Cycle Syncing?

The picture is purely for fun. I just couldn't keep my imagination in check.

A week back, I gradually started a morning exercise routine—following my doctor's suggestion—to manage my allergy levels. I also started putting even more thought into what I ate, since I had a list of food items to avoid for the time being. It has been a week of gradually easing my body and mind into working out regularly, and that naturally piqued my interest in understanding what my body needs and how to maintain it the best way possible.

Recently, I've been hearing and reading the term "period syncing" on social media a lot, but never sat down to find out what it was all about. I had a basic idea about the menstrual cycle and all its phases, thanks to our biology teacher in high school who was adamant in teaching us these important things; instead of leaving chapters on Reproductive Health for the students to read and understand on their own, which was the general (mal)practice in most schools in India. From what I know, cycle syncing means planning your lifestyle, nutrition, and exercise according to your menstrual cycle. And definitely not bicycling in sync!

My personal interest in tracking my own menstrual cycle, and maybe cycle sync as far as possible, is to better understand myself. For someone who wish to connect with and understand their emotions better, being able to distinguish between hormone-induced emotional sensitivity and otherwise will be beneficial to everyone invloved.

Generally, I am aware of the subtle differences that I feel in my energy levels and moods in a month, but I never tried to track them or learn to read them better. That is until, I got an abdominal cramp (resembling period cramps) while exercising one morning. That was my call to look it up, though I don't have the time to dive deep into self-study.

Before I get to the main topic of discussion, I need to make a few things clear. This post is not going to discuss the menstrual cycle or menstrual syncing, simply because I am a student of literature and not a gynaecologist. These are things you must learn from experts and doctors in the field. I only attempt to introduce you to two videos that I found to be a good place to start.

Since the whole thing is a trending topic, there is a lot of information available on the internet that needs filtering. So I decided to listen to the doctors out there first.

Should Women Train According to The Menstrual Cycle? What New Research Really Says | Dr. Stacy Sims

This is the first video I watched because it specifically said training in the title. I am glad I watched it first because it gave me a heads-up that the 28-day menstrual cycle diagram you see on the internet may vary from woman to woman. So before you make plans around that chart, it is important to understand your own cycle first. Hence, it is not just about understanding the menstrual cycle in general, but also YOUR menstrual cycle.

Learn What Every Woman Should Know 🤯 About Cycle Syncing - Dr Lora Shahine

This is the second video I came across, and I found it to be a very good introduction to the menstrual cycle, and most importantly, cycle syncing. What I loved about this video is how the video is structured into defining the term, explaining the biology, and also addressing the validity of the claims made by influencers on social media regarding the benefits of cycle syncing. The last part is the reason why I decided to start with doctors' opinion as they bring research and evidence to the discussion. Other videos may have also presented well-researched content on these ideas, but I am yet to check them out.

There are many more videos out there that I wish to watch, but I have an exam coming up, and the videos will have to wait. On the same note, I won't be posting in the coming few weeks for the same reason. Wish me luck, and until next time, sayonara.