What symptoms should I track in a cycle app?

Bottom lineTrack the essentials first: period start and end dates, flow intensity and clots, and cramps or pain; then symptoms that reveal patterns like mood, energy, sleep, headaches, bloating, breast tenderness, and skin. If managing fertility, add cervical mucus, basal body temperature, ovulation kit results, and ovulation pain, plus context like sex, discharge changes, medications, and lifestyle factors. Logging symptoms next to dates shows whether something truly follows your cycle.

The most useful things to track are the ones that reveal your patterns and flag changes from your normal. You don't need to log everything - focus on what's relevant to you.

The essentials

• Period dates - start and end (the foundation of all predictions)
• Flow intensity - light, medium, heavy, plus clots
• Cramps and pain - and how severe

Symptoms that reveal patterns

• Mood - irritability, anxiety, low mood (key for spotting PMS/PMDD)
• Energy and sleep
• Headaches
• Bloating and breast tenderness
• Skin changes (acne)

Fertility signs (if trying to conceive or avoid)

• Cervical mucus texture (dry, creamy, egg-white)
• Basal body temperature
• Ovulation predictor kit results
• Ovulation pain or mid-cycle spotting

Other useful context

• Sex (for conception or to interpret spotting)
• Discharge changes (to spot infections)
• Medications or birth control
• Lifestyle factors - stress, travel, big exercise or diet changes

Why it matters

Logging symptoms next to your dates is what shows whether something truly follows your cycle - the difference between cyclical PMS and a constant problem worth investigating.

Read why should I track my cycle and our cycle as a vital sign article.

Femora lets you log all of these in one place and surfaces the patterns automatically.