8 Reasons Why You Might Miss Your Period (But Not Be Pregnant)

If you’re sexually active and trying to avoid getting pregnant, missing your period can make you anxious. A missed period can be the first sign of pregnancy. But there are many other reasons why you can miss a period. (Still, it’s a good idea to take a pregnancy test if you miss a period and there’s a chance you might be pregnant.)

Let's take a closer look at some of the other causes for missing a period and what you can do to get your periods back on track. 

Can you miss your period and not be pregnant?

Yes, missing your period doesn’t always mean you’re pregnant. Some people miss a period now and then. And a small percentage of people have what’s called amenorrhea. That’s when you miss your period for 3 months in a row.

Your period is part of the menstrual cycle, which is regulated by your hormones. For example, these hormones prepare and release an egg from your ovary:

• Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) 

• Luteinizing hormone (LH) 

And estrogen and progesterone prepare your uterus for a potential pregnancy. 

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These hormones are controlled by a brain-body connection called the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. A number of factors can affect that HPO axis and lead to missed periods. These include:

• Having an energy deficit (eating too few calories or burning too many) 

• Weight loss or gain

• Perimenopause

• Certain medical conditions

• Stress

How long of a delay between periods is normal?

Your menstrual cycle is the amount of time between the first day of one period and the first day of the next one. Normal cycles average 28 days. But cycles can range from 21 days to longer than 35 days. 

If your period occurs 5 or more days later than usual, it’s considered late. When your period hasn’t occurred at all, even after the next one is due, it’s considered a missed period.

What can cause you to miss your period?

There are a range of factors and medical conditions that can affect the HPO axis — and lead to missed periods. Here are eight reasons you can miss your period if you’re not pregnant.

1. Energy deficit

If you don’t absorb enough calories to meet your energy needs, it can cause an energy deficit. This means that your body is running on less energy than it needs. Having an energy deficit may lead to what’s called functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. This is one of the most common causes of missed periods. 

Some things that can trigger functional hypothalamic amenorrhea include: 

• Very low-calorie diets 

• Disordered eating, particularly anorexia

• Exercising a lot and not replenishing the calories you burned 

• Some illnesses that affect food absorption, like inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease 

2. Too much exercise

If you exercise for long periods of time, it can be hard to replenish all the calories you burn during your workouts. If you’re not consuming enough calories, it can trigger hypothalamic amenorrhea. Athletes — like long-distance runners, dancers, and gymnasts — may experience this phenomenon. 

If you exercise a lot and don’t get your next period for 45 days or haven’t had it for 3 months, you may have functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. You may want to talk to a healthcare professional like an OB-GYN. They can work with you to figure out how many calories you need to eat to support your physical activity. This can help bring back your period.

3. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder. Females with PCOS may have high levels of hormones called androgens.

In females, high androgen levels can cause a range of symptoms. One of the main symptoms of PCOS is irregular or missed periods. Often, people with PCOS will have fewer than eight periods a year. 

Other signs that you might have PCOS include:

• Weight gain

• Excess body and facial hair

• Severe acne

• Darkening of the skin folds

Talk with a healthcare professional if you think you have symptoms of PCOS. There’s treatment for PCOS including hormonal birth control, which can help stabilize your hormones. This may make your periods more predictable.

4. Obesity

Obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. If you’ve been told you have obesity, your body may be producing too much insulin and androgens. These hormonal changes are similar to those in people with PCOS. And they can lead to missed periods. 

If you’re in this weight category, talk with your primary care provider or OB-GYN about what you can do to help restore your period. 

5. Stress

Many people have some stress in their lives. But sometimes stress is intense, or it can last a long time. When you experience stress, your body releases cortisol from the adrenal gland. This is part of the fight-or-flight response.

High cortisol levels affect the HPO axis, which regulates your menstrual cycle. This may cause you to miss your period. 

It can be hard to know if stress is causing a missed period. If you had a recent stressful event, or you have ongoing stress in your life, it could be a factor. Talk with your primary care provider or your OB-GYN to make sure other factors aren’t also affecting your period.

To help reduce the effects of chronic stress, you can try stress-management techniques like deep breathing and meditation. It may be helpful to talk to a mental health professional as well. They can help you better understand what’s causing your stress and work with you to develop ways to reduce and manage it.

6. Perimenopause

Perimenopause is when your estrogen levels start to decline. It’s the period of time leading up to menopause. Perimenopause typically starts in your mid- to late-40s, and it often lasts about 4 to 8 years.

During this period of time, your hormone levels can fluctuate. Some months, you may have normal periods. And other months, you may miss a period altogether. Or you can have several missed periods in a row.

7. Hormonal birth control

Some people may choose or need to skip periods. This is called “menstrual suppression.” There are several ways you can use hormonal birth control to skip periods. 

But even if you’re not trying to suppress your period, hormonal birth control may cause changes to your menstrual cycle. For example, if you switch from one hormonal birth control method to another, it can make your periods lighter or irregular.

If you’ve recently started on birth control or changed types, it may take a few months for your period to become regular again.

8. Thyroid problems

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland in the front of the neck. Hormones produced by the thyroid control metabolism and body temperature. They also play a role in regulating your menstrual cycle. 

When your body produces too much thyroid hormone, it’s called hyperthyroidism. And when it produces too little, that’s hypothyroidism. Both conditions can cause irregular or missed periods.

When should you seek care about a missed period?

You should see your primary care provider or an OB-GYN if you experience any of the following issues with your period:

• You miss more than one period in a row or miss two in a year.

• You’ve had regular periods that have a predictable number of days between periods, but your period has become less predictable. 

• You have periods, but they stop and then they come back.

• You have unusually heavy bleeding.

• You have too-frequent periods (cycles lasting 21 days or fewer).

• You experience bleeding between periods.

• Your periods are very painful.

Your OB-GYN or primary care provider can help determine if a medical condition or other issue is leading to these symptoms. 

How long after a missed period should you take a pregnancy test?

If you miss a period and you’ve been sexually active, it’s a good idea to take a pregnancy test. Home pregnancy tests measure the amount of a pregnancy hormone, called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), in your urine. 

You can take a pregnancy test as soon as 1 day after a missed period, depending on what brand of test you use. But results may not be as accurate then. It can take up to a week after a missed period for the levels of hCG to be high enough to be detected on most brands. 

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Written by:

Christina Frank

Christina Frank has been an editor and writer for nonprofits, consumer health publications, and medical and veterinary schools, including Verywell Health, HealthCentral, Yale School of Medicine, Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Diabetes Focus, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, and the National Bleeding Disorders Foundation. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Edited by:

Laurie Tarkan

Laurie Tarkan is a senior health editor for general health and well-being at GoodRx. She has an extensive background in health journalism, and wrote regularly for The New York Times for a decade.

Reviewed by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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