Period cramps are no joke. If you’re never woken up in the middle of the night to excruciating cramps from your period, consider yourself lucky. And sometimes even Advil and a heating pad won’t do the trick. Bad period cramps are not only painful. They can make you nauseous, fatigued, and just all-around unhappy. This is precisely why sometimes you need to go the natural route and look for some at-home remedies to relieve those unfortunate period cramps. So the next time you wake up at 3 a.m. in pain, you know exactly how to handle it:
Essential oils
Essentials oils are useful for a myriad of things, such as sore throats, headaches, and muscle pains. But essential oils are also super helpful for period cramps. Scents like lavender, clary, and clove will help to relieve these cramps.
Chamomile tea
Chamomile tea is excellent for relieving period cramps because of its anti-inflammatory properties that reduce prostaglandins, which is made of cells that provoke muscle contractions. You may find that drinking a cup of chamomile tea before bed will do wonders for your cramps.
Cinnamon
Some studies have found that adding cinnamon into your diet when you’re on your period can help with menstrual cramps. Taking cinnamon capsules three times a day for the first three days of your period may help with pain and nausea.
Exercise
Although working out may seem like the last thing you want to do during your period, it can help with the pain. People have found that going for a simple run during their periods relieves cramping by releasing endorphins.
Avoid foods that make you bloat
Bloating is common during your period as it is, so it’s probably best to avoid foods that make you bloat all together. This includes alcohol, caffeine, and carbonated drinks.
Ginger
Some people have found that consuming ginger powder during your period help with pain and have similar effects to ibuprofen.
Fennel seeds
Try taking 30mg of fennel extract four times a day for the first three days of your period and see what the effects are. Some reports show that fennel helps relieve pain symptoms and can be helpful during your period.
Heat
Applying heat to your lower back and stomach can be extremely helpful in reducing period cramps. The effects are practically instant and can work almost as well as ibuprofen.
