I know a few of you here chart your temperatures and this is something i want to start doing as well. I read somewhere that inorder to have an accurate reading each day I'd have to have at least 3 hours sleep and then check my temp before getting up or doing anything. The problem is that I suffer with insomnia and I don't sleep for a full 3 hours. Infact i wake up every 2 hours or less. Would this affect the reading? Any suggestions? How does it work for you?
Hi, That's a really good question...I'm not sure what the answer is but I would suggest you take a look on the Fertility Friend websitehttp ://www.fertilityfriend.com There might be some answers on there for you. I'm not sure how accurate your charts would be with insomnia. Otherwise, I would recommend charting as it gives you a good insight into what's going on with your cycles and helps to pinpoint ovulation.
Thanks for your reply. I am curious how insomnia would affect charting. I've looked at quite a few websites but not found anything yet. Thanks for the link. I'll check that out now.
Each woman is different and will react differently to a lack of sleep. Unfortunately you won't know how you react until you try... I don't sleep particularly well. Most nights I'll go to bed around 10-10.30, I'll lie awake for an hour or so, wake again at around 1, often again at 4, and then sometime between 5 and 6. If you use Fertility Friend software, the temps that you record after hrs sleep you enter as 'sleep-deprived'. It then shows these temps with an open instead of a solid circle. You can then instantly see whether the temps may have been affected by your night-waking. Feel free to look at my charts - the first month, I followed these instructions to the letter, hence lots of open circles. I was temping every time I woke up, just in case. I learnt that my temp doesn't actually vary very much between 5 and 6, but for every 20 mins or so I sleep after 6, it jumps up. So now, my alarm is set for 6am every morning, but in practice, I temp any time I wake from 5 onwards and use that temp. If I wake between 3 and 5, I temp, and note it down in my diary. Then if I get a full hour's sleep (ignoring the 3 hour rule) before waking again, I use the later temp, noting sleep-deprived, and if I don't, I use the early temp, again noting sleep-deprived. Seems to work fine for me. This month's chart is wonky, but that's becasue of the after-effects of a chem pg, not because of the temping. If you have any more questions, ask away or pm me!
Thanks Kitty. Interesting post. I'll take a look at your chart and you have given me some hope for going down this avenue. I can't believe I've missed Fertility Friend all this time
Notty - have you tested today? AF arrived for me, hope she doesnt/hasnt for you. I really hope that you do start charting though (if the witch turns up) as we have similar cycles and live in the same town!