6 Reasons Your Flow Is Lighter Than Normal
Let’s be honest, periods are no fun. There’s cramping, moodiness, cravings, horniness and then, of course, the blood. But what happens when there’s barely any blood?
Period flow often varies from month to month, some cycles can be really heavy and others quite light, so usually it’s not a cause for concern. But it can still be quite confusing to look inside your pants and see only light spotting, especially if you’re used to a steady or even heavy flow.
What classifies as a lighter period, technically speaking?
A lighter period is usually much shorter than your usual period and you lose a lot less blood, meaning you need to replace or empty your menstrual product of choice fewer times. When your period arrives, it may be very light and then towards the end be barely there, you may also experience spotting or brown-ish discharge.
But don’t worry, there’s probably a reason behind it and once you get to the root of the problem, you can work on solving it.
If you have a light period, could you be pregnant?
This should be the first thing you rule out. During pregnancy, periods will usually stop completely, but in the early stages, you may experience implantation bleeding, which means you’ll still get a little bit of blood.
“Implantation bleeding can be an early sign of pregnancy” fertility expert Dr. Larisa Corda tells O.school. Dr. Corda adds, “however many may mistake it for a light period”.
A lighter period could depend on your age.
If you’re quite young, your periods might not have evened out yet, Dr. Corda says “ periods [at a younger age] are usually lighter and may only involve spotting and become more regular when a person is in their 20s.”
When you reach your 30s and 40s, periods can naturally lessen and become a lot lighter. This is all part of your body slowing down in preparation for the menopause and is totally normal.
