Your menstrual cycle can have a profound influence on your well-being throughout the month. While devices like a smartwatch or smart ring track your energy levels and sleep patterns, they often overlook the fluctuations due to your cycle, sometimes interpreting them as additional stress. However, Oura’s latest enhancement to their Readiness Score seeks to rectify this issue.

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Recently, Oura introduced an improved Readiness Score that now incorporates the variations associated with menstrual cycles into its scoring system.

Each morning, Oura users receive a Readiness Score out of 100, which assesses how well their body has recovered from the previous day’s activities and sleep. This score also analyzes vital signs, alerting users when their body temperature exceeds normal levels or when their heart rate drops late at night.

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Hormonal fluctuations linked to the menstrual cycle can affect vital sign readings. For instance, heart rates commonly rise during the luteal phase and decrease in the follicular phase, influenced by the changes in estrogen and progesterone throughout the cycle. Typically, after ovulation, the body’s temperature increases. Previously, the algorithm misinterpreted these changes as signals of strain.

“Our scientific discoveries allow us to translate advanced research into valuable health insights that benefit both our members and the larger scientific community. Revising our Readiness Score to take women’s cycles into account exemplifies this,” remarked Shyamal Patel, Senior Vice President of Science at Oura.

The updated algorithm for the Readiness Score now accurately reflects these cycle-related changes, providing a more precise daily score. According to Oura’s press release, approximately 35% of menstruating members should not see any change in their daily score during the luteal phase.

This update coincides with Oura’s initiation of a study aimed at examining “biobehavioral changes” during pregnancy to better understand these transformations. The objective of the study is to enhance “public understanding and identify potential warning signs for conditions such as postpartum depression, risks of miscarriage, or preterm labor,” as stated in the press release.

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“Wearable technology holds the promise of revolutionizing our comprehension of maternal health by providing continuous, real-world insights into the physiological changes experienced during pregnancy,” explained Ed Ramos, co-founder of the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center and principal investigator of the study.