If you haven’t heard of cycle syncing, you could be missing out on how to make your life more productive.
Yes, really!
If you have a period, your body will go through spikes of feeling energetic. It’ll also feel like you just want to rest and hide before your period is ready to start. All of this is completely natural and you can use it to your advantage.
To understand how, we have to take a look at your menstrual cycle in depth and how to use it to your advantage. With a little awareness in your own cycle, cycle syncing can tell when it’s best to work and when to rest.
What Is Cycle Syncing?
Throughout your menstrual cycle, your energy levels will change with your hormones. This is to be expected considering your body is prepping for the possible fertilization of an egg. Whether we want it to or not.
Paying attention to your cycle is the best way to use cycle syncing to your advantage. If you’re not doing this already, I highly recommend getting into the habit with either a calendar or a period app. Most period apps will tell you when you’re about to have your period, of course. But they also track when you’re about to ovulate.
Both of these are important regardless of if you’re trying to have a baby or not. These are indicators as to when you will have your energy spikes and dips.
What Are the Benefits of Cycle Syncing?
If you’re in tune with your cycle, you know when you have most energy. This is typically after your period (The Follicular Phase) leading up to ovulation. This is when you’ll feel the most energetic.
And it’s during this time that you can also be incredibly productive.
The first fifteen(ish) days of your cycle are when you can look into planning and doing. With your estrogen increasing, now is the time for it. Got a massive to-do list to knock out? Take some time to tick those boxes.
Clean your house. Outline that project you’ve been meaning to start. Try a high intensity workout. Get out and be social!
You will be more geared for all of these things and your body will be in prime condition to do so.
Keep in mind, with every up must come a downswing too. After ovulation, comes the luteal phase. Your estrogen is decreasing again. This is typically when we start to see signs of PMS. And if you start feeling less energetic, this is normal too.
Use this time to wrap up what you’ve started. You’ve used that energy to plan and start, use this second half to get down to the finer details. If you’re working out, slow down to less intense exercises. Casual walks and gentle, slow-paced yoga are amazing during this time.
Ideally, you’ll be finishing all of your projects so you can rest as needed. It’s an amazing time for self-care and pampering yourself. And it feels even better knowing that there’s nothing you have to take care of you.
How Can I Start?
If you’re reading this and you’re out of sync with the info I’m giving, relax! This is a process that takes time. The key is being aware of your cycle. If you are, you’ll find that you have more ‘aha’ moments. For me, I’ll have moments where I feel unusually tired and not know why. It’s helpful when I look at the period tracking app for my phone.
Same goes for if I feel moody or social or if I’m more ‘in the mood’ than usual. (Nature is efficient, I’m telling you.)
You don’t have to do anything extra. Start with downloading an app. I use on that’s simply called Period Tracker but there are no doubt hundreds to choose from.
Mine comes with a little widget with a countdown screen for when my next period is supposed to start. It even gives the widget a little flower for when I ovulate.
I’ve been doing it long enough that it’s accurate within a two day range.
Even if you use a planner, paying attention is key. The more you pay attention, the more you’ll be able to implement cycle syncing and make it work for you. You got this!