Four important reasons why you should track your cycle

It’s Women’s Health Week, and it's a great time to focus on your own physical and mental wellbeing. We spoke to Heba Shaheed, a pelvic health expert, who shares the benefits of tracking your monthly cycle.

1 Keep tabs on your health
The regularity of your period can do much to highlight what’s going on with your body. An irregular cycle can be caused by over exercising, stress or a whole range of issues. Importantly, cycle irregularity can also highlight bigger issues such as endometriosis or the beginning of the menopause process.

2 Increase your chances of conception
If you are looking to increase the chances of pregnancy, or reduce them, tracking your cycle is a great way to visualise when the body is ovulating and is most fertile. Your most fertile window falls 12-16 days before your period is due, the least fertile days are after your period has ended. Having this information on your wrist by using your Fitbit, or by using an app on your phone, is extremely handy.

3 Improve sleep
As most women have issues with their sleep in the week before, during, and after their period, tracking your sleep is a fantastic way to explain bouts of irritability or moodiness. This can also provide us with information on how much extra sleep we should be looking to get during this time.

4 Increase regularity
If you are working to increase the regularity of your cycle and manage it through exercises such as yoga and Pilates, tracking your cycle is a great way to see your progress. Over the course of about three months, you should be able to see how completing these exercises can improve your menstrual health and change the pattern of your period overall.

Heba Shaheed is co-founder and CEO of The Pelvic Expert, a digital wellbeing platform specialising in maternal, menstrual and hormone health. Heba is working closely with Fitbit for the launch of their latest smartwatch, Fitbit Versa.