Top 5 Reasons to Track Your Cycle

By Jennifer Aldoretta

If you’re interested in learning how to track your cycle, then there are plenty of resources out there that can help. My book, The Cycle, teaches the basics of cycle tracking and is available for download here. Toni Weschler’s Taking Charge of Your Fertility is also an excellent guide. There are also many fertility awareness educators that teach classes online for a small fee.

Remember sex ed classes? Well, it turns out they completely skipped a ton of stuff about the menstrual cycle! For example, did you know that it’s only possible to get pregnant for a small portion of your cycle? And that an ovulated egg has a lifespan of just 24 hours? Or that your cycling hormones produce changes in your body that can be easily observed? It’s all true!

While that’s all very interesting, you may still be wondering why in the world you’d ever want to track your cycle. The truth is, I used to wonder the very same thing. But now that I know just how awesome cycle tracking is, I’m here to share with you my top 5 reasons (in no particular order) why you should consider giving it a try.

1. Want to get to know your body? Track your cycle!

I’m sure you’ve heard that if you have a “normal” cycle, you’ll get your period every 28 days. However, this is totally untrue! In fact, fewer than 15% of women have a 28-day cycle, and there are a number of things–like stress, exercise, and illness–that can make your period start later than you might expect. Menstrual cycles come in all shapes, sizes, and lengths, and figuring out what’s normal for you is key. That’s where tracking comes in.

Your period is just a very small part of your menstrual cycle, and there are some really incredible things happening inside of your body during the other cycle phases. Before ovulation, your hormones cause changes in the fluid produced by your cervix; after ovulation, they cause your basal body temperature (which is measured when you first wake up) to rise suddenly. Monitoring these two things is a special form of cycle tracking called the sympto-thermal method, and it can help you get to know your body in ways that sex ed classes never did!

2. Looking to get pregnant? Track your cycle!

Many women don’t realize that cycle tracking can actually help you get pregnant faster. Remember the cervical fluid I discussed? And how I mentioned that you can only get pregnant for a small portion of your cycle? The changes in cervical fluid that result from hormone fluctuations are one of the main reasons it’s possible to get pregnant. Observing this fluid can help take all that stress out of timing a baby. It can also help you determine if you have an underlying problem that might make it difficult to conceive.

If you’re not looking to get pregnant, don’t worry. There are benefits for you, too!

3. Want to avoid a pregnancy? Track your cycle!

Not only does tracking your cycle with the sympto-thermal method help you get to know your body, but it can also be used as a completely natural form of birth control. And the best part: it’s shown to be up to 99.6% effective when practiced properly. Sounds great, right?

Using the sympto-thermal method for birth control requires a certain degree of dedication, and there are special “rules” that must be followed to practice it correctly. However, it’s simple enough for anyone to learn, and there are no hormones or nasty side effects to worry about. Not a single one!

4. Want to improve your health? Track your cycle!

If you’re not quite ready to dive into using natural birth control, that’s okay. Cycle tracking provides the awesome benefit of helping you keep your reproductive system in good health. When you have an understanding of what is normal and healthy for your body, it becomes easy to determine when there might be a problem.

Women who have an underlying condition like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), fibroids, or endometriosis can also benefit greatly from cycle tracking. There are many women who naturally control these disorders with the help of the sympto-thermal method.

Remember, your menstrual cycle is an extension of you! If your reproductive system isn’t in tip-top shape, then your cycle has ways of letting you know.

5. Want a boost of self-confidence? You got it…track your cycle!

Learning about your body will inevitably lead to a greater sense of self-confidence. You’ll know exactly what’s going on in your body, when you’re fertile, and when to expect your period. You can easily learn how your moods fluctuate with cycle phases and how your lifestyle habits affect your period and your cycle. And, most importantly, you can take control of your reproductive health.

With all that knowledge, how could you NOT be totally confident? Your period doesn’t have to be an annoying, mysterious occurrence. Cycle tracking is the key to unlocking a happy, healthy period!

Jennifer Aldoretta is the cofounder and CEO of Groove, “the simplest cycle tracking & fertility charting app available”. She is also author of the (free) upcoming book The Cycle, which teaches cycle tracking using the sympto-thermal method of fertility awareness.