I’ve had my Oura Ring for exactly one week, and I am becoming more familiar with everything it has to offer the longer I wear it. As of right now, there are three features of the Oura Ring I am particularly enjoying: sleep tracking, Apple Health integration, and comfortability. Head below to learn more about my experience thus far.
There is a lot to love about the Oura Ring, but I am very new to the Oura Ring experience and the Oura Ring community – I haven’t spent time in the Explore feature, I haven’t taken the opportunity to learn more about my daily stress levels, nor do I have much to say just yet about my heart rate variability (HRV). However, I have learned a lot about the following features, which I know many Oura Ring users can relate to.
Sleep tracking
The Oura Ring shines when it comes to sleep tracking, and it goes into heavy detail with what it calls “sleep contributors,” of which there are seven: total sleep, efficiency, restfulness, REM sleep, deep sleep, latency, and timing. The amount of detailed insight I have gotten from the Oura Ring’s sleep feature has been so interesting to me primarily because it validates much of what I already knew about my sleep schedule and patterns.
Below are my sleep statistics from last night:
I have started to think about the Oura Ring Sleep Score as a test or an essay grade – the 90s being in the A range, the 80s in the B range, and so on and so forth.
The one night I drank alcohol last week resulted in a less-than-optimal (re: terrible!) sleep score of 57, which is basically failing if we are keeping up with my test grade analogy. Every other night since having had my Oura Ring on, I averaged between 88-96 on my sleep score, which the aforementioned seven sleep contributors determine. Not only was my total sleep (the time spent in light, REM, and deep sleep) half of what it usually was the night I drank, but I only spent 16% of my night – 38 minutes – in REM. In the past week, I have averaged between two and two and a half hours of REM, and this perfectly aligns with what we know about alcohol and how it affects our sleeping pattern and overall health, which is to say: Even if alcohol helps you to fall asleep more quickly (this is called your sleep latency), it is objectively terrible for getting a good night’s rest.
Speaking of sleep latency, this is (again, so far) my favorite feature of the Oura Ring sleep statistic. I like knowing how long it took me to go to sleep the previous night because I can adjust my behaviors accordingly in hopes of falling asleep more quickly. I also like it when Oura reminds me on my Apple Watch (lmao) to start winding down for the night; it’s the perfect gentle nudge that I genuinely enjoy adhering to.
Apple Health integration
This might feel like a more minor feature to some, but for me, being able to see my workouts in the Oura Ring app as imported from Apple Health is crucial because when I go to record a workout on the Oura app, HIIT isn’t an option; I am only able to view my HIIT workouts after the data has synced from Apple Health. This is a miss for me from Oura Ring, as the only workouts you can record directly from the app are outdoor running, indoor running, outdoor cycling, indoor cycling, and walking.
Comfortability
The last Oura Ring feature that has been at the forefront for me has been how comfortable it is now that I’ve gotten used to it.
Every day, I put on the same jewelry: one small pair of earrings, a lightweight necklace, two to three thin rings, and my Apple Watch. Because I am dedicated to the jewelry I wear and tend to only wear things that are neutral in color (re: gold) and lighter in weight, the Oura Ring was a bit of a shock to my system the first couple of nights. It’s heavier and much more substantial than anything I currently wear and can easily knock into countertop corners if you aren’t careful.
That said, after the first two nights of wearing the Oura Ring to bed, I stopped thinking about it, and now I feel strange when I occasionally take it off to shower or wash my hands (it is waterproof, to be sure). I am finding it to be perfectly comfortable and even, dare I say, attractive in its rose gold glory.
More to come!
As I continue to wear my Oura Ring and become more acclimated to its many features, I’ll be sure to report back on what I’m finding to be both hits and misses.
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