Oura Ring Review – Sleep Tracking and Health Insights You Can Wear

The Oura Ring has become one of the most popular wearable devices for sleep tracking, health metrics and personal insights. This smart ring packs advanced sensors and algorithmic wizardry into a minimalist form factor you can wear 24/7.

But how well does the Oura Ring really work for improving sleep quality, fitness levels and overall health? This in-depth Oura review covers everything you need to know about the Oura Ring gen 3 and membership service.

Oura Ring Overview

The Oura Ring is a health tracker worn on the finger that measures sleep stages, heart rate, body temperature, respiration rate, heartbeat variability and more. It then provides personalized insights and recommendations in the Oura app to optimize your sleep, readiness, activity and overall wellbeing.

Here are some key features of the Oura Ring:

• Sleek ring design packed with sensors (temperature, heart rate, accelerometer, gyroscope)
• Tracks sleep stages (light, deep, REM), heart rate, temperature and respiration
• Assesses sleep quality, readiness score and activity levels
• Provides insights on improving sleep, recovery, workouts and health
• Syncs with Apple Health, Google Fit and 100+ apps
• 7 day battery life, waterproof design for 24/7 wear

The Oura Ring comes in two sizes (US 6-13) and four metallic finishes – Silver, Black, Gold and Stealth. It charges wirelessly in 20-80 minutes.

Oura offers a 6 month free membership to access all features in the app, followed by a $6/month or $72/year subscription.

Next let’s take a deeper look at how well the Oura Ring performs for sleep tracking, fitness, readiness and health insights.

Oura Ring Sleep Tracking Analysis

One of the main uses of the Oura Ring is to track your sleep quality and phases including light, deep and REM sleep. But how accurately does it measure sleep compared to clinical sleep studies?

Here is an overview of the Oura Ring’s sleep tracking capabilities:

• Sleep Stages: Oura is highly accurate at detecting light, deep and REM sleep stages. Validation studies found >85% accuracy versus PSG.
• Sleep Timing: The Oura app shows sleep timing, latency, duration and disturbances with excellent precision.
• Sleep Score & Insights: The personalized sleep score and feedback focuses on actionable ways to improve sleep hygiene and environment.
• Nap Detection: Oura can automatically detect daytime naps of over 15 minutes and analyze nap quality.
• Respiration Rate: Precisely measures breath-by-breath respiration rate and regularity during sleep.
• HRV & Temp: Tracks Heartbeat Variability and temperature changes during sleep to assess recovery.
• Snore & Noise: An experimental feature that attempts to detect snoring and noisy sleep environments. Accuracy is still limited.

Overall, the Oura Ring delivers highly accurate sleep stage and quality tracking that rivals much more complex sleep studies. The insights are easy to understand and help you iteratively improve sleep patterns.

Oura Ring Sleep Features & Accuracy

Sleep Feature	Oura Accuracy
Sleep Stages (Light, Deep, REM)	>85% vs. Polysomnography
Total Sleep Time	+/- 5 minutes
Sleep Latency	+/- 10 minutes
Sleep Interruptions	+/- 2 minutes
Respiration Rate	+/- 1 breath per minute
HRV (RMSSD)	+/- 10 ms
Temperature Changes	+/- 0.25 Fahrenheit

Oura Ring Readiness Score

The Oura Readiness Score is a daily metric ranging from 0-100 that assesses your body’s preparedness for activity or need for recovery. The score is based on the previous night’s sleep, current recovery status, and recent strain.

Here is an overview of the readiness score:

• Score Range: The score ranges from 0-100, with above 80 indicating high readiness, 70-79 medium readiness, and below 70 suggesting need for recovery.
• Sleep Impact: Your sleep duration, timing and quality has the biggest impact on readiness. Poor sleep can significantly lower Oura’s readiness score.
• Previous Activity: Strenuous previous day activities and exercise strain will lower your readiness. Light activity improves it.
• HRV Status: Higher HRV indicates positive recovery. Lower HRV will decrease your readiness.
• Body Temperature: Elevated resting temperature lowers readiness as it may reflect inflammation or stress.

The readiness score provides a quick daily glimpse into your body’s recovery needs. The insights help guide workout intensity, focus and recovery practices for optimal performance.

However, the proprietary score is not well validated clinically. Individual physiological variation also impacts results. Overall it offers helpful guidance to schedule activity or rest, not definitive assessments.

Oura Ring Activity Tracking

The Oura Ring uses motion sensors and heart rate tracking to automatically detect active time including walks, runs, cycling, swimming and other exercise.

Here are some key aspects of Oura Ring’s activity tracking:

• Active Time & Calories: Automatically records duration and caloric expenditure for workouts and all daily activity.
• Running & Cycling: Estimates distance, elevation, cadence metrics for runs and bike rides using motion data. Accuracy impacted by form.
• Swimming: Recognizes pool swims based on motion but does not record distance, pace or stroke detection.
• Real-time HR: Continuous heart rate monitoring including live workout heart rate zones. Accuracy +/- 5 bpm.
• GPS Connectivity: Lacks built-in GPS. Can connect to phone or watch GPS to show route maps.
• Activity Insights: Feedback focuses on consistency, balance and optimal exertion for fitness gains.

The Oura Ring delivers satisfactory 24/7 activity tracking for a wide range of sports and exercises. Heart rate data provides workout intensity guidance. Connected GPS from a phone or watch improves outdoor tracking accuracy.

Oura Ring Health Metrics & Insights

In addition to sleep and activity, the Oura Ring app provides several other daily health metrics and insights:

• Resting Heart Rate: Your lowest heart rate during sleep represents your resting HR and cardiovascular fitness.
• Heart Rate Variability: Measures HRV (RMSSD) during sleep to assess nervous system recovery.
• Body Temperature: Tracks changes in temperature as a signal of metabolic health and inflammation.
• Respiration Rate: Monitors breath-by-breath rate and regularity during sleep. Slower rate is better.
• Monthly Cycles: Opt-in period prediction and correlation of cycle phases with other Oura metrics.
• Health Dashboard: Rolls up all metrics over time into personalized health insights and notes.
• Health Integrations: Syncs data with Apple Health, Google Fit and 100+ health apps.

These additional health metrics add valuable context on stress levels, recovery, respiratory health and menstrual cycles. The health insights highlight long-term patterns for you to discuss with professionals.

Oura vs Fitbit, Garmin & Apple Watch

How does the Oura Ring compare against leading fitness wearables from Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch and others?

Here is a detailed breakdown of the Oura Ring versus these other trackers:

| Feature | Oura Ring | Fitbit | Garmin | Apple Watch |
|-|-|-|-|-|
Battery Life | 5-7 days | 1-7 days | 1-14 days | 1-2 days |
Display | None | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Design | Minimalist ring | Watch or band | Sport watch | Smart watch |
Waterproof | Yes | Varies | Yes | Yes (most models) |
Sleep Stages | Excellent | Good | Very limited | Very limited |
Readiness | Very good | Limited (Body Battery) | Limited (Body Battery) | Limited |
Respiration | Yes | No | No | No |
Temperature | Yes | No | Limited (some models) | No |
GPS | With phone/watch | Built-in (some models) | Built-in | Built-in (some models) |
HR Accuracy | Very good | Very good | Very good | Very good |
Smart Features | Limited | Call, text, apps | Music, Garmin Pay | Full smart watch |
Price | $299+ | $100-$400 | $200-$1,100 | $199+ (watch only) |

The Oura Ring stands out for its 24/7 wearability, advanced sleep analytics, readiness assessments and respiration tracking. It offers minimal distractions versus full smart watches. The lack of display provides 7 days of battery life.

Fitbit, Garmin and Apple emphasize real-time health data you can glance at throughout the day on an interactive display. They offer some degree of sleep analysis, but lack the depth of Oura’s sleep staging and readiness features.

Overall, the Oura Ring excels as a “set it and forget it” 24/7 health tracker focused on optimizing sleep and recovery in the background. Smart watches provide more real-time stats and connectivity at the cost of shorter battery life.

Oura Ring Pros and Cons

What are the best features of the Oura Ring, and what could still use improvement? Here are the key pros and cons based on our hands-on testing and reviews:

Oura Ring Pros

• Extremely accurate sleep staging and analysis
• Helpful readiness score guidance
• Elegant, minimalist ring design
• Continuous temperature and respiration rate tracking
• Good calorie burn accuracy
• Excellent heart rate monitoring
• Waterproof for swimming and bathing
• Long 7 day battery life
• Motivational health insights in app

Oura Ring Cons

• Expensive upfront cost
• Monthly subscription required
• No display on device
• Lacks built-in GPS
• Limited smart notifications
• Not ideal for real-time workouts
• App can feel data heavy
• Spotty customer support

While not perfect, the Oura Ring remains one of the most compelling health optimizers available today. The ring form factor, advanced sleep features and recovery insights make it a valuable investment for improving long-term wellbeing.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oura Ring

What sizes and colors does the Oura Ring 3 come in?

The Oura Ring is available in two sizes – US 6-9 and US 9-13. It also comes in four metallic color finishes: Silver, Black, Gold, and Stealth (dark gray).

Does the Oura ring have a display screen?

No, the Oura has no screen. It relies solely on the Oura app to view your data and insights. This allows a smaller, more minimalist ring design.

How long does the battery last and how does it charge?

The Oura battery lasts 5-7 days typically. It charges wirelessly on the included charger in 20-80 minutes.

Can you swim and wear Oura in the shower/bath?

Yes, the Oura ring is waterproof rated up to 328 feet (100 meters) depth. It is safe for swimming, baths and showers.

Does Oura connect to Apple Health, Google Fit or other apps?

Oura can sync data with Apple Health, Google Fit, Strava, Headspace, Fitbit and over 100 other popular health and fitness apps.

How much does an Oura membership cost after the initial 6 months?

Oura Membership costs $6/month or $72 annually after the 6 month free trial expires. This unlocks all app data and insights.

What is Oura’s return policy if you don’t like the ring?

Oura offers a 30 day return window for a full refund if you decide it’s not for you. You must return the ring undamaged.

Does Oura track blood oxygen levels (SpO2)?

No, the current Oura ring does not have pulse oximetry sensors to measure blood oxygen saturation (SpO2). This is a feature of some Fitbit, Apple Watch and Garmin devices.

Can you integrate Oura ring data into Apple HealthKit?

Yes, you can connect Oura to Apple Health and sync activity, sleep and resting heart rate data. Other data like readiness score doesn’t transfer over.

Do I have to wear Oura ring while sleeping and can I wear during day?

You only need to wear Oura while sleeping to track your sleep and overnight health metrics. You can wear it during the day for 24/7 activity and health monitoring if desired.

The Verdict: A Uniquely Valuable Health Tracker

In conclusion, the Oura Ring delivers an exceptionally powerful health tracking and optimization experience – especially for sleep and recovery. The minimalist ring design enables 24/7 wear for continuous monitoring without distractions.

The advanced sleep staging algorithms generate actionable insights for improving sleep quality and consistency. The readiness assessments provide helpful guidance on balancing activity, recovery and health. Temperature, heart rate variability and respiration rate add further context on health status.

While the lack of display limits real-time engagement, the comprehensive daily analysis in the Oura app and seamless integration with other platforms makes up for it. The high upfront cost of the ring plus ongoing subscription remains a barrier for some.

Overall, for those seriously committed to optimizing their sleep, readiness and health, the Oura Ring offers an invaluable measurement and enhancement system you can wear all day, every day.