2 Mobile Apps to Help Track Your Menstrual Cycle
Today I’m going to dedicate the post mainly to women, but it can be interesting for men to better understand the variations in mood, cravings and some of the peculiarities we have.
Various efforts have been made to remove the stigma around menstruation. A 2017 UK survey found that 1 in 10 girls have difficulty buying menstrual protection.
In Nepal, there is also a practice called “chhaupadi”, where women are forced to sleep outside the house in a hut during menstruation. This 21-year-old girl died of smoke inhalation with a fire that she lit to try to warm her up on one of these nights. This is also a practice in some areas of India.
On the contrary, in some countries, menstruation is seen as an important stage of life. In Canada, taxes are no longer paid on tampons and sanitary towels.
UNITED NATIONS, New York — Shame, stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation are contributing to serious human rights concerns for women and girls, emphasizes a new report commissioned by UNFPA.
In 2018, the United Nations decided to put menstrual health on the 2030 agenda.
Let’s explore deeper.
The Menstrual Cycle
In the Follicular phase
- Energy is higher
- Memory is better and pain tolerance is greater
In the Luteal phase
- You may feel slower in thought or more forgetful.
- If you have depression, IBS, migraines or asthma your symptoms may get worse during this phase
- If you have diabetes it can be more difficult to control blood glucose levels.
- Serotonin levels decrease. This neurotransmitter regulates mood, sleep cycle and appetite. Low levels lead to feelings of sadness and irritability, difficulty sleeping and binge eating.
Several studies indicate that changes in lifestyle can positively or negatively influence symptoms you experience:
- Making better health choices. Try to eat more fruits and vegetables, reducing the number of foods you eat rich in sugar, salt and saturated fats.
- Physical activity can reduce the feeling of sadness and irritability
- Sleep at least 7–8 hours. You can see in this post that a bad night’s sleep leads to an increase in binge eating.
- Stress can also worsen mood swings. Breathing exercises, yoga and meditation can help calm the body.
- The amount of calcium and vitamin B-6 ingested. This study showed that increasing calcium and B-6 can help decrease the feeling of irritability, sadness and anxiety. Spinach and kale are a great source of calcium. Sweet potatoes and chickpeas are good sources of vitamin B-6.
My experience
I’ve always had rather unregulated periods. Since age 12 I’ve gotten my period every 4 or 5 months.
At about 13 years old, I started taking medications to have more regular periods (without contraception). At age 17, I went from these to the pill and, at that time, my migraines started. In 2014, at age of 22, I stopped taking the pill for a few months because my gynecologist said it could be causing my migraines.
I went back to taking a progesterone-only pill that same year (estrogen-free pill). Then I realized that I was just as deregulated as I was at 12 years old. As the headaches continued into 2017, I stopped taking the pill and got an IUD, which is what I still use today.
Every time I look for more information, I believe it would be good to leave the IUD as well and opt for the most natural method of controlling through the cycle, but I confess I still lack courage because contraception is a less easy option and, at the same time, I don’t know if I would already have regular menstruation, making the process even more difficult.
It is something that I would like to try in the next 2 years. These applications will help you to track when you have menstruation and the symptoms that you will feel throughout the cycle.
Apps
These are a natural way to control your period (without having to resort to methods like the pill that have a list of infinite contraindications) so you can control your female health in the best way (when you have menstruation and associated symptoms, mood, etc.).
1. Flo
Compatible with: iOS and Android
Cost: Free application, but access to extra features with premium version. Premium version: € 49.99 / year, € 39.99 / 6months or € 9.99 / month. You have access to 30 days to test.
Benefits:
- Many features in the free version
- For iPhone, it connects with the Health app to record sleep
- In the free version you have the chat option
- You have access to articles on this topic (some articles are only available in the premium version)
- In the Premium version you also have short courses on various topics (sexuality, burnout, beauty, diets, etc.)
Disadvantages:
- I didn’t find any
2. Clue
Compatible with: iOS and Android
Cost: Free application, but access to extra features with premium version. Version € 19.99 m: € 19.99 / year, € 1 or € 4.99 / month. You have access to a 7-day trial for free.
Benefits:
- You have access to articles on the topic (some articles are only available in the premium version)
- Articles in English, Portuguese and Spanish.
- The app uses neutral language regarding females and males because it believes not all people with menstruation feel like women.
- In the premium version it includes articles about LGBTQIA (I got lost at Q, but I went to search the other letters, LGBTQIA is the acronym for Lesbians, Homosexuals, Bisexuals, Transsexuals, Queer, Intersex and Asexual).
- You can download reports so you can send them to your doctor.
Disadvantages:
- I didn’t find any.
I leave you here a review of several apps with similar functions.
In addition to these applications, if you want to know more about women’s health, you have the option of listening to Maisie Hill’s podcasts — Period Power.
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