On the Cycle Insights page, the app will flag if one of your cycles is atypical or if your cycles are considered irregular.
Why was my cycle flagged as atypical?
Your cycle will be flagged as atypical if it falls outside established norms. Whenever possible, these norms are based on ACOG guidelines. For parameters where ACOG does not provide specific thresholds, alternative references or user-defined criteria may be used.
You might see the Atypical symbol for the following reasons:
- Short cycle: One of your cycles is 20 days or shorter
- Long cycle: One of your cycles is 36 days or longer
- Period length: One of your periods lasts for 8 days or more
- Anovulatory cycle: Ovulation doesn't occur during a cycle
- Short follicular phase: Your follicular phase lasts for 10 days or less
- Long follicular phase: Your follicular phase lasts for 28 days or more
- Short luteal phase: Your luteal phase lasts for 7 days or less
Menstrual cycles are not always regular, and small, infrequent irregularities are quite common. However, they are usually nothing to worry about.
Why was my cycle flagged as irregular?
Your cycle will be flagged as irregular if it consistently falls outside established norms. Whenever possible, these norms are based on ACOG guidelines. For parameters where ACOG does not provide specific thresholds, alternative references or user-defined criteria may be used.
You might see the Irregular symbol for the following reasons:
- Cycle length: Your cycle tends to be 20 days or shorter, or 36 days or longer
- Cycle length variation: The length of your cycle tends to differ from your average by 8 days or more
- Period length: Your period tends to last for 8 days or more
- Long follicular phase: Your follicular phase tends to last for 28 days or more
- Short follicular phase: Your follicular phase tends to last for 10 days or less
- Short luteal phase: Your luteal phase tends to last for 7 days or less
- Recurrent anovulation: 3 or more of the past 12 cycles are confirmed to have had no ovulation
Note: The app requires sufficient cycle and/or temperature data to accurately identify patterns in your menstrual cycles.
What causes atypical cycles and cycle irregularities?
Atypical cycles and cycle irregularities can occur due to several factors related to health, lifestyle changes, and life stages such as:
- Illness/Medicine
- Stress or anxiety
- Travel
- Extensive use of alcohol, smoking, or drugs
- Changes to lifestyle (sleep, eating habits, exercise)
- Increased activity or sports
- Accidents or shock
- Low or high BMI (body mass index) as well rapid weight loss or weight gain
- Severe diets or eating disorders
- Hormonal or reproductive health conditions (such as PCOS, endometriosis, thyroid disorders, etc.)
- Recent use of hormonal birth control (or emergency contraception) Note: if you informed the app that you recently quit hormonal birth control, the algorithm will not flag your first few cycles as atypical or irregular as this is expected.
- Certain life stages — such as the teenage years, post-pregnancy recovery, breastfeeding or weaning, and perimenopause — naturally impact hormone levels and can affect the regularity of the menstrual cycle. Note: If you have recently been pregnant and the pregnancy lasted more than 21 days, the algorithm will not flag your first few cycles as atypical or irregular, as this is expected.
Sometimes, changes in your menstrual cycle may not have an obvious cause. However, any persistent or significant changes should be evaluated by a healthcare provider to rule out underlying issues and ensure your overall health.