I used to think low progesterone was something that happened to my clients but actually wouldn’t happen to me lol.
I had heard the stories, had helped women work through the symptoms, and understood the physiology. And then, sometime in my early 40s, it happened anyway. All of a sudden, I became inexplicably irritable and rage-y in a way that did not feel like me. My sleep – which had always been one of my superpowers – fell apart almost overnight. I went from sleeping like a happy baby to tossing and turning, wide awake at 2am with a racing mind and a low hum of anxiety I couldn’t shake.
I ran some functional lab testing and found that my progesterone was on the floor. I shouldn’t have been surprised, because it’s incredibly common for women in their late 30s and 40s and often goes completely unidentified because the symptoms look like stress, burnout, or just “getting older.”
If any of this sounds familiar, this post is for youuuuuu. As an Integrative Health Practitioner and women’s fitness specialist, I want to chat with ya about what low progesterone looks like, why it happens, how to test for it properly, and what you can actually do about it – naturally and beyond. (friendly reminder that this is NOT medical advice. As always, talk to your doctor before making any changes with your routine.)
In This Post
- What Progesterone Actually Does
- Signs and Symptoms of Low Progesterone
- What Causes Progesterone to Drop
- How to Test Your Progesterone Levels (and Why Timing Matters)
- How to Support Progesterone Naturally
- When Natural Support Is Not Enough
- FAQ
What Progesterone Actually Does
Before we talk about what happens when progesterone is low, it helps to understand why this hormone matters so much in the first place.
Progesterone is often called the calming hormone, and for good reason. It works as a natural counterbalance to estrogen – while estrogen is stimulating and growth-promoting, progesterone is stabilizing and protective. It is produced primarily after ovulation, during the second half of your menstrual cycle (called the luteal phase), and it does a remarkable number of things in the body:
- Supports deep, restorative sleep by converting to a compound called allopregnanolone, which activates the brain’s calming GABA receptors
- Acts as a natural anti-anxiety agent through those same GABA pathways
- Regulates mood and reduces PMS symptoms
- Helps maintain regular menstrual cycles
- Protects against estrogen dominance
- Has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties
- Supports thyroid function
- Has anti-growth and anti-tumor properties, making it genuinely protective for long-term health
When progesterone starts to d