Wearable physiological signals and relapse status during smoking cessation: a pilot study

Background Smoking cessation is often assessed using clinical and self-report measures that may not capture autonomic changes. Wearables allow continuous monitoring.Methods Twenty-eight smokers underwent 10 days of monitoring of sleep duration, resting heart rate, and HRV. Cotinine-confirmed relapse (n = 15) and maintained cessation (n = 13) groups were compared across physiological, clinical, and wearable index measures.Results Participants who returned to tobacco use showed shorter sleep duration, higher resting heart rate, and lower HRV (all p-values < 0.05). The wearable index was higher in the relapse group (p = 0.016, g = 0.97).Conclusions Wearable measures may complement clinical and self-report assessments during smoking cessation.