Cycle Tracking: Ava Review + Ava Bracelet Discount Code

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Earlier this year (back when we could travel and attend events), I went to a talk at Alt Summit titled: Women are Magic. It was all about period/cycle tracking and journaling, and using this as a way to get to know your body better. The talk also went into using the different phases of your cycle to your advantage when it comes to your work and life (for example, scheduling work sprints or big presentations for parts of your cycle when you have the most energy). It was super interesting and I had never thought about my period and my cycle in that way before! It really piqued my interest and made me want to try it.

I started researching what I’d need in order to do cycle tracking and decided on a period journal as well as a device to really accurately track my data points related to my cycle. Enter: Ava and today’s blog post all about my Ava review!

Ava Review

You may have seen the Ava fertility bracelet before in relation to fertility tracking. And yes, that is definitely one of its amazing uses—to help you track your fertility windows if you are trying to conceive. Before you all get excited, I’m not trying to get pregnant right now! I get a lot of DMs about this lol so I thought I would just make that clear upfront. 😂

I’ve been using Ava to gather data about my cycles, track how I’m feeling, and discover any patterns so that I can use that information to my advantage. I’m excited to share more about what I’ve discovered and a full Ava bracelet review, because I really do believe women are magic and that having this type of knowledge about our own bodies is so powerful! 

Ava measures data points that help predict different parts of your cycle like your skin temperature, breathing rate, and heart rate variability. I had heard that your body temperature varies during different parts of your cycle but I had no idea there were so many different ways that a woman’s cycle affects her whole body. I’m just now realizing that people call a woman’s cycle her fifth vital sign—it’s like a canary in a coal mine, giving you clues to changes in your overall health.

There are three different uses for the Ava bracelet: 

Cycle tracking:

As I mentioned, this is what I’m using Ava for. This is for women who aren‘t pregnant or trying to become pregnant. Ava gives you insight about your cycle and health, including data on sleep quality and quantity, physiological stress, resting pulse rate, and more. 

Fertility tracker:

This is, of course, for women who are trying to conceive and want to know their ovulation dates and when their fertile window is. Ava detects the five most fertile days of the cycle, increasing your chances for conception.

Pregnancy tracking:

Women can use Ava during pregnancy to track their general health, including sleep, resting heart rate, and stress. Ava also provides week-by-week updates on what to expect at each stage of pregnancy.

So first, let’s get into how the Ava bracelet works. It’s a wearable medical device in the form of a small, soft bracelet that you wear at night while you sleep. Its sensor technology tracks seven physiological data points in order to detect the different phases of the menstrual cycle in real-time. You then sync your data to the Ava app in the morning, where you’ll see all of your insights in a chart. 

I was really happy to see that the Ava bracelet is super comfortable to wear. In the past, I’ve tried some other wearable devices that you are supposed to wear while you sleep, but if it’s at all uncomfortable I’d eventually stop wearing them.

The Ava bracelet predicts the first day of my period with remarkable accuracy, which is so helpful because occasionally I have irregular cycles. And no one likes that kind of surprise while they’re out and about. 

I also love that you can log things in the app. So for example, if I have a headache one afternoon, I’ll make a quick note of it in the Ava app. I also log things like my mood throughout the day. And you can add a custom log to enter in anything you want—I like to log info about my skin because sometimes I get hormonal acne and it’s been really helpful for me to know that one to two weeks before my period starts, I might have a breakout. That way, I can be preventative about it and give my skin extra attention and care leading up to that time in order to help prevent or lessen breakouts.

I’ve been really liking the combo of using the app throughout the day to make a note of things I experience and then winding down in the evening by writing for a few minutes in my period journal. During the day, I’m too busy to sit down and journal so having my Ava app handy on my phone makes it so easy to quickly make a note of things I otherwise would forget. And then putting pen to paper later in the evening and diving more into things feels really therapeutic. 

Besides breakouts, here are a few other trends I’ve noticed while I’ve been tracking my cycle:

Energy dips – Sometimes I get crazy energy dips in the late afternoon where I’m so tired I can barely keep my eyes open and all I really want is a nap. I’ve noticed this happens about a week before my period. So now, during this time I make sure that I go to bed a little earlier and get a little more sleep than usual. I also might change up my workout routine a bit too and opt for something less intense like pilates, rather than back to back HIIT workouts. 

Mood swings – My mood swings typically happen during the last phase of my cycle (called the luteal phase), which starts after ovulation. I make sure I reserve time for extra self-care during this time, like bubble baths, reading a good book, etc. 

Breast pain – My boobs hurt around when I’m ovulating. It’s about as fun as it sounds. But now instead of wondering “omg why do my boobs hurt, do I have breast cancer??” I know and expect that this may happen around when I’m ovulating, and I just take ibuprofen.

Being able to predict when these things will happen rather than being surprised and annoyed by them is such a game-changer and so empowering. Understanding your cycle gives you such incredible insight into your health, and by wearing the Ava bracelet at night you can be so much more in tune with your body. I truly believe every woman should do it. Because we are magic!

I’m excited to be able to share a discount with you all as well! Use code WHATTHEFAB for $20 off an Ava bracelet.

Thank you to Ava for sponsoring this post!

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