Los Angeles, CA – Women’s menstrual cycles can have a significant impact on their overall well-being throughout the month. However, popular wearables like smartwatches and smart rings may not accurately account for these fluctuations when providing users with energy or sleep scores, potentially misinterpreting them as signs of strain.
In an effort to address this issue, Oura has recently introduced an updated Readiness Score that takes into consideration fluctuations during a menstrual cycle. This new feature aims to provide users with a more accurate assessment of their daily readiness levels by accounting for cycle-dependent changes in vital data.
The Readiness Score, which members receive every morning, analyzes how the body has recovered from the previous day’s activity load and sleep, while also factoring in vital data such as body temperature and heart rate variations. For women, hormone fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle can impact vital data, such as increasing heart rates during the luteal phase and decreasing heart rates during the follicular phase.
Shyamal Patel, senior vice president of science at Oura, emphasized the importance of incorporating women’s cycles into their algorithm for more meaningful health insights and guidance. The updated Readiness Score algorithm aims to provide a more accurate daily score for users, with about 35% of cycling members experiencing no impact on their score during the luteal phase.
Oura’s initiative also includes the launch of a study focusing on analyzing “biobehavioral changes” during pregnancy to improve public understanding and identify potential warning signs of conditions like postpartum depression and preterm labor. Ed Ramos, co-founder of the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center, highlighted the potential of wearable technologies in providing real-world insights into physiological changes during pregnancy.
Overall, Oura’s updated Readiness Score and ongoing studies demonstrate the expanding role of wearable technology in monitoring and understanding women’s health, highlighting the importance of considering menstrual cycle fluctuations in health assessments.