5 Reasons to track your cycle
When it comes to general female health, period health, or preparing your body for pregnancy; one of the first things you should always do is track your cycle. Truly tracking your cycle takes a little more than just punching in when your period is in a flowery pink app on your phone. Even though these apps help you keep tabs of your period, effective cycle tracking includes temperature logs, cervical fluid changes and a variety of other symptoms that may be present during your cycle.
There are so many great benefits that come from tracking your cycle and here are our top 5 favorites. If you are brand new to tracking your cycle or are not sure if you’re doing it right, check out How to Track Your Cycle – Basics, to get you started.
Learn Your Normal
Let’s face it, very few women fit within that “perfect” 28-day cycle with ovulation occurring exactly on day 14 every month. A normal cycle can range anywhere from 21 to 35 days long. Anything significantly shorter or longer than this window, warrants some more investigation. But if you fall within this range, you are totally within normal!
Your average cycle length is definitely information you want to know. For example, if you are counting out 28 days for your cycle and you actually have a 32-day cycle, you may have some anxiety around day 30 and 31, if you are not currently trying to get pregnant. Or say that you are recently pregnant and your doctor uses a typical pregnancy wheel to determine your “due date”, which assumes that you ovulate and conceive on day 14 of your cycle (for every single woman). If you track your cycle and know its length and that you actually ovulate closer to day 21, your doctor’s prediction will be off an entire week. This miscalculation may seem minute, but it can lead to some very real and potentially unnecessary interventions, including medications, invasive medical procedures, and even a surgical a C-section towards the end of your pregnancy.
The more you know about your cycle and its uniqueness, the more comfortable and confident you will feel about your body. It’s even normal for you to have varying cycle lengths from month to month. If you are consistent in tracking, you will know where you are in your cycle and will have less surprises while also having the ability to predict mood, energy and body symptoms as the month progresses.
2. Natural Fertility Planning
When you track your cycle and are ready to start trying to concieve a super cute baby, you’ll have a leg up on most couples who just “go for it”. And that’s because you’ll know exactly when your fertile window is and you will be better prepared to take advantage of good timing. Many women may only use LH test strips to tell them when to have sex, but these are just an additional tool and are not always accurate in predicting ovulation. The best thing to do is to get to know your body and you will find, it shows you specific signs when you are fertile.
Tracking temperatures is great for confirming ovulation. But because temperatures tell you this after the fact, tracking basal body temperature alone is not a good indicator for identifying your fertility window. An even better fertility tracking tool is the quality of your cervical fluid. Fertile cervical fluid never lies and is probably the best indicator for when you should try to conceive.
If you are not observing your cervical fluid and currently trying to conceive without any results, you may be getting frustrated, overwhelmed, or convinced you’re barren. Some good news is your timing may just be off, or maybe you need to boost your fertile quality cervical fluid. Luckily, these are very manageable changes within your control.
3. Identify Potential Health Problems
A healthy period and regular monthly cycle is the expression of a healthy body. When your body stops ovulating or you have very painful or irregular periods, it is a sign that something is wrong.
Basal body temperature measurements can give you insight into your body’s metabolism, thyroid function, and sleep quality. If you are having painful or irregular periods, you may be one of the many women who suffer from PCOS, endometriosis, or have significant vitamin and mineral deficiencies. A healthy body will express health in all areas and systems. A body in need of healing will send signals and signs to express distress, your cycle is one of those expressions.
4. Figure Out Nutrition You May Be Missing
Did you know that common PMS symptoms, such as tender breasts, can indicate that you are deficient in critical nutrients? When you track your symptoms and energy levels during your cycle, you are more able to decipher the clues pointing to undernourishment of certain vitamins and minerals. As you make changes to your nutrition, you should see positive changes in our cycle as well.
5. To Understand Yourself and Your Body
When you understand your body and how it functions, you can better care for yourself. We are all unique, so it is vital to know what is normal for you. When you do yourself this service, you are more able to provide yourself with all of the nutritional, physical, and emotional support you need throughout the month!
