There are numerous things that could lead to cycle disruptions; I’m going to focus on exercise and energy balance in this article. Training-induced amenorrhea is surprisingly common in athletes and can have some quite serious knock on effects.

A common cause of amenorrhea is a relative energy deficiency, in which your caloric intake is inadequate to the energy required to function. This can come about by either reducing caloric intake by too much or by increasing training volume by too much (or both).

Losing your period can result in your body mimicking symptoms of menopause in some women, including things like mood changes, cognitive problems and difficulty sleeping.

Amenorrhea and exercise: does training have an impact on your menstrual cycle?