Our 8th Year Supporting Circadian Innovation

Owaves is proud to celebrate our 8th year sponsoring the UC San Diego Center for Circadian Biology (CCB) Symposium – making Owaves the longest-running sponsor of this annual gathering.

Since our first sponsorship in 2015, circadian biology is rapidly moving into mainstream health. Over the last decade, the “body clock” has shifted from a niche scientific topic to a growing public health priority, accelerated by major scientific recognition – including a Nobel Prize in 2017- expanding clinical relevance, and rising consumer awareness of how timing (not just sleep quantity, for example) affects health.

In the wellness and prevention space, circadian health is increasingly regarded as a new public health wave building on the momentum of sleep health awareness – a shift that aligns closely with Owaves’ product direction and long-term opportunity. Our commitment to the UCSD CCB Symposium reflects a shared vision for the future of circadian health, and our mission to bring these innovations into everyday life.

Why UC San Diego’s Center for Circadian Biology stands out

UC San Diego’s Center for Circadian Biology is widely regarded as one of the most established and research-intensive circadian biology hubs in the world. Long before circadian science became a popular health topic, UCSD built a dedicated structure for biological timing research spanning basic science through real-world application. 

A key marker of this strength is the depth of leadership associated with the CCB community. The center’s roster includes highly respected figures in chronobiology and related fields – such as founder Dr. Stuart Brody, Dr. Susan Golden, and Dr. David Welsh. In practical terms, this means that while many institutions accelerated their investment in circadian biology after major global recognition of the field, UCSD already had a deep bench, established infrastructure, and “cells-to-clinic” collaboration pathways in place.

Circadian rhythms and the college mental health crisis

College mental health is now a measurable crisis. In the 2024 – 2025 Healthy Minds Study (84,000+ students across 135 campuses), 37% of students reported moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms and 32% reported moderate-to-severe anxiety; 11% seriously considered suicide in the past year, and only 36% met criteria for “flourishing.” This strain is showing up system-wide. The ACHA National College Health Assessment reports 76.4% of students experiencing moderate or high stress in the past 30 days, and Gallup finds about 41% of currently enrolled students have considered stopping out within the last six months. 

Circadian disruption is a key amplifier. When sleep timing drifts and weekday – weekend schedules diverge, mood and performance suffer: in a landmark study led by Dr. Benjamin Smarr, analysis of 3.4 million learning-system logins showed the majority of students experienced social jet lag, and greater misalignment correlated with lower academic performance.  Consistent with this, actigraphy research in U.S. undergraduates shows that more irregular sleep predicts worse self-reported well-being, with the poorest outcomes when both sleep and daily schedules are irregular.

The University of California system has also emerged as a key contributor to this broader circadian mental health landscape, including UCSD’s leadership in circadian biology and other UC campuses’ strength in sleep, psychiatry, neuroscience, and student wellbeing research. For Owaves, that concentration of expertise creates unusually strong conditions for validation, partnership, and institutional relevance in college mental health.

The Owaves clinical trial at UC San Diego

Owaves is currently collaborating with Dr. Benjamin Smarr, Assistant Professor and member of the CCB Executive Committee at UC San Diego – an established leader working at the intersection of circadian rhythms, behavior, and real-world measurement (including wearables and longitudinal data).

This collaboration includes an ongoing clinical study evaluating Owaves in a college population with Dr. Karen Dobkins and Sophia North, PhD Candidate from the Department of Psychology at UCSD (learn more here). The study is designed to assess whether circadian-aligned planning support can improve student outcomes tied to mental health, daily rhythm stability, and performance. Owaves is aligning product development with measurable outcomes in higher education mental health—in partnership with one of the most credible circadian biology ecosystems in the world.

Symposium details and how to participate

Owaves is a Sundial Level Sponsor of the 16th Annual Center for Circadian Biology Symposium, held March 2 – 3, 2026 at UC San Diego.

The symposium convenes leading researchers, clinicians, and innovators working across circadian science, translation, and real-world application. Whether you are a researcher, clinician, student, investor, or health leader, the symposium is a strong entry point into where circadian health is heading next.

Registration and official event information can be found by visiting the link below. Hope to see you there!

CCB Symposium page:
https://ccb.ucsd.edu/activities-and-events/ccb-symposium.html

About Owaves

Owaves is a digital health company optimizing circadian rhythms to help college students flourish. Our platform supports healthier routines by improving time management, sleep, and rhythm alignment. With ADHD rates tripling since 2010 and most students facing significant mental health challenges, growing evidence points to circadian disruption and “time blindness” as root contributors to anxiety, depression, and academic decline. Owaves addresses this at its source – empowering students to realign their schedules, strengthen daily structure, and improve performance and wellbeing.

With 1.3 million organic downloads, a #1 Health & Fitness ranking on iPad in 135+ countries, and 615 million logged activities, Owaves has built one of the world’s richest behavioral rhythm datasets. This powers BodyClock AI™, a subscription coaching service built to deliver precision lifestyle guidance. Clinical validation partners include UC San Diego’s Center for Circadian Biology and the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center.

About the Center for Circadian Biology

The Center for Circadian Biology at UC San Diego advances interdisciplinary research on biological rhythms and internal clocks across basic and clinical science. The Center fosters collaboration among investigators, provides administrative and grant support to accelerate discovery, and promotes education, advocacy, and scientific exchange in circadian biology. By uniting researchers across disciplines, the Center strengthens both fundamental understanding and translational impact in human health.