Confused about what time to take temp?

Avatar for pjynx
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Confused about what time to take temp?
3
Fri, 10-17-2003 - 10:20am
I'm so excited, my temps are *finally* starting to level out after a month of annovulatory temps!!!

I normally take my temp at 7:30, give or take 15 minutes. And I usually go to bed around 12 or 12:30, so I get an average of 7 to 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.

This weekend I'm going away for a girls scrapbooking getaway and we always stay up late and sleep in late. So should I take my temp after the typical 7-7.5 hours of sleep (no matter what time that ends up being?) or should I set the alarm for 7:30 even if I don't go to bed until 3?

I'm a little confused about what is more important....keeping the time itself consistant (for our internal body clocks) or keeping the length of sleeping time consistant.

TIA!

Pam

TTC #2, c1, cd34

http://circles2.fertilityfriend.com/home/3044f

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 10-17-2003 - 10:34am

Set your alarm clock and as long as you get 3 hours of sleep you are good to take your temp.

Avatar for pjynx
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 10-17-2003 - 1:34pm
Really? So I should take it at 7:30 all the time, as long as I get at least 3.5 hours of sleep.

I could swear that when I go to bed earlier than usual, but still taking temp at 7:30, thus getting *more* than my normal 7.5 hours, my temp has gone up. Meaning the more sleep I get, the higher it goes, even though temp is consistantly taken at 7:30. Does that make sense? Of course, my high temps on those days just could have been due to the annovulatory stuff, since I'm just now starting to get consistant temps.

So you're saying that my temp should be reliable at 7:30 regardless of whether I get 4.5 hours of sleep or 10 hours of sleep (as long as it's at least 3.5)? Sorry to be so paranoid about this. I'm just so excited about finally having consistant temps that I don't want my hope deflated if the pattern gets skewed this weekend (cuz then I'll be wondering if the 4 consistant days were a fluke and I'm still annovulatory, or if the skewing is due to the weekend activities). ((sigh)) I'm trying not to stress about it, LOL!

Pam

http://circles2.fertilityfriend.com/home/3044f

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-05-2003
Fri, 10-17-2003 - 2:34pm
I agree that you should try to take it around your normal time, as long as you have a minimum of 3 hours sleep (that is what Fertility Friend says). There probably will be some minor fluctuations from different amounts of sleep, so you should make notes of any times that you slept much more or less. But I think those fluctuations are less than taking your temp way early or late time wise. I personally vary from 6-8 hours of sleep and my temps are pretty consistent as long as I take them within about 30 minutes of normal (I snooze different amounts). On the weekends, half the time I just don't temp or I temp the first time I wake up and just record what time it was. You can then adjust your temps about 0.1 degree per half hour from your normal time, adjust up if you temped early and down if you temped late. This adjustment may not work perfectly so try not to do it alot. Oh and I have noticed that on the weekends I go to bed late and still usually wake after the same amount of sleep, but my temp is higher!

Hope this helps!

And keep in mind that overall trends are what matter, not each individual temp!

Vicki