Oura ring to read menstrual cycle changes to help women tailor their health habits

The Oura Ring 4 next to the Oura Ring Gen 3
(Image credit: Derrek Lee / Android Central)

What you need to know

  • Oura’s latest feature helps your ring recognize natural menstrual cycle changes for better, round-the-clock insights.
  • Your Readiness Score now factors in cycle-related shifts like heart rate, temperature, and HRV changes.
  • Oura is launching studies to dig deeper into women’s health and improve cycle tracking.

Oura today introduced a new feature for its smart rings designed to pick up on the natural changes that happen throughout a woman's menstrual cycle. The goal is to give your ring a better read on your body around the clock.

Oura is making its Readiness Score even sharper by including menstrual cycle changes. With the "Readiness Score Algorithm Improvement" feature, Oura's fan-favorite smart rings will account for things like higher heart rate, temperature, respiratory rate, and lower HRV during the luteal phase.

The company notes that 35% of users with cycles won’t see their Readiness Score dip during the luteal phase anymore, representing an 81% drop in cycle-related score changes.

Oura’s new cycle-tracking feature is part of its bigger push into women’s health, adding another tool to help you understand your body better.

In late 2024, Oura expanded its women’s health tracking with the Fertile Window feature in Cycle Insights, using your body’s data to pinpoint likely fertile days.

By blending Oura’s temperature tracking with heart rate, HRV, and breathing data, this feature zeroes in on your fertile days with more precision.

Alongside these updates, Oura is kicking off research initiatives to dig deeper into women’s health and find new ways to help users.

Oura is teaming up with Scripps Research Digital Trials Center for a new pregnancy study. The aim is to analyze biometric data from the past three years to spot early warning signs for issues like postpartum depression and miscarriage. They’re recruiting 10,000 Oura Ring users who’ve been pregnant to make it happen.

Additionally, Oura and Stanford University School of Medicine are joining forces for the STIGMA (Study on Typically Ignored Groups of Menstruating Adults) study, focusing on underrepresented menstruating groups.

With up to 10,000 participants wearing Oura Rings, they’ll investigate how socioeconomic factors, reproductive disorders, and hormonal changes influence cycles. This research could help close gaps in menstrual health knowledge and address inequities, especially for women of color.

Jay Bonggolto
News Writer & Reviewer

Jay Bonggolto always keeps a nose for news. He has been writing about consumer tech and apps for as long as he can remember, and he has used a variety of Android phones since falling in love with Jelly Bean. Send him a direct message via Twitter or LinkedIn.