23-day cycle calendar
With a 23-day cycle, each period is estimated to start 23 days after the last one began. That is about 15.9 periods a year, 16 starting in 2027 if the first is on Jan 4.
Where 23 days sits
A 23-day cycle is inside the NHS range (periods every 21 to 35 days) and a little shorter than the 24 to 38 days the US Office on Women's Health calls regular. If your cycles have recently become this short, or it worries you, talk with a clinician.
Sources: NHS, Periods (last reviewed 5 January 2023); Office on Women's Health, Your menstrual cycle (updated 13 January 2025).
Through the week and the month
23 days is 3 weeks and 2 days, so each estimated start falls 2 days later in the week than the one before (a Monday start is followed by a Wednesday).
A 23-day cycle is shorter than the average calendar month (30.4 days), so the start date moves about 7.4 days earlier in the month each time, and some months hold two periods. With a first start on Jan 4, 2027, two periods would start in January, April, July and October.
Example: the next six estimated periods
If the last period started on Monday, January 4, 2027:
| Estimated start | Likely between | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wednesday, January 27, 2027 | Jan 24 to Jan 30 |
| 2 | Friday, February 19, 2027 | Feb 13 to Feb 25 |
| 3 | Sunday, March 14, 2027 | Mar 5 to Mar 23 |
| 4 | Tuesday, April 6, 2027 | Mar 28 to Apr 15 |
| 5 | Thursday, April 29, 2027 | Apr 20 to May 8 |
| 6 | Saturday, May 22, 2027 | May 13 to May 31 |
Each estimate has a likely range of 3 days either side for the next period, widening by 3 days per cycle up to 9. Every date here is an estimate from a typical cycle length. It is not birth control and it is not medical advice.
Work out your own dates with a 23-day cycle
The estimated middle of the cycle
The calendar method places ovulation about 14 days before the next period, which for a 23-day cycle is around day 9. That is a rough estimate: the second half of the cycle varies from person to person and month to month, and a calendar estimate cannot confirm anything. It is not birth control.
If your cycle is not always 23 days
Most people's cycles vary by a few days. A typical length is a starting point; the estimate improves when it comes from your own recent cycles. Isla uses the middle value of your last six logged cycles and shows a range when they differ by more than a week.
Isla works out your typical cycle length from the periods you log, so the calendar follows your cycles rather than a number you typed once. No account, and the log stays on your iPhone.
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