5 Things to Make Being on Your Period a Little Less Horrible

With my period starting at the end of this week, I find myself already looking for the things that usually make that time of the month a little bit easier. I'm pretty heavy, I'm usually on five to seven days, and I tend to experience a lot of pain, so I thought I would share my five must-haves in the hopes that they help to give you some relief as well.

The most obvious thing is painkillers (or whatever you prefer to take in its place) so I'm not even going to dedicate a spot to those. Everything else on this list won't necessarily cure you of every pain, cramp, or discomfort, but they can certainly help. They're also suitable for any age so without further ado, here are my five must-haves!

Comfortable Clothing

This is one of the first things I do when I start my period. I pick clothes that are a little oversized or loose fitting, and I tend to stick towards clothing that is dark and/or old just in case. Clothing that is super soft can be an extra nice touch as well, but if none of your things fit that type of material then getting a blanket can work wonders, too (or simply just use soft clothes AND a blanket).

If your clothing is comfy, there's a good chance you will be, too. Of course comfort is different for everyone, so just find which clothes work best for you and live in them as often as possible during the week.

Heat and Pressure

Filling up my hot water bottle is the next thing I do. The heat really helps to relieve a lot of pain in or around my stomach and lower back. When using it, I tend to do one of four positions or switch between them throughout the day. The first is to hug it to my front, the second is to place it between my back and a chair, the third is to lie down on my front with it placed on my lower back, and the fourth is to lie down on my back with it placed on my stomach. Each of these means it's pressed into the sore spots and that added pressure is just as much of a relief as the heat itself.

Both heat and pressure can be used separately. So for example, going for a hot bath can relieve a lot of pain and simply pressing down on my stomach or having a cushion to press into my back can really help as well.

Favourite Foods

There are some foods that will help with pain and could relieve any other symptoms you might have, but personally when it comes to food, I simply go for whatever tastes good and makes me feel happy when I'm eating it. My favourite things are chocolate, cake (or similar desert foods), and really anything sweet. With the latter that means healthier foods like fruit and such are on the table for me as well. Soup is also a classic one.

With this one, I would highly recommend eating foods you love, but for some people, it's better to stick to a limited amount of food while others prefer more variety.

A Hot Drink

Whether it's tea, coffee, hot chocolate, or whatever hot drink you can come up with, there is something really comforting about having one when you're on your period. Holding a warm mug between my hands feels cosy and the drink itself always tastes really great.

You can even go that extra step by having flavoured drinks or adding toppings like cream and marshmallows to make it extra special.

Movement

For some people exercising really helps to relieve their cramps and pain, but if you're anything like me, this is your least favourite thing to do. However, moving around can be really helpful. Anything from just standing up and pacing up and down my room to actually going outside and doing stuff can cause some relief for a bit.

If you really, really can't move because it's a particularly bad month then try standing up to shift positions.

And there we have it!

Hopefully at least one of these are doable throughout your day. Getting comfortable is my favourite thing to do when I'm on my period so I always try to find time in my day to do so. If you prefer to be more active then try using these must-haves in between to help when you're not your usual active self.