The possible reasons for why your period's late will always include pregnancy if you're sexually active, but it's not the only cause. A missed period can be related to your age and stage of life cycle. Medical factors and lifestyle choices, including stress, smoking, weight changes, and exercise, can also affect your menstrual cycle. If you're not pregnant , then hormonal changes are common causes of a missed period.
These can include menopause as well as health conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome PCOS. Depending on the cause, you may miss a period once or twice, or experience complete amenorrhea βmeaning no period for three or more months in a row. Not all age-related changes to your period will occur in older people. It's common for younger people, especially teens who have just started menstruating , to have irregular or missed periods.
It may take a little while for your period to happen every month. People who have not had a period due to contraceptive use , hormonal therapy, or illness also may not resume regular, monthly periods right away.
The average menstrual cycle the day your period starts to the first day of your next period is between 25 and 30 days, but it can range from 21 to 35 days or more and still be considered normal. If your cycle is longer than this, or longer than is usual for you, it's considered late.
Perimenopause is the period of transition between reproductive age and a non-reproductive age. Your periods may be lighter, heavier, more frequent, or less frequent during this time.
