If your period has become unpredictable — showing up early, arriving late, skipping months, or doing its own chaotic little dance — you’re not alone. And one of the biggest questions women ask me is:
“Why is my period irregular?”
Your irregular period is a signal from your body that something is out of balance — and once we understand why your period is irregular, we can support overall hormone balance, promote healthy ovulation patterns, and regulate your cycle.
Let’s break this down clearly, compassionately, and in a way that gives you real answers.
A typical, healthy cycle is between 24–35 days and stays relatively consistent from month to month. Your periods are considered “irregular” if you notice:
When your period is irregular, it often reflects irregular ovulation. Ovulation is when you release a mature egg from the ovary. You can still have a period without ovulating, but you cannot get pregnant without an egg — so anything that disrupts ovulation directly affects your fertility.
Irregular cycles are a symptom — not the diagnosis. Understanding the root cause is the key to regulating your period naturally.
One of the most common causes of irregular periods. PCOS disrupts ovulation through insulin resistance and elevated androgens.
Physical, emotional, or lifestyle stress can cause long, delayed cycles, and irregular ovulation.
Low energy availability is one of the most overlooked reasons for irregular periods.
Both hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism can disrupt cycle length and ovulation timing
Often caused by stress, pituitary issues, or certain medications — very treatable once identified.
Cycles may take months to regulate after stopping hormonal contraception.
Hormonal fluctuations can cause cycle irregularities, even in your late 30s/early 40s.
When you’re trying to conceive, ovulation is essential. Ovulation is when your body releases a mature egg from the ovary. You can have a period without ovulating, but you cannot get pregnant without an egg — so anything that disrupts ovulation directly affects your fertility.
Irregular periods affect fertility in a few key ways, and understanding each one helps you see exactly where more support is needed.
When your cycle changes month to month — 28 days one month, 47 days the next — it becomes nearly impossible to know when you’re ovulating.
Because sperm only survives approximately 3–5 days in a woman’s body, and the egg is only viable for approximately 12–24 hours, timing intercourse matters more than most women realize.
Irregular cycles = irregular ovulation = unpredictable fertile window.
This doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant — it just means you need to incorporate more intentional tracking and support.
This is one of the biggest root issues behind irregular periods.
Many women with irregular cycles experience:
Without ovulation, there’s no egg release → no opportunity for conception.
And here’s the kicker: you can still bleed without ovulating, so often women don’t realize this is happening.
Your menstrual cycle is like a hormone symphony — estrogen rises, LH surges, progesterone stabilizes.
When periods become irregular, it’s usually because those hormones aren’t following their expected pattern.
Common hormonal imbalances linked to irregular cycles include:
Each of these imbalances can disrupt ovulation timing, egg quality, and luteal phase stability.
Even when ovulation does happen, women with irregular cycles often have inconsistent or shortened luteal phases (the time from ovulation to your next period).
A healthy luteal phase is 11–14 days.
The body needs this amount of time to ensure a thick, stable uterine lining that can support successful implantation. Progesterone is the primary hormone in the luteal phase and is responsible for ensuring implantation and early pregnancy success. A short luteal phase often indicates that your body may not be producing enough progesterone post ovulation and therefore the uterine lining may shed too early and/or the uterine lining may not be sticky enough for the fertilized egg to implant.
Short luteal phase = fertilized egg doesn’t get enough time to attach.
This is why some women feel like they “can’t stay pregnant” — but in reality, implantation never fully occurred.
Fertile-quality cervical mucus (that clear, stretchy, egg-white consistency) is crucial because it:
With irregular cycles, cervical mucus can become:
This makes it harder to recognize your fertile window — and can make intercourse timing feel like throwing darts blindfolded.
Not always — but in certain conditions like PCOS, thyroid disorders, or insulin resistance — the hormonal environment surrounding the developing follicle isn’t ideal.
This can slow follicle maturation or impact overall egg health.
The good news?
Egg quality often improves dramatically when the underlying cause of irregular cycles is supported.
Your menstrual cycle is one of the first systems to respond when your body feels:
Your cycle is essentially saying, “I don’t feel safe right now to prioritize reproduction.”
Supporting metabolic health, nervous system regulation, and consistent nourishment often brings cycles back into rhythm — and boosts fertility right alongside it.
If your cycles are irregular, the goal is simple:
Support healthy, consistent ovulation.
Everything we do from here forward is about helping your body feel safe, nourished, and hormonally supported so it can begin ovulating regularly.
Here’s your clear, step-by-step plan:
Before we can regulate your cycle, we need to know what it’s actually doing.
Do this:
Why it matters: Most women with irregular periods are not ovulating regularly — and many don’t realize it. Tracking hormones that predict and confirm ovulation gives us a real-time hormonal picture.
Irregular cycles aren’t random — they’re your body asking for help. Labs tell us exactly what it needs. You can use my favorite at-home hormone test kit to test key hormones in the comfort of your home. This includes:
or
Ask your provider for these labs:
Why it matters: We’re not guessing. These labs tell us whether your irregular cycle is due to PCOS, low progesterone, thyroid imbalance, insulin resistance, stress, or under-fueling.
Your ovaries need energy, protein, carbs, and fat to properly manufacture hormones, mature follicles, and release an egg. Undereating or eating inconsistently can stop ovulation cold.
Do this daily:
Why it matters: Balanced meals stabilize glucose → stable glucose stabilizes hormones → stable hormones support ovulation. It’s the foundation of cycle regulation.
If there’s one thing that fixes irregular periods fastest?
Blood sugar regulation.
Do this:
Why it matters: Blood sugar swings can disrupt ovulation, shorten luteal phases, worsen PMS, and make cycles wildly inconsistent.
If your nervous system is on high alert, ovulation often gets delayed (or skipped). Even “good stress” — work deadlines, intense exercise, social overload — counts.
Do this:
Why it matters: Cortisol and reproductive hormones share pathways. When cortisol is chronically high, your body deprioritizes ovulation.
These supplements are evidence-backed for irregular cycles — but choose based on your root cause, not at random.
Common options:
Why it matters: Supplements don’t solve everything, but they can seriously support regular ovulation when matched to your needs.
Before starting any new supplement protocol, it’s important to check in with your primary health care provider. While supplements can be incredibly supportive for hormone balance and fertility, they’re not one-size-fits-all. Certain nutrients, herbs, or botanicals may interact with medications, underlying conditions, or individual hormone patterns. Your body is unique, and your supplement plan should be, too. A quick conversation with your provider helps ensure that what you’re adding is both safe and truly the right fit for your needs.
Irregular periods thrive in chaotic environments. Your hormones LOVE routine — even simple, doable patterns.
Do this:
Why it matters: Your cycle is a reflection of your overall rhythm. When your day has structure, your hormones follow.
This isn’t about perfection — it’s about giving your body the food, energy, and safety cues it needs to ovulate on a predictable, healthy schedule again.
Regulate ovulation → regulate your cycle → experience the benefits of healthy hormones.
Irregular periods are a signal from your body that something is out of balance. With the right tools and support, they’re also highly treatable. When you’re stressed out, underfed, underslept, overworked, or hormonally imbalanced, your period becomes irregular.
But with intentional root-cause support, women go from:
… to regular, predictable cycles and healthy ovulation.
Your body is not broken.
Your cycle is not too complicated.
And you are not “behind.”
This is all figure-out-able.
And I’m right here to help you every step of the way.
The Fertility Code is the best-kept secret of women who want to take the guesswork out of conceiving, and give themselves every possible chance of getting, and staying, pregnant successfully.
Bringing together a personalized & custom approach, evidence-based information, science-backed protocols, and nurturing practices, this course is for anyone who is struggling to get pregnant, or thinking about getting pregnant soon. The course is a one-stop-shop for getting your body, mind and soul prepared for conception.
In less than 3 months, you will learn exactly what you need to do now to get pregnant successfully and have a healthy full term pregnancy with The Fertility Code.
Sarah Jane Sandy is a certified nutrition therapist, and a fertility and women’s health expert. She has helped hundreds of women increase their fertility naturally and go on to have healthy full-term pregnancies. She has been working with women and couples trying to get pregnant for over 16 years and over 90% of the women who work with her get pregnant and have healthy babies.
She also works with women trying to fix their hormone imbalances, as well as supporting women through pregnancy and the postpartum period. Learn more about her own fertility and hormone journey here. To send Sarah a message, complete her Contact Form.
Curious about your fertility health? Take this simple quiz to find out what factors may be harming your fertility, and learn what you can do about it!
