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Average Body Temperature: All You Need to Know

Body temperature is an important indicator of a person's health. It can tell us if we are sick, if we are recovering from illness.

Why is Measuring my Body Temperature So Important?

Body temperature is an important indicator of a person's health. It can tell us if we are sick, if we are recovering from illness, or if we have an infection. A fever is usually defined as a temperature over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius). A low body temperature is usually defined as a temperature below 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) and may be caused by hypothermia or malnutrition.

But that’s the most common use of body temperature. What if knowing your body temperature could have even more benefits than you thought? This is what we will see in the following article.

How to Properly Measure Your Body Temperature

The normal body temperature is around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). But not everyone’s body temperature is the same. Your body temperature baseline is different than someone else’s and on top of that, it will vary throughout your lifetime.

The best way to measure your body temperature is by using a thermometer that you can put in your mouth or under your arm. Oral temperature will be the most accurate because it will give a more precise reading than an ear or forehead thermometer.

During the day your temperature will be different depending on what time it is, how active you are, what you’ve eaten or had to drink, and where you are in your menstrual cycle. So you will have to take your temperature at the same time every day. You can choose how often you want to measure your temperature but it is recommended that you take a temperature every day at the same time of day.

However, using a thermometer is quite punctual and we often do it only when we don’t feel good. Indeed, measuring your temperature when you are sick is useful to know how sick you are, however, what if measuring your temperature continuously can be even more useful? Remaining on the same topic you can proactively realize that you are getting sick with an infection even before you get sick but also after being sick to know when you have fully recovered.

But this is nothing compared to the full potential of the body temperature measurement. It can be so much more useful for other aspects of your life.

The Importance of Tracking Your Body Temperature Continuously

It is important to know your body temperature to make the right decisions.

Smaller variations of temperature than the ones you witness when you are sick can unveil so many things about you. Tracking your body temperature continuously and proactively can give indications of your energy level, and recovery levels, assist you with training, get to know your circadian rhythm and chronotype, menstrual cycles, optimize your performance, and much more.

Typically, a person's core body temperature fluctuates with their circadian rhythm. This is also referred to as the "thermal rhythm". The thermal rhythm changes with the time of day, being highest in the morning and lowest at night. With this information, you can know if your body temperature is at the right temperature to fall asleep or to be at the peak of your performance. That's why some people take cold or hot showers to get in the condition they want.

For women, body temperature can even be used for fertility tracking or to track their menstrual cycle. This is done by taking the measurement at the same time every day before getting out of bed and looking at the increase or decrease in the body temperature. If a woman does not ovulate on her regular cycle, but during a certain day of the month there is an increase in temperature, it is possible that she is fertile and may be able to conceive.

If you notice chronically low temperatures, it is a sign that something needs to be corrected. In such a situation, it’s recommended that you take a close look at the quality of your diet, sleep, lifestyle, and training.

The problem is that we are not used to track body temperature continuously as it’s not in our habit and that it's a bit of a burden to do it every day.

But why not wear a device that will track it continuously and automatically for you?

The Benefits of Using a Body Temperature Tracker

Body temperature trackers, typically in the form of a wearable wristband or ring, are gaining popularity as a way to measure health. The device transmits this data to an app on your smartphone or another compatible device, which will then show you your current or past temperatures in either Fahrenheit or Celsius.

The Circular Ring can be the perfect wearable to track body temperature variations. The Circular Ring is a fashionable device that tracks your health metrics constantly with different sensors. The ring sets your temperature baseline during your calibration period. Then it tracks continuously your temperature variation to compare it against your own baseline to give you meaningful insight into your health, sleep, activity, and recovery. In the Circular app, you can see the trends of your body temperature variation. Kira, your personal assistant, will do the correlation job with all the other vital metrics tracked by the ring to recommend you at best.

Sihem Kime

Chief Data Scientist at Circular, Sihem is passionate about healthcare and machine learning. She practices swimming, cycling and running which makes her the fittest to design Circular algorithms.

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