In-the-wild exploration of the impact of the lunar cycle on sleep in a university cohort with Oura Rings

Adequate sleep is an essential part of human life. The cumulative effects of sleep deprivation and sleep disorders are associated with a wide range of negative health effects and can cause issues with cognitive readiness. Using wearable physiological-sensing devices to monitor sleep and sleep patterns could lead to interventions where individuals and groups can improve their lives. In this study, we analyzed in-the-wild sleep data obtained from Oura Ring, a ring-shaped wearable device specializing in sleep tracking, for 74 university students over a minimum period of 5 months. We investigated the influence of the lunar cycle on sleep and found that the periodicity of the moon affects sleep. Since the lunar cycle has shown to to affect sleep duration and quality, it provides an interesting test-case for in-the-wild data collection form a large cohort. The results of this paper show the potential and limitations of physiological tracking for cohorts in an in-the-wild context.