Natural Cycles, the company behind the first FDA-cleared birth control app, has launched Sleep Insights – a feature that connects sleep and cycle data in one place, helping users understand how hormonal changes throughout the menstrual cycle may influence sleep, recovery, and overall wellbeing.
Most sleep tracking platforms don’t account for how hormonal fluctuations across the cycle affect sleep. Research suggests these fluctuations influence sleep quality, sleep architecture, and perceived restfulness, and that women’s subjective experience of sleep quality doesn’t always align with objective measurements, particularly during the premenstrual phase.
Sleep Insights combines wearable data with self-reported experience and cycle phase context. Features include a morning check-in for logging sleep quality, daily insights pairing sleep metrics (duration, efficiency, timing) with fertility status and cycle-phase messaging, and cycle-aware sleep trends that reveal personal patterns over time – such as more restless sleep premenstrually or stronger sleep quality during other phases.
“Most sleep platforms aren’t designed to explain those patterns through the lens of female physiology,” said Dr. Magda Armbruster, VP of product. “Because Natural Cycles already helps users understand their hormonal patterns and fertility status, we’re uniquely positioned to connect sleep changes to the menstrual cycle.”
The feature launches for users tracking overnight with the NC Band or Oura Ring, with broader availability for Garmin and Apple Watch users planned to follow. It expands the NC Band’s role beyond fertility tracking, supporting Natural Cycles’ broader push into cycle-aware health insights beyond contraception.
