asking “why am I so tired on my period” – check out this article to learn 5 reasons for your  period fatigue. For more info about chronic fatigue syndrome and adrenal fatigue, go here.