(NaturalHealth365) Do you feel irritable, bloated and in pain every month before your period starts? These are some of the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, or PMS, which we all know can greatly interfere with a woman’s life.

Beyond the abdominal pain connected to PMS, you might experience acne, anxiety, trouble sleeping, migraine headaches plus many other unwanted health issues.  While these symptoms are hard for many women to handle, certain natural PMS remedies can reduce or eliminate the symptoms you experience.

Calming activities designed to reduce the symptoms of PMS

Focus on stress-relieving and calming activities to help some of the mental and emotional symptoms related to PMS. For example, a 2014 study in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research found that progressive muscle relaxation improved symptoms of anxiety and depression in women with PMS.

In addition, you may want to try activities like yoga, meditation, forest walking, time at the beach, moderate amounts of exercise, deep breathing and, of course, improving the quality of your sleep time to help relax the body (and mind).

Herbal remedies that work to relieve unwanted symptoms

There is a long history of women using Chinese herbs as natural home remedies for menstrual cramps and other physical, mental and emotional PMS symptoms, and there is some merit to this approach. For example, a 2000 review in the Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Association looked at numerous controlled studies on herbs for PMS.

The review found evidence that the herbs evening primrose oil, dong quai and chaste tree berry were most effective in reducing PMS symptoms.

Some of the other herbs you can try are maca, black cohosh, burdock, wild yam and lemon balm. All of the herbs associated with improving PMS work by helping to improve hormonal balance and nervous system function.

There are numerous ways you can take herbs as a PMS treatment, such as these:

• Purchase them from health food or specialty stores as supplements or in extract form – which you will most likely add to a liquid and drink.
• Buy them in tea bag form – which you brew and drink like any type of tea.
• Make an infusion from the herb itself.  To do this, fill a tea strainer with the dried herb and pour boiling water over it to fill your teacup. Let the herbs sit in the water for 15 minutes to an hour, depending on how quickly the specific herb infuses into the water and on your taste preference.

Be aware that even though they are natural, herbal remedies can have side effects and can interact with medications you might be taking. Because of that, it’s best to perform some research on the specific herb you are going to take and even talk to an integrative healthcare provider before you start to take it.

Bottom line: You don’t have to accept the suffering associated with PMS symptoms or the risks connected to taking toxic medications – every month. Instead, try relaxation and herbal PMS remedies to see if your symptoms fad away.

Have you tried any of these approaches? Let us know your positive experiences in the comment section below.

Sources for this article include:

Mayoclinic.org
NIH.gov
Europepmc.org
Womentowomen.com