Have you heard of cycle synching? It's a pretty cool and interesting concept that I learned about a little while ago. Like anything new, I felt a little overwhelmed so I invited registered nurse BriAnne Bell to come on the podcast and share her knowledge. BriAnne has been a nurse for 14 years and a SAHM for 5 to two boys.
About four years ago, BriAnne ventured into the online space to promote health and wellness.
“With my background in nursing and being in healthcare field, there was a lot
of just internal tension in me with not really feeling like our healthcare system does, what I feel at my core should be doing, which is prevention. And, you know, just focusing on the health side of things and looking at nutrition and overall wellness from a holistic standpoint.”
One way that BriAnne took back her power over her health is by diving deep into learning about her menstrual cycle and how it affected her.
Cycle Synching- Learn the 4 Phases- How to Naturally Optimize your Hormones and Use Them to Your Advantage!
“I don't know why as females, again, back to our healthcare system, why do we not know about this. As females, we go through a monthly hormonal cycle. Every single month, there is ebb and flow of the hormones that we have going on inside of our bodies, which control our menstrual cycle. That's the phase that most people are familiar with. But there are also three other phases. So there's four phases total. And I'm going to talk to you today about not just these different phases, we're going to go over that. But I'm going to also talk to you about how you can really optimize and use these fluctuations in your hormones to your advantage”
It’s true. How many of us think about our period unless we’re actually on our period? That’s really only a few days out of our cycle. BriAnne really breaks down what each cycle is about, when it’s going to happen, and what we can expect from our bodies.
Follicular Phase- The first phase is called the follicular phase. Typically, this is a 7 to 10 day period and this starts the day after your period ends. A lot of women count the first day of their cycle as day one of their period. But when you're looking at the four different phases, the follicular phase is going to start the day after your cycle ends.
Let's think of it like the seasons. In the follicular phase, this is like springtime for females. Think of what happens in the spring. Everything starts to bloom, everything starts to grow, everything starts to get green. This is like a fresh, new, springtime season for your female body. During this space, it is a great time to prepare. Take the time to get creative; get those creative juices flowing. This is a great time to dream and to brainstorm, prepare and plan if you've had a project or something on your mind. This is also a great time to do research, to be curious, to really set your intentions, Where do you want to be? Where do you want to go? What are those dreams? This is a great place to be able to reflect on that kind of stuff and really fill your calendar.
The reason why this is actually going on is because estrogen is on the rise. When estrogen is on the rise after your cycle, your brain's working memory is boosted so you have the ability to handle complex processing tasks and mentally challenging assignments. It's also a great time to do some cardio and more intense workouts. This is the time of the month that you'll be killing it in your HIIT class.
Ovulation Phase- This is a pretty short phase: 3-4 days. This is going to be like summertime for your body. Think about what happens in the summer. You're bright and excited, and fun. Estrogen rises dramatically during this phase. This is why we're feeling sunshine and rainbows. It's a great time to really open up. To socialize, to talk about things with your spouse, to go on dates. This is a great time to collaborate with others, schedule interviews, meetings, and really connect with those people. I don't know if you've ever had a conversation with someone where you just felt like it was natural and flowing. Then there's other times it's like you're stumbling over your words. Like I mentioned, estrogen is surging during this and it's really affecting your brain and making you really sharp and collaborative. And we're still focusing on and killing those cardio classes while we have all this energy. This is also the time frame that females can get pregnant, so this is the time that you'll want to try or abstain from intercourse.
Luteal Phase- This is the longest phase and is going to be 10 to 14 days. This is kind of like the fall season for your body. So when you think of fall, it's just kind of starting to get cooler outside. We want to pull out our favorite sweater, enjoy the season, and prepare for winter. So during this phase, we're looking to get it done. You want to get organized, you want to accomplish your goals. It’s a great time to do something that you don’t typically enjoy doing. Because during the luteal phase, you’ll be able to sit down and just knock that out. You’ll be able to focus and just get it done. This is also a great time to attend to your home, your finances, that administrative and nurturing stuff. Also doing some deep work during this phase is a good idea. If you're looking from a fitness perspective, this is a great time to do strength training. You're slowing down a bit on the energy, so it's a good time to transition from that intense cardio but still get a great workout. The few days of the luteal phase you may be experiencing PMS, so start to transition. Give yourself some grace and do some pilates or yoga.
Menstrual Phase- As we move into phase four, this is the one that we're all familiar with, right? So this is our menstrual phase. This is when we actually have our period. As young females, we kind of have this negative connotation around your period. You're likely going to have cramps, and maybe headaches. But it doesn't have to be like that. If there are other underlying endocrine disorders, such as Endometriosis, or Polycystic Ovarian disease, these issues are going to contribute to an endocrine disruption. But for the most part, for most females that don't suffer from any underlying issues with their endocrine system, your period should not be painful. When you really tap into these four phases, it allows you to start to normalize. Your hormones are going to get in this natural ebb and flow of the way they're supposed to be. So during your menstrual cycle, typically for us females, it's going to last 3-7 days. If you think about the seasons, this is going to be winter. This is when our hormones are at our lowest. That's why we get a lot of the mood swings or we may get bloating, and experience the things that we typically associate with getting ready to start our period. Brain fog is a big one that can really make us feel low. If you’ve ever experienced pregnancy brain, it’s similar. And you can even see it in your teens. Educate them and let them know that things like homework might be a little more difficult and take longer.
The menstrual phase is where you give yourself grace. If you're tired, take a little nap. It's okay, your body needs that. It's also a great time to reflect on your month or your week, and focus on those positive things that you've accomplished. Because a lot of times during this phase, this is when we aren’t so nice to ourselves, we look bloated, feel fat, we feel blah. This is the time to focus on being positive and kind to yourself. Don’t stress about that workout. Maybe do some stretching or yoga. Go for a walk outside or take a nap. During this phase, a nap can count as your workout!
So how to we get in synch with our cycles and relieve some of these symptoms of phase 4?
Not to say that we can eliminate period discomfort completely, but we have so much control over that. We have to look at it from a perspective that what we're putting in our bodies truly matters. So if you have been one to suffer from painful periods, I really want you to take a step back and look at your nutrition and the products you’re using. What are you eating? What does your diet look like? What kind of products are you using? Are there endocrine disruptors in your cleaning and personal care products? When you take a step back, and you look at those things, you might be able to say, "Oh, wow, I could really clean up in this area and improve how I'm feeling in my cycle."
But to really get in sync with your cycle, you have to track it. BriAnne recommends the book In the Flo by Alisa Vitti. It will teach you everything you need to know to cycle sync.
There’s also an app called Flo based on the book so that it’s super easy to track where you are in your cycle and what you should be doing to feel your best.
BriAnne also likes the free app Maya for tracking cycles and symptoms.
Can you sync your hormonal cycle if you're on birth control?
The answer is yes, and no. The truth about synthetic birth control is that it doesn't fix your hormones, it doesn't address any underlying root cause of hormonal imbalance. There's no magic pill. What is actually happening with your body, when you use synthetic hormone birth control? You are continuously getting a low dose of estrogen and progesterone. So this puts you into a bit of a phaseless cycle. You don't get to experience the benefits of the natural ebb and flow of your natural cycle. Yes, you can cycle sync when you're on synthetic birth control, but the experience is going to be different. If you're on a birth control pill that continuously gives your body a dose of estrogen and progesterone, you're kind of flatlined, so you're not able to experience the natural ebb and flow of our hormones and the benefit of them.
What about women in menopause?
Since you’re no longer having a cycle, the only way to cycle sync is to sync with the moon. Alisa Vitti touches on menopause in her book, In the Flo.
BriAnne dropped a lot of knowledge on us! You can connect with her and learn even more about health and wellness at her website https://BriAnnebell.com/. She hosts a great podcast called The Passive Income Nurse sharing all about making money online and taking control of your schedule. You can also connect with her on Instagram @BriAnne_bell_ or on Facebook
Did you love this episode? Are you going to try cycle synching? I would love to hear about your experience! Tag me on Instagram @themeganmikkelsen or join in the discussion in my Facebook group Toxin Free Talk.
