Here's how and why your mental health and menstrual cycle correlate

In The Know by Yahoo

Does your mood ebb and flow alongside your period? Well, there's a scientific reason for that and licensed therapist, Divya Robin, shares her tricks on managing these emotional swings.

Video Transcript

- Hi there and welcome to "Hack the Cycle." I'm your host, Nadya Okamoto, co-founder of August, a lifestyle period brand. Does your mood ebb and flow alongside your period? I know mine does.

So I'm on my way to talk to licensed therapists to find out more about the correlation between mental health and your menstrual cycle. Let's go.

Hi.

DIVYA ROBIN: Hi, Nadya.

NADYA OKAMOTO: Nice to see.

DIVYA ROBIN: Nice to see You.

NADYA OKAMOTO: What are we doing outside?

DIVYA ROBIN: For me, movement helps so much in regulating my mental health and my emotions, so I thought we could just do a little walk together. Is that OK?

NADYA OKAMOTO: Yeah, I would love that.

DIVYA ROBIN: All right, let's go.

NADYA OKAMOTO: OK.

DIVYA ROBIN: So I use movement to help when I'm feeling anxious. So I was thinking, if I'm feeling anxious [? when ?] I'm menstruating, why not try movement? And so that's been really helpful for me. What works for you?

NADYA OKAMOTO: I'm a big yoga girlie, and for me, I just need to be able to stretch and get my period aches out.

DIVYA ROBIN: There's so much research that shows a link between movement and happiness, because movement increases our serotonin levels. And so, yeah, it makes sense that movement for the both of us is really helpful.

NADYA OKAMOTO: I would love to sit down and chat.

DIVYA ROBIN: Yeah. So my office is right over here. Why don't we head over there, and we can get more in depth there.

NADYA OKAMOTO: Amazing. Let's do that.

DIVYA ROBIN: OK, let's go.

NADYA OKAMOTO: Awesome.

What are some of your go-to mood-boosting activities?

DIVYA ROBIN: I love to take a walk by the water. If you have a furry pet, cuddling your pet. Reaching out to people, whether that be a talk therapist, a friend, somebody who will validate what you're going through so you feel less alone in your struggles.