Why You Should Track Your Menstrual Cycle and How To Do It!
The Benefits and How-tos of Tracking Your Menstrual Cycle
Hey, darling hearts!
I simply must tell you about my experience since starting to chart my menstrual cycle on an actual IRL bit of paper!
That’s right, I’m not talkin’ just the usual cycle tracking in an app that’s pretty common nowadays - though that IS totally ace that so many more women are now starting to keep track of their cycles in this super-accessible way!
But no, I mean writing with a pen (yup, people still use those! I luuurve me a good fine uni-ball from Mitsubishi Pencil Co. - Yes, I did just check to see what was written on the side of my favourite pen right now and discover that Mitsubishi makes pens!!! WTF? It’s a ripper too!)
Aaaaaanyway, I digress… as I was saying, I’m talkin’ writing with a pen on a chart that I’ve printed out and stuck on my fridge to keep track of all sorts of things relevant to my cycle, like mood, energy levels, libido, creativity, irritability, sleep, dreams, thoughts/feelings, and of course any symptoms of PMS, blood and discharge consistency, colour, amount and length of bleed.
I didn’t realise just how much I would discover about myself, my health, and my cycle through doing this, because after all, I’d been using an app for years and never noticed anything much other than when to expect my period.
But wow, was I surprised!
I want to run you through some of the benefits of charting your cycle, some of my own discoveries, and how to get started with this wonderful practice!
I’ve even made you a super handy, easy-to-use printable PDF that you can use to track your cycle with cute little cartoon uterus’s on it! Get it for FREE here!
Why Track My Menstrual Cycle? What Are the Benefits of Cycle Tracking?
Get to know your body better and build a deeper connection to yourself. Tracking your menstrual cycle increases your menstrual cycle awareness, which in turn increases your body awareness, and your self awareness of your own fluctuating, cycling internal states at any given time. You’ll discover interesting patterns with your mood, energy levels, appetite, symptoms, and emotional and social needs.
Increased menstrual cycle awareness means that you’ll be able to know when you’re fertile window is, and when it is safe to have unprotected sex without risking getting pregnant (or alternatively, when to give it a red hot go if you’re trying to conceive!).
You’ll feel pretty bloody empowered and stoked on yourself once you’ve got a grasp on how to use cycle awareness and tracking to know when you can and can’t get pregnant!
This is something our ancient ancestors did and a skill and level of connection to one’s body and sacred femininity that has become something of a lost art. It’s a pretty amazing feeling to be tapped into you bod and your cyclical nature in this way!
Predict when you’re going to bleed and learn to take what you discover from your menstrual cycle charts and apply it to how you plan your months.
Eg. I know that when I’m leading up to bleeding - for about 4 days beforehand and then for the first day or two of my period - I’m extra sensitive and don’t have a lot of energy for socialising. If I push myself and don’t create enough space to have enough solid alone time, and slow, gentle days during this time I will get irritable as fuck and will feel moody, hyper-emotional and drained. With this knowledge I now make sure that wherever possible I build into my schedule plenty of down time, solo self care time, and minimise commitments or big, important jobs that require me to be “on”!
Get valuable info about your health.
The menstrual cycle is actually like a report card for your health in so many ways! It can tell you a lot about your health, and if you want to learn more about the specific signs/symptoms to look out for and what they might mean about your health, the book The Period Repair Manual by Lara Briden is amazing and jam-packed with info on that.Or check out my blog post about what your period blood is telling you about your health!
And if you can’t be arsed learning about the ins and outs yourself (not everyone nerds out on this stuff like me, I know!) having the info charted can be suuuuper helpful to have show to the doc/health professional if you’re ever concerned about anything or experiencing health issues because they’ll be able to use that cycle data to help figure out what’s going on.
Something that you wouldn’t necessarily think was important or meant anything could tell them a LOT about what’s going on in your body or with your hormones.
Eg. Tender and swollen breasts leading up to your period can be an indicator that you’re deficient in iodine or have thyroid issues, and teamed with all your other cycle data and any other symptoms or lifestyle factors, this could be a huge help to the doc in diagnosing you and knowing how they can help your body best!
Having a hard copy of these cyclic fluctuations and getting a bird’s eye view of all the entities you’ve made makes it much easier to notice and track patterns that recur each cycle, and mean that you’re looking at it and engaging with it every day - especially if it’s on the fridge or toilet door! This means that you’re more invested in, and consistent with, the charting process than if it’s just in an app.
- I know I never remembered to put in my symptoms or day-to-day bits n’ bobs with the apps, and when I did bother, I couldn’t go back and see it all written in the one spot, on the one page, to actually refer to it and compare phases of my cycle or see patterns emerge over the course of a few cycles.
If you have a partner or housemates, it keeps them in the loop and helps them know when to give you more space, or more support, or plan the dinner parties and date nights! It can be a beautiful way to provide an avenue for others close to you to learn and feel involved and engaged with your cycle too!
And if you have kids/teenagers in the house, what better way to set a body-positive, feminist, shame-free example of what it means to be a cycling-bodied person and teach them about the menstrual cycle in a really positive, proud way!?
You can even get your teenage daughters on board and encourage them to start their own cycle charting practice that they can make their own with some fun coloured pens or by adding artwork to their charts!
(Another cute and period-positive addition to the household is my Menstrual Menu Poster which tells you which foods to eat at each different stage of your cycle to enhance your health and energy and improve PMS symptoms.)
Those are some of my favourite benefits and happy side effects of charting my cycle. I’ve discovered so much about my body, my different needs at different stages of my cycle, how to predict when I’m going to be in certain states and plan my month accordingly to maximise my effectiveness at work and make sure I’m caring for myself in the best way possible.
It’s a total revelation, living in alignment with your cycle and honouring your body and your womanhood in this special way.
My PMS symptoms have disappeared since doing this practice because I’ve become so aware of what I need and when I need it so I can actually listen to that and slow down, take space, or nurture myself when it matters to avoid having a terrible time with my period!
I feel so much more connected to myself and grateful to my body, whilst being fascinated by it’s undulations and in awe of it’s wisdom and cleverness!
I’d highly recommend this practice, and since I found personally that the cycle tracking charts that are out there already aren’t too user-friendly and never had enough space for me to write in the little bloody triangles that make up the circular representation of the cycle, not to mention that they never included more than 30 days (some people cycle longer and this can be totally normal!)...
I’ve created my own Printable Cycle Tracking Chart PDF with 35 days and plenty of room to write in each day for you!
You can get the download that for free and start tracking today, if you’re game!!
And if you’re still chomping at the bit for more menstrual magic, I have two podcast episodes that might be of interest to you!
Let me know how you go and if you need any support or have any questions, my loves!