I started using the app Natural Cycles to track my cycle for two years now and Natural Cycles actually paired with Oura Ring around the same time I got it. 

It wasn’t until last summer that I decided to look into the Oura Ring, mainly because I wanted to sync it with my Natural Cycles App. Although that was the main reason I was even interested, I also wanted to start tracking my sleep, recovery, and activity levels as well. 

Both the Oura Ring and Natural Cycles have quite literally changed my life… and for anyone who is a close friend or family member of mine, they know that I can rant and rave about both for hours on end. 

In this blog, I am going to go over both applications, what I like about them both, and why I even started using them in the first place. 

What is Natural Cycles?

Natural Cycles is a mobile app that you can use to track your cycle and it is also the first FDA-cleared, non-hormonal form of birth control. 

It allows you to track your cycle from when you begin menstruating to when you ovulate, to any PMS symptoms you’re having to cravings. The app truly holds so much knowledge and allows you to really get to know your body and your unique patterns.

They also have a resource tab full of articles and blogs all about the female cycles, hormones, and women’s health education. It is phenomenal. 

How does Natural Cycles Work?

Natural Cycles works by determining your basal body temperature each morning upon waking. During the female menstrual cycle, our basal body temperature shifts depending on specific phases that we are in. 

For example, our basal body temperature spikes just before ovulation and this increase in temperature helps the app determine when you are going to ovulate. 

You can record your temperature each morning one of two ways. 

1. You can get a basal body temperature thermometer (which you get when you subscribe to natural cycles) and take your temperature each morning immediately upon waking, before getting out of bed and then put it into the app. 
2. You can connect your Natural Cycles App to the Oura Ring or an Apple Watch and both will take your temperature when you wake up and sync directly with the app. 

I have enjoyed using Natural Cycles because the app is so user friendly, full of such great information, and has provided me with a tool to help me deeply understand my body and hormone cycle. 

What is the Oura Ring?

The Oura Ring is a smart ring that monitors your sleep activity, heart rate, HRV, blood-oxygen levels, stress levels, resilience levels, records body temperature, and so much more. 

I love the analysis that it provides on sleep because I find that it is very accurate and from its sleep analysis it will predict a readiness score for you. The readiness score is how ready you are to take on the day / what workload you can handle that day. Which, might I add, is extremely important is managing stress!

The sleep tab shows things like, total time asleep, time in deep sleep, time in REM sleep, efficiency of sleep, resting heart rate, HRV, timing of when you went to bed, sleep latency (how quickly you fell asleep), your average oxygen saturation (crucial for people with sleep apnea), and even breathing regularity. 

The activity tab shows you calories burned, steps taken and walking equivalency, how often you move, training frequency, if you meet daily goals, and more. The Oura Ring isn’t great at picking up on workouts so if you want it for workout tracking purposes, I wouldn’t recommend it specifically for that. 

However, you can log any activity you do manually and the ring is very good at tracking steps when walking. 

My Experience With Both

Like I said in the beginning, I mainly got the Oura Ring to sync with my Natural Cycles app for the added convenience of tracking my temperature. But, the Oura Ring really provided me with so much more. 

Taking your health into your own hands is one of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves. We do have the power to control the knowledge that we have about our bodies and the way we show up for ourselves. 

Both apps gave me a deeper understanding about my hormone health as well as my overall health and wellness. The Oura Ring specifically gave me insights to my own stress levels and has allowed me to find ways to minimize and manage stress – something extremely important, especially in our world today. 

Recap

If you are interested in checking out Natural Cycles, click here to get 20% off your subscription! 

You can also say $40 on an Oura Ring through the link here. 

Now, no material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 

Everything in this blog post is just my own personal opinion and experience. Choose to do with all of that what you will. 🙂