What Is Menstrual Cycle Tracking on Apple Watch and How to Set It Up

Apple Watch has become a necessity for health freaks and fitness enthusiasts. Right from calorie tracking to ECG monitoring, this piece of tech does it all. What if we told you that you can also track your period and fertility cycle on your Apple Watch? Well, you can with Apple Watch’s built-in menstrual cycle tracking. Isn’t menstrual well-being a part of your physical health, after all?

Period anxiety is for real. Having a tool to ease your stress is unparalleled, right? With Apple Watch’s Cycle Tracking, you can track your period, log your symptoms, and much more. Read on to understand menstrual cycle tracking and how to set it up.

What Is Period Cycle Tracking on Apple Watch

Painful cramps, heavy blood loss, coupled with the shooting backache, menstruation is an adventure by itself. Your Apple Watch eases your period anxiety by helping you plan your month. How, you must be wondering? Here are the features of the Cycle Tracking app.

• Get period date prediction
• Log your period date
• Log specific symptoms, spotting, and other information
• Get information regarding your fertile window
• Receive ovulation estimates

Now, all these features aren’t available on all models of Apple Watches. Read on to determine whether your Apple Watch supports menstrual cycle tracking and features.

Which Apple Watch Supports Menstrual Tracking

The period cycle tracking feature works on an Apple Watch running watchOS 6 or later. You would need an iPhone 6s or later running iOS 13 or above to upgrade to watchOS 6. So, even if you have a Series 1 Apple Watch, you’re good to go. However, note that watches on the higher rung of the series get certain features that may not be present on older models.

For instance, on Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 running watchOS 10.2 or above, you can trigger Siri to log your period. You can say something like, “Log that my period started today”. Further, if you wear a Watch Series 8 and above or your Apple Watch Ultra to sleep, the device will provide retrospective ovulation estimates based on your wrist temperature.

How to Set Up Cycle Tracking on Apple Watch

Method 1: Use In-Built Cycle Tracking App

Apple Watch has an in-built Cycle Tracking app. You can log your period dates, add your symptoms, and get future period and ovulation predictions using this application. To use the watch’s app, you must first enable period tracking on your iPhone’s Health app. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the Health app on your iPhone. Head to Browser > Cycle Tracking. On the new page, select Get Started.

Step 2: Now, start filling out details such as the date of your last period, period tracking functions you wish to enable, etc.

Here’s how to log the data on your Apple Watch. Open the Cycle Tracking app on your Apple Watch. Tap Log. Then, log details about your period, sexual activity, symptoms, basal body temperature, spotting, etc.

Method 2: Use Third-Party Apps

If you don’t want to use Apple’s Cycle Tracking app, you can use a third-party application. One of the top-rated iOS applications for menstrual cycle tracking is Flo Period & Pregnancy Tracker. You can tap the button below to download the application on your iPhone. Once done, it will automatically reflect on your Apple Watch.

Download Flo

Otherwise, you can download the Flo app directly from your Apple Watch’s App Store. While this is a third-party application that has basic features such as tracking your symptoms, predicting period dates, etc., it also has an interesting anonymous mode.

How to Set Period and Fertility Tracking Notifications on Apple Watch

How easy would it be if you received a notification every time your period was about to start? Or you were alerted during your fertile window? Well, you can set period and fertility tracking notifications on your Apple Watch. To do so, enable notifications on your iPhone. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the Health app on your iPhone. Head to Browser > Cycle Tracking.

Step 2: Tap Options. Then, check the toggles beside Period Notifications and Fertility Notifications.

Once you turn on period notifications on your iPhone, you will automatically receive alerts on your Apple Watch. Further, note that you will not receive notifications about your period if you log the data before your period is predicted to start.

FAQs

Beat Period Anxiety

The Cycle Tracking app’s function helps you better plan your month. Right from predicting your period dates to fertility window, ovulation dates, etc. The Cycle Tracking app does wonders to cure period anxiety. Further, several third-party apps can sync with your Apple Watch as well.