We know office environments are often designed around men’s bodies - down to the air conditioning being set to suit men in suits. And as anyone who’s ever had to slink out of a meeting with their back against the wall, or pass a tampon under the bathroom stall can attest, having your period is simply not up for discussion in many workplaces.

But according to certified wellness coach Dominique Miller, it should be. Not only that, but our menstrual cycle – that’s the whole thing, not just the bleed – could hold the key to being more productive than ever. That’s because each of the four stages of the menstrual cycle (not dissimilar to the four seasons) has a distinct effect on our hormones, which directly impacts our energy levels, emotional state, and physical capacity. Ever wondered why some days you can bounce out of bed and power through the day, while others are a constant struggle just to string a sentence together or focus for more than five minutes? Your menstrual cycle could hold the answer. Here’s Dominique on why, and how…

Dominique Miller

The ‘menstrual cycle’ or ‘period’ name originates from being a ‘monthly’ or ‘moon’ cycle, yet it mostly describes the historically shamed event of the bleed. Because of this I grew up, like many, thinking my period was something that happened once a month. Our cycle of course is an ovulation cycle - a fertility cycle. But we seem to focus on this less, maybe because it is attached to the shame women also get for being sexual beings. Gosh it is stacked against us!

I call my menstrual cycle the flow cycle as it honours the whole cyclic nature. This tends to be a common term used by modern women’s health advocates.  We can honour our flow cycle by paying some attention to it. 

So, what are the healthy ‘stages’ and the ways they can affect a woman’s mood or productivity?

I’m going to start with the turning point in a woman’s calendar, when she has just finished bleeding.

Follicular Time  

This phase is when women are growing eggs for the next cycle and she would likely notice the energy shift a few days after her bleed has finished.  There is more physical energy because of the rising hormones. This is an outward focused time. It is considered as a Spring season, when women are feeling more dynamic. Her mood might feel clear-headed and fueled with focus. 

Ovulation Time

This comes next and is when women are lubricated for making babies, let's face it. It is considered as a Summer season when we are most vibrant, glowing, and personable, with peak testosterone and estrogen (research shows this peak testosterone may even cause us to get more dressed up to be our most attractive). A woman’s mood may be uplifted and she feels super for a few days. It is a great time to connect with others, do her most challenging work or maybe put her best face forward in media or big meetings and events. 

Luteal Time

This is when a woman’s body cruises the last two weeks to the end of the cycle, and finishes in the premenstrual wind-down zone, 2-5 days before her period.  Estrogen is lower than before, as it transfers its energy to possible growth of a baby, with Progesterone at its highest. This stage is like Autumn as a woman sheds her hormonal ‘leaves’ and all hormones drop to start her period (unless she gets pregnant). Women’s brains actually have been shown to have slower brainwaves in this time, closely linked to meditative states, so she may feel different to the first half of her cycle. Her tendencies can be creative, critical, and aware of ‘finishing up business’. It’s important to practice mindfulness if she is feeling sensitive and keep critical thoughts (and perhaps words) in check. 

Note: PMS is of course a big deal to many women in this phase, and can impact their emotionality, anxiety and physical symptoms - these women may want to work with a hormone specialist to look at their concerns, as there are many things to help.

Bleeding Time

The period is when a woman loses the lining of her womb, and all of her hormones are at their lowest. It is a more reflective time, and research has shown the brain is more open to R-L hemisphere communication (connection between intuitive and rational minds). It is considered as a Winter season when she can turn inward for insight. Her mood might be introspective, or if she’s not getting her needs met, possibly cranky! It is also a time when many women experience cramps, bloating or headaches. But the super-power women have is reflection - of what is working, and what is not. It can be a good time to assess and recalibrate expectations, desired outcomes, strategies for success. 

Women can really benefit from planning with these stages, or at least being aware of them, so that they can consider their body’s calendar before they schedule important events. Women can map what will work best for them, but also at the least, avoid pitfalls that might add to the stress of modern life. 

Dominique Miller

So, how can workplaces do better?

The first thing that workplaces could do is to ask the women in their team, “What could we do to improve your peak effectiveness in this role?” And then ask about a range of topics like flexibility of workplace arrangements, female-friendly networking opportunities, as well as women’s specific health and wellbeing support. Then they will be better able to support women to thrive in their organisations. 

Research from The Waratah Project, funded by the Victorian Women’s Trust, has recently shown that 58 percent of women said a day off to rest would make their period a better experience every month.

Naturally, when our health is better, our work follows. Absenteeism and presenteeism from period issues already costs businesses a lot.  I think optional menstrual leave (or menopause leave for that matter) is at the cutting edge of what workplaces can offer to respect women regarding their specific health needs. 

What if, as women striving more and more to be ‘equal’ in the workplace, we have inadvertently conditioned ourselves to ignore our gender, and how we feel around our period, to fit into the male-dominated world and its lack of attentiveness to women’s health? 

I believe we need to reconsider the importance of a woman’s monthly cycle, and create a radical culture shift that honours women’s wellbeing. As individuals it would mean we could look for the gifts in our whole hormone cycle, and not just see it as ‘that time of the month’. 

Part of the global culture shift at work is women taking ‘First-day of Period (FOP) Leave’ when they feel ineffective and in pain due to the natural and magical process of their uterus shedding its lining. Something like 50-85% of women report pain around the start of their period. That’s a much higher stat than pain reported from endometriosis for example. So having time off for your period, or if you can taking menstrual leave, is very affirming and empowering for many women who suffer in different ways. I feel that women shouldn’t have to ignore their pain and soldier on regardless, even if they don’t have an extreme clinical medical issue. 

If on the other hand, you are someone that has regular energy levels when you bleed, or manageable PMS (meaning it doesn’t really impact you), then of course taking time off may not be necessary. It is a personal choice. 

‘Buffering’ your pre-menstrual and menstrual time can still certainly be beneficial to all women, by making smaller changes that nurture the hormone system and buffer stress. You could experiment with these things and see if they make a difference to you near the start of your bleeding time: 

●      earlier bedtimes

●      getting help with meals

●      not ‘controlling it all’ or being a people pleaser

●      avoiding work stress

●      more delegating

●      taking some quiet time

●      eating healthy sweet foods

●      staying socially connected 

●      adjusting your workout style

Neuroscience research shows that women who are socially connected report less PMS. 

It frustrates me that women's power has, throughout history, been so consistently misconstrued as weakness or an inability to cope. There is an extreme masculine that wants to paint women's health needs and her nature as a liability or as a threat to their success. However we know - research shows - that businesses with twice as many women leaders are in the top 20% of best earners, of economic successes. And women have been shown to be better investors than men.  What makes that possible is our natural capacities as women and the fact is that at our foundation we have a hormone cycle. We need to connect these dots. 

Which brings me to the key role self-care and managing stress plays in our cycle. Chronic stress robs our hormone flow of Progesterone to make cortisol, which affects our hormone balance, and when this happens we are a step closer to adrenal fatigue or period and fertility issues. In particular: good exercise, nature, food and sleep habits, as well as other positive social and mental stress remedies, help keep our flow cycle working well. 

Creating better cycle health optimises women’s natural energy resources. When we do that we can also be more emotionally resilient, which can benefit our relationships as well as our productivity. Our cycle effects so many parts of our sense of self, work, and life so I really think it’s worth getting educated and experimenting with what works best for you. 

It's not that it's harmful to just ‘get on with it’ when we're bleeding necessarily. Women have run marathons and run countries bleeding - to no consequence whatsoever. Of course if your hormone health suffers then you should be supported in that, and seek help as necessary. But at the root, it's harmful to us as women if we discount our power. Historically, male power has even told us that to have emotions is a problem. The term hysteria came about because women’s ways of being, that men didn't understand, became known by certain male psychologists as ‘craziness that stemmed from her womb’, from the Greek Hystera meaning uterus or womb. They went so far as to believing women needed their wombs removed - a hysterectomy - to remove our craziness. And to this day, women still have men making decisions for their bodies. 

So that’s the cultural harm that women have been healing from, and are redefining.  And the narrative that we’re still collectively shifting into is that women’s health, hormones, sexuality, birthing powers, bleeding time and our emotional and intellectual capacities are powerful and need more than acceptance. They need greater respect. And they need to be honoured.  

Find out more about Dominique and her work here.

Download her playbook 'Find Your Flow - Find Your Power - A Woman's Journey to Honour Her Hormone Cycle' here.