Periods suck. This is something that anyone who gets one knows all-too-well. The cramping, the bloating, the mood swings, and all of the other effects of having a period are very good reasons to hate "that time of the month"; another good reason that is discussed a bit less is how horrible period management is, not to mention how expensive having a period is. According to the Huffington Post, a woman will spend an average of $18,171 on their period during their lifetime, and, unfortunately, feminine hygiene products, in most states, are taxed, and many of the states that have a tax on them tax them as a "luxury good" (as if having your period is "luxurious" in some way -- we all wish).

So, now that we've covered the ground of how terrible and terribly expensive periods are, let's get into something that makes periods a whole lot better -- menstrual cups. A few months back, a friend of mine introduced me to the wonderful thing that is the menstrual cup, and it has -- no joke -- changed my period forever.

For those who don't know about menstrual cups, they are devices that sit in your vagina and collect your menstrual flow. When the cup is full, you simply take it out, dump the blood into the toilet, rinse the cup out, and put it back in. It's a simple and effective way to manage your period and, today, I am going to give you 5 reasons why you should consider switching from tampons to a cup.

1. They save a ton of money.

We've already covered the fact that tampons are expensive. If you have a heavier flow, like yours truly, they can get very expensive; when I used tampons, I would go through a $7 box of 36 Tampax all in one period. While the up-front cost of a cup is kind of expensive (most run about $30), you don't have to buy a new cup every month, as they are reusable for up to five years when taken proper care of (most companies say up to one year, but since they are made of medical-grade silicone, they can, in reality, last a lot longer). Even if you were to buy a new one once per year, you'd still be saving $54 per year on menstrual products (if you buy one cup versus 12 $7-per-box tampons), and who doesn't love to save money, especially on necessities?

2. They are a lot more comfortable than a tampon.

Is it just me, or are tampons super uncomfortable once they've been left in a while? I wore tampons for nine years, and, no matter what, I could always tell when a tampon was in me. This is, in part, because tampons collect your vaginal lining along with your menstrual blood, with causes you to dry out down there (ick, right?), whereas cups collect only blood and allow your vaginal walls to produce their natural lining as usual without stripping it, making for a much more comfortable wear-time. To me, one of the best parts about the cup is that I can honestly forget that I am even on my period because I can't feel it, which is something I think I can safely assume is something we all would like.

3. You can leave a cup in longer than you can leave a tampon in.

Menstrual cups can be worn up to 12 hours before they need to be dumped and rinsed; obviously, this changes depending on the capacity of your cup and how heavy your flow is, but, even if you can't go up to 12 hours, you still get to leave it in longer than you would a tampon with no adverse effects (as in, no risk of TSS). They hold more liquid than a tampon does (DivaCups and many other popular ones hold around 20 ml of liquid, while normal tampons hold around 8), meaning that you can go about your day without having to worry about leaks and when you are going to change it out as much as you do with a tampon, which is perfect because who has time to constantly be running to the bathroom to change their tampon out? You even get the benefit of being able to leave it in overnight, which is something you don't really get with tampons and that gives them a very clear advantage.

4. They are friendly to both the environment and your body.

By now, most people are aware of the fact that tampons are not all that environmentally friendly; they wind up in landfills and in our oceans, and the wrappings are usually made of plastic and don't break down easily. Then there is the fact that most of the tampons we buy have a ton of chemicals in them, which, obviously, is not good for our bodies. Since menstrual cups can be reused and don't have chemicals in them that our bodies absorb, they are both environmentally and body-friendly, making them a win-win item.

5. They allow you to get to know your flow better.

Above anything else, I love menstrual cups because they allow us to better know what is going on with our bodies during our periods. Tampons and pads absorb literally everything in a pretty short amount of time, which leads a lot of people to believe their periods are heavier than they actually are. Then, if you have a heavier flow, it is harder to gauge exactly how heavy it is because you can't accurately determine how much you are bleeding. With the cup, the question of "how much do I actually bleed" is eliminated because you can see how much blood the cup has collected in a given amount of time. Some cups, like the DivaCup, have measuring lines in them to tell you exactly how much you have bled, and it is still easy to tell with ones that don't have them because, if you know the capacity of your cup, you can tell "well, I've filled it up halfway, so I've bled x amount in this much time." It also helps you to better be able to tell your doctor what is going on with your period if you are having trouble with it (my doctor, by the way, is a HUGE fan of the DivaCup and was excited to hear that I use one) because you can record specifically how much you bled, the consistency of the blood, etc. This is actually the main reason I bought one to begin with, and it has helped me to figure out what I need to tell my doctor in order to get my periods -- and my body -- under control.

There is a long, long list of reasons why menstrual cups are amazing, but these 5 reasons are, for me, among the best of them. The main tip I have in switching from tampons/pads to a cup is to research the various options available to you before committing to a specific cup. There are a ton of different cup options out there besides the DivaCup and the Lily Cup (which are both available at Target and are the most widely-available here in the States), and it is best to pick a cup that accommodates your specific flow so that you don't get one that has too low or too high of a capacity and to find one that fits your budget the best (as I've said, most run about $30, but there are both cheaper and more expensive options out there).

I hope you found this helpful, and I'll see you next week!