How does stress affect your gynaecological health?
April is Stress Awareness Month, and by now we are all aware of the negative impact stress can have on our physical health – from insomnia to stomach upsets, stress can have a major causal effect. But did you know that stress can also affect your gynaecological health?
How can stress affect your gynaecological health?
When we experience stress, our body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream, producing what is known as the “fight or flight” response. Whilst this can be useful in short bursts – to help you meet a deadline, for example, or to run for a bus – if the stress response is ongoing, that can start to cause some problems.
Stress and menstruation
It will come as no surprise to hear that menstruation and hormones go hand in hand. However, the stress hormones are not the same ones that are released to aid menstruation, and fluctuations in these stress hormones can actually have an impact on the duration, intensity and frequency of menstruation – in fact some women with chronic stress find their periods stop all together.
Stress and pelvic pain
When we are stressed, our muscles tend to become tense, and this also applies to the muscles of the pelvic floor. If your pelvic floor muscles are tense for a prolonged period, due to chronic stress, this can lead to pelvic pain, and even a condition called vaginismus – an involuntary tightening of the vaginal muscles, often associated with painful sexual intercourse.
Stress and gynaecological infections
When you suffer from long-term stress, that can stop the immune system doing its job effectively, which leaves you open to infection. This means that – although stress doesn’t directly cause the problem – women who are highly stressed are more likely to suffer from yeast infections like thrush, or urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Stress and fertility
When stress lasts for a long time, it can affect your ovulation, or the quality of the eggs you release. This in turn can make it more difficult for you to conceive naturally. Unfortunately, this struggle to conceive can often lead to more stress, which only exacerbates the problem.
Tips to manage your stress levels
While all this talk about the dangers of stress might be, well, stressful, it is important to remember that stress is a normal part of life, and so long as you have the tools to manage it, it shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.
Some things you can do to help keep your stress levels under control:
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet, rich in fruit and vegetables, and avoid stimulants like caffeine and alcohol
- Exercise regularly – not only will this help to keep you fit and healthy, but exercise is great for raising your endorphin levels, lifting your mood
- Try to ensure you get enough sleep – regular exercise and a balanced diet will help with this, but other things you can try including sticking to the same bedtime and wake-up time every day
- Practise breathing techniques and meditation – doing this regularly will help to manage your overall stress levels, but having some breathing techniques on hand for particularly stressful situations can be very useful too.
If you are concerned that stress might be affecting your gynaecological health and would like to book a confidential consultation with a member of our specialist team, please contact us.
