Science

Time is the #1 vital sign™

Our health unfolds across the day. Explore the circadian science and research behind Owaves.

Read the trial summary See the BodyClock Report™ Browse science articles

Randomized controlled trial Preliminary findings

A seven-week randomized trial with UC San Diego

The seven-week intervention improved state happiness, focus and perceived activity pleasantness. Trait well-being did not significantly change. These findings concern students’ day-to-day experience.

Design
Randomized controlled trial comparing a circadian-aligned planning intervention with a control condition.
Duration
Seven-week intervention.
Participants
795 UC San Diego undergraduates enrolled, nearly double the registered target of 400. The size of the analyzed sample has not been reported yet.
Improved, relative to control
State happiness, focus and perceived activity pleasantness.
Did not significantly change
Trait well-being.
Investigators
Sophia G. North (doctoral student), Benjamin Smarr, PhD, and Karen Dobkins, PhD.
Status
Preliminary findings. The conference abstract “Effects of a Circadian Rhythm Alignment Intervention on Psychological Well-Being” was submitted to the American College Health Association (ACHA 2027) on October 22, 2026. The results have not been peer reviewed or published.

State versus trait

State measures ask how someone feels on a given day. Trait measures ask about general, longer-term well-being. The trial found day-to-day improvements, not a change in overall well-being.

What it doesn’t show

The intervention has been tested at a single university so far, and effect sizes have not been reported yet. The findings don’t show effects on long-term well-being, academic outcomes or any medical condition.

Disclosure

The lead author, Sophia G. North, received compensation from Owaves for designing and conducting the evaluation. Owaves had no control over the analysis and no right to control or redact the sharing of results.

Sources

How your body keeps time

“Time is the #1 vital sign™” is our point of view as a physician-founded company. It is a way of looking at health, not a clinical ranking or a trial result: much of what keeps us well happens at particular times of day.

  1. A master clock

    A small region of the brain coordinates roughly 24-hour rhythms in sleep, alertness, body temperature, hormones and digestion.

  2. Daily cues

    Light is the strongest signal that sets this clock. The timing of meals, movement and sleep sends signals too.

  3. Seeing the pattern

    Owaves shows your whole day as a circle, so you can see when those cues happen and plan them more consistently.

How we label evidence

Randomized trial
Participants are randomly assigned to an intervention or a comparison group.
Observational study
Researchers measure what happens without assigning an intervention.
Survey
A one-time questionnaire. It shows how answers relate to each other, not cause and effect.
Pilot
A small, early study that tests whether a larger study is feasible.
Preprint
A paper shared publicly before peer review.
Conference abstract
A short summary of results submitted to or presented at a scientific meeting.
Educational article
An explainer that summarizes existing research.

Survey · 2026

The BodyClock Report™ 2026

A national survey of 1,000 U.S. college students on wellness spending, stress and how well students understand their own body clock.

  • General edition

    Gen Z is spending more on wellness, and feeling worse

    • $1,070 average yearly spend on wellness products and tracking tools
    • 53% couldn’t define circadian rhythm
    • 47% vs 37% go to bed at the same time each night, among students who could and couldn’t define it

  • Athlete edition

    More than 1 in 3 college athletes lost time to fatigue last season

    • 37% had a fatigue-related injury, illness or significant performance setback last season
    • 21% fewer fatigue-related setbacks among athletes who could define circadian rhythm (33% vs 41% last season)
    • 67% use a tracking tool such as a health app, smartwatch or smart ring

Method. Online survey of 1,000 U.S. college students aged 18–25, run by the panel provider Dynata in May and June 2026 and balanced by gender and region. 400 were current varsity, club or intramural athletes. A one-time survey shows associations, not cause and effect.

More Owaves research

These studies use Owaves data or programs, and their authors include Owaves founder Royan Kamyar, MD.

Studies of calendar data

  • Preprint · July 2024

    Automated chronotyping from a daily calendar using machine learning

    Kaushik P, Askari K, Gupta S, Mohan R, Skrinak K, Kamyar R, Smarr B

    Status
    Preprint on arXiv (2407.06478). Also presented as a poster at UC San Diego’s Center for Circadian Biology.
    Finding
    A classifier built on Owaves calendar data told morning and evening types apart, as identified by the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, with an ROC AUC of 0.70.
    Limitation
    A feasibility study of 142 eligible app users who opted in, mostly women and all on iPhone; intermediate chronotypes were excluded. It tests classification, not health outcomes.

    arXiv:2407.06478Read on Owaves

  • Preprint · February 2025

    Evidence for strong modality-dependence of chronotype assessment from real world calendar app data

    Gapate S, Kamyar R, Smarr BL

    Status
    Preprint on arXiv (2502.20602). Presented as the poster “Personalizing Lifestyle Medicine by Recognizing Pillar-Specific Chronotypes” at Lifestyle Medicine 2025, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine’s annual conference; the conference abstract is in press in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.
    Finding
    People showed daily rhythms within each type of activity, but chronotypes derived from different activities, such as sleep, exercise and meals, sorted people almost independently of each other.
    Limitation
    An observational analysis of app data. It describes timing patterns and does not test health outcomes.

    arXiv:2502.20602About the posterRead on Owaves

Pilot studies

  • Pilot report · July 2026

    Circadian coaching and student flourishing: lessons from a two-university pilot

    Serpico L, Valensky G, Kamyar R

    Status
    Owaves write-up of program records from 2018–2020, run as a beta and quality-improvement program rather than under an IRB protocol. Not peer reviewed.
    Finding
    At the University of San Diego and San Diego State University, 55 students enrolled in a program that paired the app with weekly coaching and peer support. 68% of rated students were highly engaged, more than 80% attended at least five of six sessions in spring 2019, and every student who gave exit feedback would recommend it.
    Limitation
    Small cohorts (25 students with complete records), no comparison group and student-reported outcomes. It assesses feasibility and acceptability, not efficacy, and the program included coaching, so results can’t be attributed to the app alone.

    Read on Owaves

  • Pilot survey · July 2026

    Beyond willpower: why circadian structure is the next frontier in student flourishing

    Based on pilot survey work by Issa S, Voong C, Serpico L

    Status
    Owaves write-up of two pooled pilot surveys from December 2019 to February 2020. Descriptive; not peer reviewed.
    Finding
    Most of the 10 respondents felt their own actions shaped their outcomes, and all were satisfied with life. Yet most had trouble sleeping, averaged about 105 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity a week (below the 150-minute guideline), and had a median depression-screening score at the risk threshold.
    Limitation
    Ten self-selected respondents who knew the app, some connected to the company; shortened questionnaires, one time point and no comparison group. It generates hypotheses and shows no effects.

    Read on Owaves

  • Pilot report · July 2026

    Circadian alignment in higher education: student demand, time blindness and early feasibility for body clock coaching

    Kamyar R, Valensky G

    Status
    Owaves write-up of a 2024–2025 waitlist survey and coaching log, run as a quality-improvement activity. Not peer reviewed.
    Finding
    Of 28 UC San Diego students who answered a coaching-waitlist survey, all wanted help with focus and 93% with their GPA; 96% already used an iPhone. Eight signed up for coaching. The demand it documented led into the randomized trial above.
    Limitation
    It measured demand and feasibility, not effects: no outcome measures, no control group and a small, self-selected sample reached through grassroots outreach.

    Read on Owaves

Research on student rhythms

Selected studies of college students by other research groups. They describe associations, not effects of Owaves.

More science articles

Explainers and essays on circadian health from the Owaves team.

Institutional work

Owaves worked on participant experience for the NIH All of Us Research Program through Scripps Research, 2019–2024.

That work is separate from the evidence about the Owaves app described above.

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