5 Signs You Have A Healthy Menstrual Cycle

While there is no such thing as one perfect menstrual cycle, there are many indicators of a healthy cycle. Plus, our menstrual cycles can tell us a lot about what is going on in our bodies in general and our overall health.

Unfortunately, most women have never been taught the language their bodies communicate in, much less how to decipher the often-confusing messages it sends. One of the best ways for women to take charge of their endocrine health is to begin carefully observing and taking note of various menstrual signs and symptoms each month.

Your menstrual cycle should be between 25 and 35 days long. It should be a consistent length each month and not fluctuate. In other words, if your period lasts 29 days one month, 34 days the next, and 26 days the following month, you might be dealing with irregular hormonal fluctuations.

If your cycle is less than 25 days, you may have a condition called Luteal Phase Defect1, which is characterized by a short luteal phase (the second half of your cycle after ovulation). This condition is typically caused by a hormonal imbalance called estrogen dominance, in which estrogen levels rise too high in relation to progesterone levels.

If your cycle is longer than 35 days, you may have a condition that is delaying or preventing ovulation from occurring: Polycystic ovarian syndrome and lack of ovulation, which leads to lack of periods are common culprits.

When you get your period, the blood should be a bright red color (kind of like cranberry juice). This is a sign that there is adequate blood flow to your pelvic region and that blood isn't stagnating in the uterus.

By contrast, dark red blood, brown blood, or clots may be caused by a sluggish flow and/or poor uterine circulation. These issues might also be caused by an underlying hormonal imbalance (usually estrogen dominance).

Yes, your cervical fluid will change throughout your cycle—and that's a good thing. Cervical fluid is one of the most important indicators of healthy, functional ovulation because it changes according to the most dominant hormones in each phase of your cycle.

What is cervical fluid? Well, do you ever notice that once your period finishes or directly before it begins, you tend to experience a dry sensation? It's then that you're producing very little cervical fluid. This is because estrogen is very low.

No matter how many women you know who deal with cravings, mood swings, and other "typical" symptoms each month, remember that PMS is not the norm. Yup, you read that right!

In fact, physical and emotional PMS symptoms like bloating, breast pain and swelling, mood swings, anxiety, cramps, and acne are usually manifestations of an imbalance between estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and cortisol.

Interestingly, progesterone makes a woman's body more sensitive to blood sugar swings during the second half of her cycle—and the symptoms of blood sugar instability are almost exactly the same as PMS symptoms!

You should only bleed during your period and not at other times in your cycle. Irregular bleeding, also known as "breakthrough bleeding" outside of your period days—during your luteal phase—could indicate low progesterone, lack of ovulation, or estrogen dominance. Progesterone is the hormone that holds your uterine lining intact until the end of your cycle when it plunges and causes the endometrium to shed.

There is one exception to this rule that occurs during ovulation. Some women experience ovulatory bleeding (a sign that ovulation is happening) which typically lasts from one to two days and resembles very light spotting. Don't panic if this happens; it is actually very normal.

To help yourself keep tabs of potential irregularities in your cycle, I recommend using a period-tracking app like Kindara, iPeriod, Flo, or Period Tracker to record all the data you collect during each cycle.