TAKEAWAYS

In June 2023, one of my best friends showed me a Tiktok video about ‘how cycle syncing improved my mental health’ (@brookenewmann_). The girl in the video started off by saying, “So obviously there’s four phases to our cycle.” I remember thinking, ‘obviously’? This is news to me, guys. File it under the, ‘don’t remember learning this actual important and relevant info in school’ category. This was the first time I remember hearing about there being four phases in the menstrual cycle. Period and ovulation, that’s all I knew–blood and babies. And now, I guess it was finally time to introduce follicular and luteal phases to our regularly scheduled programming, too. As I write this, both words ‘follicular’ and ‘luteal’ are underlined in red – you’re telling me WordPress wasn’t educated either? Wild. In the same video, Brooke goes on to discuss the four seasons analogy. Not familiar? I wasn’t either. Essentially, period/menstrual = winter, follicular = spring, ovulation = spring, and luteal = fall. She talked about symptoms, relevant hormones, mood/personality changes, and overall vibes.

In 2023, I wasn’t really on Tiktok, wasn’t trying to be absorbed into that world, felt satisfied with the social media avail (this was right before Twitter became X), and yet here I was, mind blown. Was this for real? Am I really learning about women’s health on Tiktok? From there, the algorithm did its thing and I started scouring the internet to find what more I could learn about ‘cycle syncing’ and the apparent four phases of the menstrual cycle.

Eventually, at some point in 2024, I found Le’Nise Brothers’ book, ‘You Can Have a Better Period’. She had a podcast, an IG account where she promoted and shared info from the book, reviews were good, so, we went for it. And ya know what? First, it was, Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker that changed my life (likely the topic of my next post), and now, here we were again. Le’Nise made it all make sense.

I should note that while Brothers’ title suggests the book might solely be about how to improve the period experience, it really has all of the info. In-depth descriptions of each phase on what’s happening biologically, physically, hormonally, the mental & social effects, what’s considered normal, how to improve the respective phase with applicable food and vitamins, exercise recs, food recipes, and case study examples (and honestly, so much more). This is THE top rec for all folks with periods.

So if you’re new here (we all are), the whole point of this thing is to share helpful details, takeaways, if you will, from things I like and find valuable for some reason or another.

So, here are my top 10 takeaways from ‘You Can Have a Better Period’ by Le’Nise Brothers (in no particular, but hopefully, a logical, order):

1. a) Winter/Menstrual Phase/Period = energy at lowest, increased introspection, more rest needed (p. 26)
   b) Spring/Follicular Phase = energy rising, increased creativity and sociability, optimistic
   c) Summer/Ovulatory Phase = peak energy, confidence, risk-taking demeanour
   d) Fall/Luteal Phase = energy declining, focused and intentional, inner critic showing its ugly face
2. Treat your menstrual cycle as your fifth vital sign. (The four others are heart rate, body temp, respiration rate, and blood pressure.) (p. 16) When something is off with your period, it’s critical to take it as a message from your body and investigate accordingly (p. 18).
3. Progesterone (supports ovulation, calming hormone and a lot more [p. 148]) and estrogen (supports libido, collagen, and immune system [p. 32-33]) are the main characters of the menstrual cycle.
4. What we eat–the food, liquids, nutrients, and vitamins that we choose to ingest, directly impact our period experience (p. 37). Improving nutrition can raise energy levels, lift moods, and lessen pain/cramps (p. 82).
5. Prepare for extra rest and sleep time during your menstrual and luteal phases.
6. Brothers discusses a notable shift in mental state/energy capacity when transitioning from the menstrual to the follicular phase (p. 101), and this is something I consistently notice when moving through my cycle. My period finished yesterday AND it’s the beginning of a new month, and here I am finally writing my first blog post. It’s nice when things align, and it’s even nicer when a pattern can be identified, understood, and effectively utilized.
7. We feel and look our best during follicular/ovulatory phases, prepping our bodies for what could come (lol). Brothers (and others) mentions the idea of scheduling important meetings or presentations for this time of the cycle (bc we’ll be at peak confidence, sociability, etc.), and while I haven’t gotten to that level just yet, you really do start to take note of the highs of spring/summer and the lows of fall/winter as you track.
8. For me, the negative effects/impact of the luteal phase on my mental health cannot be overstated. Since becoming aware of luteal and keeping track of these things, I realized that I’m pretty sure I only ever cry during my luteal phase. To quote Leah Kateb, ‘Whatever you’ve heard about [luteal], times it by a million, and if you think it’s bad, make it worse.’ Tbh, this is more of a PSA than a tip.
9. This should be obvious by now, but just to be sure it’s been said – track your period. Track your symptoms, track the vibes, pay attention to the foods you eat, it’s worth it.
10. I created this resource based off of You Can Have a Better Period by Le’Nise Brothers and inspired by a document the same bff previously referenced made for her patients and fridge. If you’re into it, I hope it’s helpful.

Xoxo wbb