People with periods would know that tracking their menstrual cycle is a part of keeping their physical health in check. There are a lot of apps in the iOS App Store that offer cycle tracking, but did you know that Apple has a cycle tracker built in the native Health app?
It provides impressive logging and tracking options so you can track just about anything pertaining to your reproductive health. Apple also makes it really easy to track your cycle on both the iPhone and Apple Watch. Here's how you can start using the Health App Cycle Tracker today.
How to Use The Apple Health App Cycle Tracking
When entering the native Health app on your iPhone, you can head over to Browse and open Cycle Tracking.
When selecting Get Started, the app will ask you a series of questions about your cycle, like when your last period started, how long it usually lasts, how long a typical cycle for you is, some factors that affect your cycle like pregnancy or usage of contraceptives, and a few notifications and options you want to receive from the app.
To log your cycle information, on the Cycle Tracking page, you can log a period day by tapping a day in the timeline at the top of the screen. The flow level can be logged as well by tapping Period below Cycle Log and then select the option that applied.
The logged days are marked on the timeline with solid red circles.
When logging symptoms of your period, select the day, tap Symptoms, and select all the apply. Tap Done when finished. Days with logged symptoms have purple dots on the timeline.
Spotting days can also be logged by selecting a day, select Spotting, tap on Had Spotting and select Done. Other categories like ovulation test results and basal body temperature can also be logged in by tapping Options and choose the categories that apply, Cnet added.
If you want to include information about your pregnancy, lactation or contraceptive use, you can also add that in Factors.
To set up Factors, select any factors that currently apply to you then tap on Done. To add more factors, tap Add Factor, select the factor that applies. If you need to change the start date, tap Started, then tap Add.
When a certain current factor has ended, tap on the factor, tap Ended, and select the date and confirm the action by tapping Done. Deleting a factor is easy, then tap the factor and select Delete Factor. You can view previous factor logs by selecting Show All.
Apple Health App Cycle Tracking Predictions and Notifications
You can get notifications like when you should expect your period, prompts to log in your data, and even fertility prediction. To turn these notifications on or off, on the Cycle Tracking page, scroll to Options, tap it, and toggle on or off the options that apply.
You can view Apple's period and fertility window predictions by heading to the timeline to see the displayed information. Light red circles stand for the predicted period and light blue days represent the prediction of when your fertility window is likely to be. Apple noted that this data should not be used as a form of birth control.
Drag the timeline to select different days. The more cycles you log, the more accurate the predictions should be if you have a more regular cycle.
Apple has also made viewing your cycle history and statistics very easy. On the Cycle Tracking page, scroll down to see timelines of your three most recent periods. To see related statistics, scroll down further.
If you want to see more details and older data, tap the ">" in that portion of the screen to view your Cycle History or Statistics. You can also filter the factors you need to see.
The native Health app's Cycle Tracking is very easy to use and can actually track and log your cycle and factors pertaining to the cycle extensively. The interface is also intuitive, making logging each day of the period smooth and trouble-free.
Apple also offers resources on the Cycle Tracking page so you can learn more about menstrual cycles, spotting, and factors that can impact a cycle.
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