Basal body temperature
The human body is subject to periodic temperature fluctuations in the daily rhythm. During sleep, a temperature minimum (the base) is set in the core of the body, which is called the basal temperature (formerly also ovarian temperature ). In practice, the core body temperature when you wake up is often referred to as the basal temperature.
In 1905, the gynecologist van de Velde discovered the course of the temperature curve in two phases for the first time. He also linked this course of ovarian temperature with ovarian function. The basal temperature shows the stages of the female menstrual cycle quite reliably . This makes use of the temperature method , which together with the symptothermal method is important for natural family planning .
An increase in basal temperature over a period of more than 18 days is also a likely sign of pregnancy . At the beginning of the second trimester , however, the basal temperature drops back to the preovulatory level. Basal thermometers , temperature loggers or conventional clinical thermometers can be used to measure the basal temperature .
Estrogens, as they are increasingly formed periovulatory in the female body, lead to a slight lowering of the temperature setpoint (see thermoregulation ). Under the influence of artificial or natural progestins, such as those formed by the corpus luteum postovulatory , there is not only an increase in the basal body temperature, but also a reduced daily temperature variation. Under these conditions, the waking temperature is therefore closer to the actual basal temperature.
The basal body temperature in men is similar to the basal body temperature in women during the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Katayoun Fattahian: Determining the fertile time in a woman's cycle using cyclotest 2 plus . Düsseldorf, 1999
Web links
- Familienplanung.de - basal temperature with the symptothermal method (information portal of the Federal Center for Health Education )