Ladies, have you ever thought about adapting your lifestyle to your menstrual cycle? On TikTok, more and more women are recounting having done so and explaining how their lives have since changed for the better. But the cycle syncdoes it really work?
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Two years ago, Sarah Kastendeuch started tracking her menstrual cycle more closely when she switched from birth control pills to the symptothermal method.
The symptothermal method is a method of birth control (or to help with conception) that involves taking your basal temperature each morning and recording it on a calendar to determine your fertile times.
Quickly, she noticed how certain daily activities affected her energy level differently, depending on where she was in her cycle.
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“By starting the symptothermie, I began to observe my menstrual cycle and I realized that by implementing certain actions in my daily life, I was going to be able to live my life as a menstruating woman much better”, explains the woman. 38 years old.
Today, Sarah knows, for example, that she tends to feel angry when she ovulates and that she is more tired in the days leading up to her period. She therefore keeps this in mind when organizing her work schedule.
“I avoid planning meetings or making big decisions in the 48 hours before my period, because I know that I am less able to do so,” says the self-employed woman.
“One of the things that has changed the most is feeling like I have more control over my emotions and being able to feel better about my daily life because I’m aware of energy fluctuations based on times when I’m in my cycle,” she continues.
Postpone when possible
Same observation on the side of Gabrielle Turcotte: since she was introduced to the symptothermal method eight years ago, she has “much easier to accept [ses] needs”, which vary according to the phase of his cycle.
The mother of three knows in particular that when she ovulates and while she is menstruating, each task requires more effort from her. When possible, she therefore postpones it.
“My cycle is regular and my needs are really regular, which allows me to organize my schedule,” she points out.
Gabrielle’s spouse also better understands how his spouse can be affected by her menstrual cycle: the couple thus manages to organize themselves better.
“He too, now, he can use the different phases of my cycle with the different strengths of each one so that we work together”, she says.
A movement on TikTok
Sarah and Gabrielle are far from the only ones to adapt their daily life to their menstrual cycle.
On TikTok, videos posted with the #cyclesyncing hashtag have about 200 million views.
Women in particular publish videos in which they explain the different phases of the menstrual cycle. They also make recommendations of foods or exercises to favor during each of these phases to optimize their well-being.
What the science says
Although many women praise the merits of cycle sync on social networks, no study confirms the real and positive impacts on women who practice it, argues the Dr Mathieu Leboeuf, Director of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproduction at Université Laval.
But beware: that does not mean that there are not positive impacts.
“It is not because there is no study that it is not true, but we cannot say scientifically that it changes what”, nuances the doctor.
If a woman is wondering if it’s a good idea for her to adapt her lifestyle to her menstrual cycle, she should test it herself, insists gynecologist Sarah Maheux-Lacroix.
“If someone listens to themselves and goes according to their energy, in my opinion, that can be a good idea. But there is no precise answer from science, ”underlines the assistant professor at Laval University.
Not all the same
Nathalie Grégoire-Charette, executive director of Seréna Québec, which has been offering workshops on the symptothermal method since 1955, agrees: there is no magic recipe.
Courtesy picture
Nathalie Gregoire-Charette
“Each woman is unique and each menstrual cycle is unique, so you have to be careful and not believe that you can transpose the same ways of doing things from one person to another,” she underlines.
This is also one of the dangers of a trend like #cyclesyncing on TikTok.
“It’s so easy to compare yourself when you take ready-made recommendations,” adds Nathalie Grégoire-Charette, who recalls that each woman and each cycle is different.
She invites women to remain attentive to their bodies in order to better meet their specific needs, which may vary according to their cycle.
To learn more about the symptothermal method, .