Enable menstrual cycle tracking in Strata's web Settings, then use Cycle to record dated events. Review a cycle's event list to add notes, or switch to Calendar to inspect a particular day. Keep the dates you logged separate from calculated lengths and predictions so you can tell what each part of the screen represents.
Where do you start a cycle record?
Open Settings on the web and find Menstrual cycle tracking. After enabling it, open Cycle and choose Log event. If the Cycle page instead asks you to enable tracking, return to that setting first. The steps here describe the web interface; they do not require you to set up an Apple Watch.
Choose the event that matches the observation you want to retain. The form has four event choices: Period started, Period ended, Spotting, and Flow today. These are separate records with different meanings. A flow entry does not replace a period-start entry when you want a cycle to appear in the history list.
How do you log an event for the right day?
Check the date field before saving, especially if you are entering something you noticed earlier. Choose the event type and the date, then select Log. When you choose Flow today, the form also offers Light, Medium, Heavy, and Unspecified. Use the description you intend to record rather than filling in a level simply because a field is available.
Return to the overview and check the saved record. A period start gives the history list its starting date. A later period-end entry can supply an end date; the app does not need a guessed end date to create the initial record. If you are unsure about a detail, keep that uncertainty visible instead of making the history look complete.
- Choose the event type you want to record.
- Check the calendar date rather than relying on the initial value.
- Select a flow level only for a flow entry.
- Save once and verify the entry in its dated history.
Where can you add context to an event?
Choose a cycle from History to open its detail page. The Events section lists the dated entries belonging to that cycle, with flow information when it was specified. Each event has its own notes area. Put a comment beside the entry it explains, rather than relying on a single note to describe several different dates.
The notes field saves after a short pause while you remain on the page. Wait for the Saved message before navigating away. If a save error appears, treat the edit as unconfirmed. A brief factual note such as travel day or entered later can help you remember the circumstances without turning the note into an explanation of why the cycle occurred as it did.
How do the calendar and history list fit together?
Use the List and Calendar buttons beside History to change the view. The calendar has previous-month and next-month controls, so you can find the month that contains an entry. Selecting a day with logged events opens a summary for that date. This is a useful way to check which event was attached to a particular square.
Return to the original event when a calendar colour or summary raises a question. Strata also calculates information from cycle history, but the underlying dated entries remain a different kind of information. A displayed estimate is not a new observation you entered. Check the label and the source dates before repeating a number in a summary.
What if you also record cycles in Apple Health?
Apple documents its own Cycle Tracking interface for the Health app and Apple Watch, including separate displays for logged days and predicted days. Its instructions and symbols describe Apple's product. Use that documentation when checking an entry there rather than assuming that Strata's controls have the same labels.
When comparing two records, begin with the same date and event. This guide covers manual entries in Strata's web form; it does not establish that every item recorded in another app has been imported. Keep an observed entry, a note, and a prediction distinct as you move between tools.
Reference: Apple: Track your period with Cycle Tracking
An illustrative example
A small history with a clear boundary
In a fictional record, Alex logs Period started on October 5, a Medium flow entry on October 6, and Period ended on October 8. The detail view can show a four-day period because its count includes both October 5 and October 8. Without another period-start entry, the record does not yet supply a start-to-next-start cycle length. These dates are an illustration, not a recommended pattern or a health assessment.
What other questions come up?
Why does a cycle show ongoing?
Strata shows ongoing when the cycle has no matching period-end entry. Check the dated events before interpreting that label as a statement about your body.
Are period length and cycle length the same number?
No. In Strata, period length counts from a logged start through its logged end, including both dates. Cycle length uses the interval from one logged period start to the next. The latest cycle can lack that second number until another start is recorded.
Why does a calendar day have no link to cycle details?
A day with events opens a dated summary. The Open cycle details link appears when that day includes a period-start event. You can also open the cycle from the History list.
Can you leave the flow level unspecified?
Yes. Unspecified is one of the web flow form's choices. It keeps a flow record without assigning Light, Medium, or Heavy; the detail view does not display a specified flow badge for that choice.
Keep this in mind
Keep the original event and its date easy to find. A calendar helps you locate the record; the detail page gives its notes and calculated fields a place beside the entries that support them.