Tracking Basal Body Temperature for Hormone Health

Tracking your basal body temperature (BBT) throughout your cycle can give you valuable insight into your hormone production, thyroid health, and metabolic health. Your basal body temperature is your temperature when you are fully at rest. This is why you can only take your BBT after a full night of uninterrupted sleep (or a minimum of 4-6 hours).

Throughout your cycles, your BBT has a specific flow. Let’s take a closer look.  

Your BBT Through Your Cycle

Menstrual Phase: This is when you shed the lining of your uterus as your hormones estrogen and progesterone drop. This marks day 1 of your cycle and should last from 3-7 days. You are not fertile during this time. Your temperature will fluctuate around 97.6 F.

Follicular Phase: Estrogen begins to rise during this phase. Your temperatures will normally be around 97.6 F. You begin producing fertile mucus 1-6 days leading up to ovulation. You are fertile when you are producing this mucus.

Ovulation: This is when you produce an egg that can be fertilized. This is confirmed by an increase in temperature of about .5 - 1 degree F the day after ovulation. You are fertile on this day (24 hours). 

Luteal Phase: This phase lasts an average of 10-16 days. Ovulation triggers an increase in the hormone progesterone. This rise in progesterone will increase temperatures to 98.4 F for at least 10 - 16 days. You will no longer be producing fertile mucus. Hormones estrogen and progesterone will begin to drop towards the end of your cycle, signaling the coming of your period. You are not fertile during this time.

What Happens When We Don’t Follow This Pattern?

Consistently Low Temperatures (< 97.6 F)?

Low basal body temperatures have been linked to low thyroid function. According to Dr. Broda Barnes, consistent basal body temperatures below 97.8 F can suggest low thyroid function (48 Barnes & Galton). If your temperature never seems to break that 97.8 F, you may want to consider your thyroid health as a root cause for many symptoms you may be experiencing, including any hormonal or fertility issues.

To support thyroid health, focus on reducing stress, sleeping more, eating more food, getting enough protein & minerals, and scaling back on high intensity workouts. These are all things that can suppress healthy thyroid function.

Temperatures Not Staying Elevated Post Ovulation?

Do you see a spike in temperature post ovulation for a few days but find that it drops before that 10 - 16 day range? This means you may have LOW PROGESTERONE! Progesterone is what increases our body temperature and when we are producing enough, we will see 10-16 days of elevated temperatures. This drop in progesterone too soon can trigger hormonal symptoms like PMS, headaches, migraines, etc.

Focus on Vitamin E & Vitamin C-rich foods to boost progesterone production while prioritizing stress reduction, eating more, sleeping, and scaling back on workouts.

No Temperature Spike?

If you do not see a temperature spike, this means that you likely did not ovulate. Just because you are having a period, does not mean you are ovulating. This is a big misconception that I know many people are lead to believe and can lead to a lot of confusion (and frustration) about fertility health. Seeing that temperature spike is crucial information not just for fertility health, but also for general women's hormone health. No ovulation means no progesterone production! This means that there is nothing to oppose estrogen levels which can lead to PMS, painful periods, heavy bleeding, mood swings, depression, anxiety, and sleep issues to name a few.

Figuring out why you may not be ovulating will take a deep dive into your personal health history.

How to start Tracking your BBT

Here are two of my favorite devices to help you start tracking your temperatures easily!

Tempdrop

For the Forgetful and Sleep Deprived (or anyone who doesn’t want to use an oral thermometer) 

Tempdrop is a BBT tracking device that you wear around your arm. The device uses a sensor to continually track your temperature and will accurately record your basal body temperature. You only need a minimum of 3 hours of sleep and the hours do not need to be consecutive. This device syncs with an app that will track your temperatures as well as a number of hormonal symptoms, signs of ovulation, and more. If you upgrade your app, you can track your sleep as well as receive advanced fertility insights in regards to tracking fertile and non fertile days. 

This is ideal for:  

• New moms who are getting up frequently 

• Shift workers who may be sleeping / waking at different times throughout the days of the week

• Anyone who wakes up at different times through the week 

• Anyone who forgets to take their temperature in the morning before getting out of bed but can remember putting the device on before going to sleep 

You can use code AFRESTORED for $15 off your order 

Daysy Fertility Tracker

Certified Medical Device, Best for Using as Birth Control 

This device is more expensive but really helpful if you are wanting to use your BBT as birth control but are nervous about its accuracy. The Daysy thermometer has been developed as a medical device, not just a thermometer and therefore is an effective form of birth control and gets more accurate results when taking your temperature. This device syncs with an easy to use app and will help you predict your fertile days and non fertile days as well as tracking signs of ovulation. 

This device is ideal for: 

• Anyone wanting additional support in using BBT as a method of birth control 

• Anyone wanting additional insight and accuracy in tracking temperatures

 Use this link to get a discount on your order. 

Sources:

Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspected Illness