Why You’ll Love the Oura Ring
Erin, Katy, and Devon here from Team LIY! If you’re reading this post, you may have an Oura ring OR you’re curious about what the hype is about or if you’d like to try it out yourself! Oura rings have definitely been gaining popularity over the past year, so we thought we would share all about the features of the Oura ring and why we love it!
Erin’s overall take: I’ll be honest, I originally thought “that thing seems like my worst nightmare” when Katy and Devon started wearing their rings. For starters, I thought it would be way too bulky and heavy on my finger [it took maybe 15 minutes for me to get used to and I’ve never thought about it again] and second, I thought that having all of this data about my health would honestly freak me out [I’m a bit of a hypochondraic], however, I now LOVE everything the ring shows me — I’m guilty of checking the app countless times a day. Keep reading below to see my favorite features and why I never plan on NOT wearing this again!
Katy’s overall take: I personally love having a fitness tracker because it keeps me on track with my step goals as well as sleep and overall health! I have tried multiple different fitness trackers [fitbit, garmin] and while I had great experiences with those as well, I feel like the Oura ring tracks so much more and I LOVE that it’s a ring instead of the look of a sporty watch/bracelet. Big fan and I plan to stay on the Oura ring train for a long time! Keep reading for more specific features I love!
Devon’s overall take: I have had the Oura ring for a few months and I don’t think I’ll ever NOT wear it! I love all of the metrics that the ring tracks. At the same time, I love that it’s not in my face like a watch. This helps me to track important [to me] health metrics, but not fixate on steps, activity points or closing rings! If I’ve had a tough night of sleep or am fighting off an illness, the ring encourages and gives permission to rest — and even gives bonus points for naps!
- “I love mine! The stress and sleep features have taught me how to take care of myself to make those better.”
- “What I’ve noticed is the longer you have it, the more it knows you! The accuracy in predicting my period is insane! I’m 47 so am experiencing irregular periods so this has been so nice. I also use my readiness score, stress/recovery and sleep score to help me navigate my workouts. Rather than just “power through” I feel like I use data to inform what may be best for my body that day. I don’t always adhere to the data (if I feel differently which sometimes does happen) but I definitely more often than not find myself choosing my activity levels for the day based on the data. ANNNND I have definitely proven that alcohol does NOTHING good for my health.”
- “I love mine! I got it last January and the insights have shifted my alcohol intake, how late I eat dinner, and focusing on lowering stress levels every day. It’s a game changer for overall health!”
- “I have had my Oura ring for a year and a half. I bought it to help me track my sleep and manage my stress. The membership includes guided meditations and breath work, as well as sleep stories. In the time I have had it, I have built a solid nighttime routine to encourage restful sleep, which has helped my stress levels. I also track my cycle and have been able to track my perimenopause symptoms. I am beginning to work on healing my hormones and have data I can share with my GYN/GP. My 15 yo daughter also has an Oura. It has helped her regulate her sleep which has improved her mood swings and helped with her cycle tracking as well. This ring is well worth the investment!”
- “I’ve had mine for 2 1/2 yrs and it’s very accurate. Helped me get my sleep habits improved. Bonus is that I can show history to a doc and they have real data to reflect on instead of going by memory.”
Let’s chat types of Oura rings!
Currently there are two versions of the Oura Ring: the Oura Ring Gen3 and the newly released Oura Ring 4! Both versions come in a variety of colors and we highly recommend grabbing a $10 sizing kit before purchase [you’ll receive that $10 as a credit to your Oura Ring purchase] so that you know the perfect size for you without having to send the actual Oura Ring back and forth!
Note: the Oura Ring 4 is also more “thin” than the Gen3!
FAQs:
- Is there a membership for Oura ring? Yes! The monthly membership is $5.99/month or $69.99/year and new members get your first month free!
- Which finger do I wear my oura ring on? The index or middle finger on your non-dominant hand are recommended for the best performace and most accuracy!
- How do I know which size to get? If you plan to get your oura ring through Amazon, you can purchase a $10 sizing kit for the Oura Ring Gen3 and/or Oura Ring 4 and you’ll receive a $10 credit back on your account toward your Oura Ring purchase! If you purchase through the Oura site, they will just send you a free sizing kit after you place your order and you’ll input the size you need after trying them out!
- Does the Oura Ring track blood pressure? It does not! However, it does have other features that can provide insights into cardiovascular health.
- Note: your Oura Ring is HSA/FSA eligible!
Now, let’s chat features!
- Sleep Score
- Sleep Stages
- Blood Oxygen Sensing
- Bedtime Guidance: the oura ring will send you a notification for your ideal bedtime based on your normal bedtime routine and will adjust based on your activity and/or stressors throughout the day as well as how restful you were the night before!
The sleep tracking on the Oura Ring is honestly amazing! It calculates your Sleep Score by looking at your total sleep time (including naps), your sleep efficiency (time asleep versus time awake), and time spent in REM sleep and deep sleep (the most restorative type of sleep). It also considers your sleep latency (how long it takes you to fall asleep versus when you go to bed) and how often you wake up and move during the night. Another amazing feature?! It also determines your “chronotype” [whether you’re a morning person or a night owl] and body clock [your optimal sleep schedule] after 90 days of using the device!!
- Automatic Activity Detection: after an activity the Oura ring will ask if you were walking, running, doing housework, etc.! It will also calculate your active
- Activity Score: this score ranges from 1-100 and helps balance activity and recovery! Note: An 85 or higher may be a sign that you are ready to take on new challenges. Scores below 70 indicate that you may benefit from prioritizing rest and recovery in certain areas!
- Personalized Activity Goals
Erin: Knowing my step count and how long I’ve been inactive both motivate me to get movin’! I love that I’ll get an alert if I haven’t moved in an hour during the day [even if that means just to get up and get more water or use the bathroom!] I also love that it knows what I’m doing and will pop up to log a walk after I took the walk with exactly how many minutes I did it and how many calories were burned while doing so!
Katy: I love that the Oura ring will personalize my activity goals based on how much/little I normally do! If I start having a trend of getting more steps, it will suggest that I up my daily step goal!
Devon: You can really tailor this feature to what you want to get out of it! I personally don’t set concrete activity goals because I tend to fixate on them and beat myself up if I don’t achieve them! So, knowing that about myself, I don’t pay much attention to the activity score or the activity goals!
- Readiness Score
- Illness Detection
Erin: I love logging into the app every morning to see what my Readiness score is and what it suggests — today’s for instance suggested I do something fun because it knows that I am more recovered from my sickness over the last week! It helps me know what my body is actually up for on a day-to-day basis!
Katy: I recently turned on the “rest mode” while I was sick which is a feature that stops the tracking for activity goals but will continue monitoring overall stress, readiness, and vitals.
Devon: Your readiness score can be affected by things like alcohol, eating too close to bedtime or activity level the day before. It helps me know what I can tackle during the day (assuming I have a choice!). My ring recently told me 24 hours before I knew I was sick that my body was having some major signs of something going on. It knew by my elevated resting heart rate, increase in body temperature and decreased HRV.
- Daytime Stress
- Resilience
Erin: I got sick over the past week and the day before I was down and out my ring told me that I had major symptoms of something straining my body based on the level of stress it was under. It then gave me a suggestion to lay low. I swear I’ve recovered so much faster because I paid attention to my stress levels and responded accordingly.
Katy: Our bodies can sometimes be experiencing more stress than we realize, so I love that the Oura ring can truly let me know! Some types of stress can be good for our bodies like exercise, but other times there may be stressors we aren’t aware of that we can optimize after seeing the stats!
Devon: Some daytime stress is good: exercise, public speaking, or high pressure environments can all cause daytime stress. The ring doesn’t say to avoid these things, but be aware how much your body takes in a day!
- 24/7 Heart Rate Monitoring
- Cardiovascular Age: Find out if your cardiovascular age is below or aligned with your actual age, it’s a positive indicator of your cardiovascular health and your long-term health span!
- Cardio Capacity
- Heart Rate Variability: HRV is the variation in time between heartbeats, and it can indicate your overall health, fitness level, and recovery status!
- Cycle Insights
- Period Prediction: Oura detects decreases in your body temperature caused by shifting hormone levels to accurately predict when you’ll start your period!
- Fertile Window: Get data about your estimated peak fertility, chances of conception, and detected ovulation!
- Integrate with other women’s health apps [Clue, Apple Health, Natural Cycles, Flo, & Glow]
- Pregnancy Insights
Erin: The right knows exactly where you are in your cycle based on your body temperature and I know this will be especially helpful should we try to conceive again! And if you aren’t trying to conceive, you’ll know the exact dates to not be so active in bed 😉
Katy: I personally used my Oura ring with the Natural Cycles app for cycle tracking and fertility and loved it! As someone who has struggled with past infertility, it made tracking everything so easy and takes the guesswork out, helping me to learn more about my body!
Devon: I am past my pregnancy years, but I do find this feature very helpful in predicting when my cycle will start. There is a temperature drop right before your cycle begins and the ring measures your body temperature so accurately, that I know exactly when my period is going to start!
