Comparative Efficacy of Commercial Wearables for Circadian Rhythm Home Monitoring from Activity, Heart Rate, and Core Body Temperature
Circadian rhythms govern biological patterns that follow a 24-hour cycle. Dysfunctions in circadian rhythms can contribute to various health problems, such as sleep disorders. Current circadian rhythm assessment methods, often invasive or subjective, limit circadian rhythm monitoring to laboratories. Hence, this study aims to investigate scalable consumer-centric wearables for circadian rhythm monitoring outside traditional laboratories. In a two-week longitudinal study conducted in real-world settings, 36 participants wore an Actigraph, a smartwatch, and a core body temperature sensor to collect activity, temperature, and heart rate data.
We evaluated circadian rhythms calculated from commercial wearables by comparing them to reference measures, including Actigraph activity data and chronotype questionnaire scores. The circadian rhythm metric acrophases, derived from activity, heart rate, and temperature data from wearables, showed significant correlations with these measures. This study validates commercial wearables for circadian rhythm assessment, demonstrating their potential for scalable, real-life health monitoring and personalized circadian health interventions. Future research should explore using these devices for extended, personalized circadian rhythm optimization to improve clinical outcomes and public health.