5 Reasons Why You Should Track Your Cycle

5 Reasons Why You Should Track Your Cycle

Our menstrual cycles have more impact on our lives than we might think and there are many reasons why it’s a good idea to keep track of your menstrual cycle. It can help with many aspects of your life and takes minimal effort.

Read on for 5 reasons why you should track your cycle…

• Fertility Reasons

Let’s start with the most obvious. Knowing where you are in your cycle will help you hugely if you are trying to conceive and it will also work the other way and help you avoid getting pregnant if you’d rather not. There’s no 100% accurate contraception so if you really don’t want to get pregnant, the only way to be sure to avoid it is to be abstinent during your fertile days/week.

• To be Prepared

Knowing when your period is due will ensure that you have what you need in terms of sanitary protection. If you’re using reusable period products, you only need to ensure that you have some ready in your handbag, and if you’re using disposable options, you might need to stock up before you’re due. Other things you might need are chocolate, pain killers and wine…

• For your Schedule

If you have very painful or heavy periods, knowing when your period is coming will help you plan your schedule. I wouldn’t want to travel, go on a day out or do a work presentation at the start of my period when it’s super heavy and I am in a lot of discomfort.

Knowing when to expect my period will help me plan my schedule and calendar to allow some calm days when I feel the worst. I often get migraines connected to where I am in my cycle too which impact what I can do on those days.

• For your Skin

I don’t know about you but I get hormonal breakouts around the time of my period. It used to be worse when I was in my 20s but I’m still not spot-free some days of the month in my early 30s! Adjusting your skincare routine to work with your cycle can help avoid or minimise breakouts to let you enjoy clear skin on more days. This is something I need to get better at myself as I usually notice too late.

My skincare routine is very sporadic with a toddler who doesn’t go to bed well yet but I’m hoping to get back into a proper routine soon with adjustments for when I can usually expect some spots to pop up! Spot treatmeants, clearing skin products like my favourite Weleda Aknedoron and a good facemask are all great to have around for this. I’m also on the lookout for a light, non-comedogenic face cream for this time of the month.

• To Manage Mood Swings

Last but not least – where you are in your cycle affects your mood too. I didn’t notice this much before having children but now that I do, I can definitely tell that I am a lot more irritable around the time of ovulation and when my period is about to start. Knowing when my fuse is going to be shorter helps me control my mood and understand why it’s happening. The reason I get more annoyed with the kids or my husband some days is usually because I’m less tolerant during some days of my cycle and can’t handle smaller things as well as usual. Well, some days the children are just non-stop bickering and it’s got nothing to do with me!

How you track your cycle doesn’t really matter. You can do it on a digital or paper calendar or using a menstrual cycle tracking app. I do the latter (just a free basic one) but will be setting up reminders to let me know when to change up my skincare, stock up on chocolate and red wine and when to watch out for my mood…