Like most topics tied to women’s health, cycle syncing suffers from a research gap. There is little conclusive scientific evidence that it improves your well-being. Yet, on an anecdotal level, it is becoming increasingly clear that paying attention to your body and adapting your life around it can have significant benefits for your health, mental well-being, and even your productivity.

Let’s take a deeper look at what cycle syncing is, how it works, and how to get started.

The concept of cycle syncing involves aligning one’s activities with their menstrual cycle to better synchronize with their hormones. For instance, you can schedule hard training sessions or important deadlines for the time of the month when you are the most energetic and confident. You can also adjust your diet to anticipate changes in nutritional needs.

This is rooted in the fact that hormonal fluctuations affect not just your reproductive organs but “almost every cell in the body,” according to Dr. Shruthi Mahalingaiah, a fertility doctor and professor at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, when interviewed by the New York Times.

For cis-women and other folk who menstruate, the body is not a machine and does not function the same way every day. So, instead of treating it as such, we should adapt habits to our bodies’ cyclicity, working with the changes rather than against them. Many of us are aware of how our body changes throughout our cycle, but we have never been taught how (or even allowed) to work with those changes.

The science behind cycle syncing is still evolving, and there are no clear studies proving its efficiency. Yet its supporters say it is a great way to have better workouts, more self-awareness, and overall improved well-being.

Cycle syncing is based on the different hormonal phases of the menstrual cycle. These are based on an average cycle of twenty-eight days and follow these stages:

Menstrual Phase (Day 1–5)

This is when you are on your period. Estrogen and progesterone levels are low, and energy tends to be low, too. Your confidence and motivation can also suffer as a result. It’s usually around this time that I decide to embark on some extreme sport adventure and then get severe anxiety and have a little cry.

When I started cycle syncing, I learned that I should instead dedicate this time to rest, gentle stretching, and iron-rich foods to compensate for the iron lost in menstrual blood. I see this as a wintertime, where coziness, self-care, and nourishment are the order of the day.

Follicular Phase (Day 6–14)

After your period begins, your estrogen levels gradually increase again. For many people, this leads to an increase in energy, creativity, and motivation. You’ll likely feel more ready to take on the world, try new things, and start new projects.

Picture it as your spring season: a time of growth, energy, and hope. It is a good time to increase your workouts or try new ones. Dietwise, you may need extra protein and complex carbs to match your higher-energy activities.

Ovulatory Phase (Around Day 14)

Your estrogen peaks around ovulation time, which is an average of fourteen days after your period began. You will likely feel more confident, sociable, and strong at this time. Cycle syncing suggests that you should aim for high-intensity workouts, important work tasks, and social events around this time. To continue our seasons analogy, the ovulation phase is the ultimate Hot Girl Summer.

Luteal Phase (Day 15–28)

This is the time when progesterone starts to rise, and you may feel increasingly tired, introspective, or irritable. Toward the end, PMS symptoms may appear. Be gentle with yourself during this time, and aim for stable routines and avoid making major decisions. Aim for steady-state training and reflective tasks.

Magnesium-rich foods, such as nuts or dark chocolate, are recommended at this time, as they can ease period cramps and irritability.

Not everyone’s cycle is exactly twenty-eight days, and each person experiences their hormonal cycle differently, so these four phases are just a guide. How your hormonal variations will affect you varies. Using these as a framework, you can track your cycle for a couple of months and get acquainted with the patterns unique to your body.

Coaches for the US women’s soccer team say that one of the techniques that brought them to victory at the World Cup in 2019 was cycle synching. They paid attention to their players’ cycles, adjusting their training and recovery times accordingly. Following such positive publicity, fitness gurus and companies worldwide began adopting this new trend, despite doctors’ warnings that there is no substantial evidence to support it.

“From a medical standpoint, there is no good evidence,” said Dr. Asima Ahmad, a reproductive endocrinologist, in the New York Times. “It’s not something that I advocate for with my patients.”

Part of the problem is that no one’s cycle matches the twenty-eight-day pattern. It isn’t just that there are exceptions. It’s that people who match a textbook, twenty-eight-day pattern are the exception. Because of this, a one-size-fits-all approach, like the ones suggested in fitness apps such as Harna, CycleMapping Fitness, or 28, is unlikely to work.

As Kathryn Clancy, a biological anthropology professor at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, told the New York Times: “Are you measuring hormones every day? Do you actually know when your corpus luteum is producing the most progesterone? Probably not. That then poses the question: What are you syncing to?”

So, with all that in mind, should you try cycle synching? My answer is yes. Paying attention to your cycle will improve your body literacy and help you adapt your lifestyle.

But don’t pay money for an expensive app that promises a miracle solution. Start instead by getting a notebook and jotting down your symptoms, energy levels, what you eat, and what workouts you do. Do this for two or three months and see if any patterns emerge.

When I started syncing my workouts and meals loosely to my cycle, I noticed patterns I hadn’t clocked before. I knew when to push and when to rest. I gave myself more compassion during low-energy phases. I felt more in tune.

And I haven’t thrown a ski pole down the hill since.