After examining data from the millions of logs completed by women on Glow, it appears that our age affects how stressed we feel.

Teenage users of Glow are more likely to report “extreme” or “high” stress levels compared to women in their twenties and thirties. Adult women on Glow are less likely to rate their stress at “extreme” levels, more commonly citing their stress levels as “medium” or “low.”  

This is somewhat surprising, considering the increasing demands on women as they age—increased financial, professional, and relationship obligations.  Not to mention, children.

Could there be a simple explanation for this?

Perhaps women become better at handling and managing stress as they age. It is possible that teenagers feel less control over the stressors in their lives, leading to more visceral reactions to that stress.

A literature review of mental health among U.S. adolescents published by the non-profit Child Trends found that one in four high school students have shown mild symptoms of depression.  According to the report, 29% of high school students in grades 9-12 had reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or longer during the past year.

The exacerbated stress felt among teenage women could also relate to estrogen levels. Hormones drastically fluctuate during the teenage years, and a body pulsing with estrogen can make women perceive situations as especially dire or overwhelming.  Several animal studies have confirmed that estrogen plays a part in the way mammals respond to stress.

Whatever the case, this data suggests the importance of both tracking and receiving feedback on one’s stress levels. After all, the more we know about ourselves and our moods, the better equipped we will be to deal with life’s curveballs.

Condoms have come a long way since men first wrapped their penises with animal membranes to prevent their partners from getting pregnant. In fact, it seems like the human race has tried just about everything to allow us to continue having sex without resulting in pregnancy or transmitting infections. And even when we did find things that work, it wasn’t always met with universal excitement.  

When used consistently and correctly, condoms are a reliable choice of contraception. Today’s condoms are about 98% effective, meaning that, on average, two out of every 100 women who have sex while their partner consistently and correctly wears a condom each year will become pregnant. But when not used consistently and correctly, that number jumps to 18 out of 100 women, or an 82% effective rate. Using a condom each time you have sex can go a long way in preventing unintended pregnancy and preventing the contraction of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

However, the modern condom has only been around for about 60 years. In ancient Egypt, women used honey and natron (a sodium bicarbonate used in ceramics and embalming) in their vaginas as contraceptives. While that may sound kinky, we know now that these substances actually promote sperm motility. Oops!

Another notable moments in the condom’s history was in 1564, when Italian anatomist Gabriello Fallopio (the namesake for women’s’ Fallopian Tubes) began looking for way to prevent the transmission of syphilis during sex. Fallopio conducted a study with 1100 men, where he found that 100% of the men who wore a linen sheath over their penises during sex, failed to contract syphilis. One of the first successful condoms was born!

However men and women alike have not always been fans of condoms. In the 18th century, Casanova wrote that women found “The English Overcoat” “nasty, disgusting, and scandalous,” and one woman said she did not like “ce petit personnage” as much with the condom. In the modern era, the Catholic Church forbade the use of condoms saying that they promoted promiscuity, and they remain a source of controversy in sex-ed classes.

While animal membrane, linen sheaths and honey-based creams have all fallen out of style, the modern rubber or latex condom has stayed relatively the same for the past 50 years. In 1949, a Japanese company made the first colored condom, and more recently condoms have begun to come in all different sizes, shapes, textures and even flavors.

And who knows what condoms will look like in the future. Bill Gates is currently funding the exploration of new ultra-thin, skin-like condoms that would ideally encourage more consistent use. Many other technology companies are exploring similar areas of innovation for both male and female condoms alike.

Good or bad, keep in mind that condoms remain the single best defense we have against STIs, short of abstinence.   

Banana for scale. 

By Guest Writer, Emily Beaver

Like many women, when I was in my late twenties, I was much more concerned with avoiding pregnancy than my ability to conceive. Single and unsure if I even wanted kids, I breathed a sigh of relief whenever the words “not pregnant” appeared in the bubble on my pregnancy tests.

Since I turned 30, I’ve started to think about what it would be like to become a mom. To be honest, a little part of me wouldn’t be so troubled by seeing a plus sign.  I’ve also had a disconcerting thought… since I have never been pregnant, how do I know if I can conceive?  

I’d heard that a woman’s ability to have children declines during her thirties. Stories about the trend of women freezing their eggs to buy themselves more time have been all over the news recently, and some of my friends are even considering it.

As a teen, I was taught how not to get pregnant. Marriage and financial security are an important part of my personal decision about when to have children. But now that I’m in my early thirties, I’m starting to wonder about the shelf life of my fertility. Have I missed my most fertile years?

So, as you might imagine, I first turned to Google. It turns out although age is important, it’s not the only factor that can affect fertility.

According to the ASRM’s Protect Your Fertility campaign, smoking, being overweight or underweight, and even some sexually transmitted infections, can lead to infertility. I knew avoiding  these things was good for my overall well being – but what I didn’t realize was that avoiding them could also decrease my risk for infertility.

It’s comforting to know that practicing healthy behaviors can help me protect my fertility, but I won’t know for sure if I can get pregnant until I try. And right now that’s not something I’m ready to find out.

In the meantime, I’m focusing on leading a healthy lifestyle and tracking my cycles. With Glow, the data I enter helps me to learn about my reproductive cycles and understand my personal fertility window – so when I am ready to try, I’m armed with all the necessary information.

What are you doing to protect your future fertility for when you’re ready to try?

Women are busy creatures. We have deadlines to meet, meetings to run, people to see, goals to accomplish, children to care for - and in the midst of this chaos it’s easy to neglect our own reproductive health.

That is why, Glow, the premier women’s health app, has partnered with Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, to make your life one step simpler.

Now using Glow (available both on Android and iOS), you can refill your birth control prescription in-app to a nearby Walgreens or Duane Reade with just a few taps.

It’s simple. It’s intuitive. And it is designed to help you keep on top of your medication so that you stay healthier.

Here is How:

Track your Birth Control Pills

In your health profile, simply record your birth control medication.

Refill to Walgreens

When you start to run low, Glow will conveniently send you a reminder and ask if you want to refill your prescription at a nearby Walgreens or Duane Reade.

Pick Up At Your Convenience

Click the button and follow the few simple steps to have your medication refilled. You can even refill by scan. The location and pick up time are presented to you after confirming the refill.

Together, Glow and Walgreens are committed to improving the health of women by empowering them through information and making their lives hassle-free.

It’s just another reason Glow is unlike any other health app out there.

Many thanks,

Your friends at Glow

Read more about our integration on Mashable. 

Is it just us, or is anyone else feeling the winter melancholy setting in?

We may or may not have already broken a few New Year’s resolutions (sorry, 6:00 a.m. hot yoga classes), our bank accounts seem to be at an all-time low from holiday spending, and those long summer days are still months away. Whatever the case may be – if you’re also in a funk this winter, we’re here to help.

First of all – if you’re feeling down, it’s likely not just your imagination (or that your mood is matching your bank account). In fact, SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, is a common type of depression related to changes in seasons and reduced sunlight. It’s most common in people of ages 15 to 55. And – lucky us – it can affect up to 60 percent of women. Symptoms like sadness, anxiety, weight gain and lethargy are the most common.

Luckily, there are plenty of DIY remedies that can help you beat the winter blues. (Of course, if your depression persists, take good care of yourself and visit your primary care physician.)

Catch Some Rays
This one doesn’t sound very fun, but waking up earlier means more sunlight – and a healthy dose of Vitamin D will kick-start your day. Vitamin D fights depression and could even protect against the common cold, and you can’t get the right amount of Vitamin D your body needs just from food. You need sunlight! Just going for a 20-minute walk or snagging the window seat at your favorite coffee shop can have mood-boosting effects.

Pump it Up
Exercise is a proven depression buster with both psychological and physical benefits, so don’t use the gloomy weather as an excuse to skip out on mood-enhancing activities. In fact, exercise helps prevent and improve a number of health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes. Activities like going on a hike, dancing, or just taking the stairs are simple ways to boost your feel-good hormones.

Get Social
As the days grow darker during the winter season, it’s more and more tempting to stay in and have a Netflix marathon instead of planning to meet up with friends. Grabbing happy hour after work and socializing is a natural way to enhance your mood. If the bar-scene isn’t your happy place, then invite friends over to try a new recipe or catch a show at the local theater. For some fun family-friendly ideas check out Parents.com’s roundup of unique activities.

Treat Yo’ Self
Dark chocolate that is at least 70 percent cocoa can increase the levels of dopamine in your brain, which in turn can improve your overall mood. (Honestly, is there anything that chocolate can’t fix?) While you’re at it, consider visiting the spa for a massage session – research shows that massages can decrease stress levels by 53 percent and increase serotonin and dopamine, which are neurotransmitters that help reduce depression. Can’t argue with that science!

Tweet us at @GlowHQ and let us know what tips and tricks you use to boost your mood in the winter - we’d love to hear from you!

There are events in a woman’s life that happen behind firmly closed doors. Many topics that are considered too taboo to be discussed. Be it miscarriage or infertility, menstrual cycles that don’t conform, fertility signs that we are never told about - sometimes it can seem that our reproductive lives are cast in shadows.

One of Glow’s founding goals was to bring these topics to light. And we do this again today, by introducing Glow Nurture’s postpartum section for new moms.

The postpartum period – for all its joyous and miraculous nature – is also a little bit scary. New moms can feel isolated. They can feel overwhelmed. And many not only lack support, they are afraid to even voice their need for it.

That is the gap we set out to fill with Glow Nurture.

As one of our team members wrote during our brainstorming sessions:

“After I gave birth to my daughter, I cried every single day for weeks. I had this perfect amazing baby and I could not stop crying. That’s what happens. Not to everyone. But to many new mothers. That’s the type of taboo topic we need to address. How can Glow Nurture help women like me?”

Women entering their postpartum period need support. They need a community. They need to know that they are not alone and that there are resources that can help them. Glow Nurture’s postpartum experience will be the first app of its kind to bring all these resources together in a personalized format:

• A one-of-a-kind postpartum daily log to keep track of your symptoms and feelings
• Hundreds of new postpartum tasks and insights
• More than 200 postpartum articles curated to provide valuable insights and a ray of hope
• Breastfeeding support & best practices
• Crucial information and resources on postpartum depression and how to identify it

Glow Nurture Postpartum has been uniquely designed to take care of new moms, while those moms take care of their babies.

And all that is left to say about that is: It’s about time.

Your friends at Glow

For the last millennia there has been an assumption that the moon must affect a woman’s menstrual cycle in some way. Or could it all be a coincidence that the lunar cycle and a woman’s cycle are about equal in length?

All prior studies done on this phenomenon were conducted on a few hundred women. For the first time ever, Glow has been able to test this hypothesis on no less than 38,205 cycles - a much more robust sample by any standard.

The conclusion: Why yes! There is indeed a relationship.

According to our analysis, which we are presenting this very day at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), fewer women than expected get their periods when the moon is full. Conversely, more women than expected get their periods when the moon is waxing crescent. We need to do more studies to determine the causality - but this is a step in an illuminating direction.

While Glow was running this study in conjunction with our medical advisor, Dr. Philip Chenette, for the ASRM’s annual conference, we also stumbled across another fascinating tidbit of information.

You know that oft-quoted fact that the average menstrual cycle is 28 days?

Well it turns out…not so much.

According to those 38,205 cycles we analyzed - the average menstrual period is closer to 29.9 days. (Which ties in rather neatly with the fact that the lunar cycle is about 29.5 days.)

As you can see from the chart below - lots of women assume that their cycle is 28 days and act accordingly. But knowing the true length of your cycle can greatly boost your chances of conceiving or avoiding pregnancy, depending upon your preference.

Glow is at the forefront of our emerging ability to crunch and analyze vast quantities of data. We strongly believe that with time, our conclusions will empower women to take control over their reproductive health in unexpected ways.

This is, after all, the age of data. And Glow is just getting started.

We have some news on the business side of Glow that we’d like to share with our community today! We’ve closed a $17 M Series B fundraising round led by the venture capital firm, Formation 8, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Founder’s Fund. Formation 8 brings a huge amount of experience with data-driven global companies, and we’re proud to have them on board.

This new funding will help Glow continue to enhance our products and services for women like you to be fully empowered to better track your health and understand your bodies. We’re also thrilled that this investment will benefit our enterprise clients and program, as well as enable us to build out our team and expand into international markets.

In this past year, Glow has grown from 5 people with a vision to a 22-person team with two apps that help hundreds of thousands of women learn more about their fertility and take charge of their health. In turn, we are creating the largest long-term study on women’s health in more than 50 years.

Make no mistake–the challenges ahead of us are huge, but we fundamentally believe that the world’s hard problems can be solved if you apply data to them. We’ve got the team, and now even more support, to make that happen.

Thank you for choosing Glow and joining this unprecedented effort to improve the health and well-being of women the world over.

Your friends at Glow

The myfitnesspal blog was kind enough to plug our amazing pregnancy app, Glow Nurture and a few of the benefits of knowing what to eat during pregnancy. 

Here is the link: http://blog.myfitnesspal.com/2014/09/5-essential-foods-for-a-healthier-pregnancy-from-glow-nurture/