Taking The Guesswork Out of Women’s Health with Natural Cycles° CEO Dr. Elina Berglund Scherwitzl

2026-08-05

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Women's health has long been underserved by research, leaving many women without the information they need to understand their own bodies. On this week’s episode of the WHOOP Podcast, WHOOP Global Head of Human Performance and Principal Scientist Dr. Kristen Holmes sits down with Dr. Elina Berglund Scherwitzl, Co-Founder & CEO of Natural Cycles° and Nobel Prize-winning particle physicist. The conversation explores how data is transforming women's reproductive health.After helping discover the Higgs boson, Dr. Berglund Scherwitzl turned her ex...

After helping discover the Higgs boson, Dr. Berglund Scherwitzl turned her expertise in physics and data science toward her own health journey by creating the world's first and only FDA-cleared birth control app. Together, Dr. Holmes and Dr. Berglund Scherwitzl discuss how wearable technology and physiological data are giving women unprecedented insight into fertility, pregnancy planning, menstrual health, and perimenopause.

The conversation explores the new WHOOP and Natural Cycles° integration, designed to make women's health feel less overwhelming and more intuitive by combining continuous wearable data with advanced insights on fertility, hormonal health, and perimenopause. Dr. Holmes and Dr. Berglund Scherwitzl discuss how body temperature and other biomarkers reveal hormonal changes, why perimenopause often begins earlier than many women realize, and how passive, personalized insights can reduce uncertainty, ease mental load, and empower women to make informed decisions about their health at every stage of life.

(00:00) Cold Open

(00:37) Meet The Scientist Behind Natural Cycles°

(01:00) Why Dr. Berglund Scherwitzl Started Natural Cycles°

(04:35) The Only FDA-Cleared Birth Control App

(05:54) The WHOOP x Natural Cycles° Partnership

(07:51) The Early Signs of Perimenopause (And How To Track Them)

(13:08) What Really Happens To Your Hormones Over Time

(17:34) Why Understanding Your Body Changes Everything

(19:09) Your Sleep Could Reveal Early Signs of Perimenopause

(22:03) The Small Habits That Make A Big Difference

(24:14) The Most Common Menstrual Cycle Myths

(26:09) What Your Wearable Can Tell You About Your Hormones