Oura Ring Review
**This review is not sponsored & is my personal review of the Gen 2 Oura ring
The Oura ring is a wearable device that gives you insight into your body. I purchased the Oura ring in January of 2021 to gain more knowledge about my body & wanted to optimize my sleep. After much research, I decided on the Oura ring, as I believe it’s the best wearable technology for sleep out there right now. I first learned of the Oura ring by following @wellthybelly (Holly Owens) on Instagram. If you don’t follow her, go check her out. She shares a wealth of knowledge about all holistic things & just seems like a really cool person in general. She shared about the Oura ring a couple of years ago & she raved about it. I then did some research myself about it and decided to go for it. I’m so glad that I did. If you are looking for a sleep/readiness tracker, THIS IS IT. There are other wearables out there, but I believe this one is the best and most accurate for sleep. I wear a Garmin watch for activity tracking. The combination of the Oura ring and the Garmin is a great combo for me.
The ring is very lightweight & has sensors inside the ring. This information will be displayed in the app that is on your phone. If you have a smart watch, then that info is pulled from your “health” app on your phone and pulled into the Oura app for activity.
The Oura ring tracks your sleep & activity, based on that it will give you a “readiness” score to let you know how “ready” you are to take on the day. Let me break it down for you. I will go through each section and tell you what all it reads/displays in the app.
SLEEP:
Total Sleep: reflects the amount of time spent in light, REM & deep sleep
Time in Bed: reflects the amount of time spent in light, REM, deep & awake time
Resting Heart Rate: RHR is the number of times your heart beats per minute while at rest
Sleep Efficiency: reflects the percentage of time spent asleep compared to time spent awake while in bed
It also breaks down the time spent in light, REM & deep sleep.
It has graphs of your resting heart rate and heart rate variability.
It has latency as well, which is the time it took you to fall asleep
Based on all of the above factors it will display a sleep score (100 point scale) in the app. You get a crown if you get an 85 or above.
READINESS:
Resting Heart Rate: RHR is the number of times your heart beats per minute while at rest (in the photo above you can tell the night my heart rate spiked. My body was fighting something, the next day I tested positive for Covid…you can’t see it in the screenshot above; but my body temp was also elevated and my HRV was in the 20s)
Heart Rate Variability: HRV is the constant variation in milliseconds between your heartbeats (high HRV is associated with rest and digest, general fitness, and good recovery, low HRV is associated with fight or flight, stress, illness, or overtraining)
Body Temperature: body temperature variations can reveal a lot about your recovery and overall health
Respiratory Rate: the average number of breaths you take per minute
Based on all of the above factors it will display a readiness score (100 point scale) in the app. You get a crown if you get an 85 or above.
ACTIVITY:
Goal progress: Oura gives you a minimum daily activity goal based on your daily readiness score
Total Burn: all of the calories you’ve burned that day
Walking equivalency: shows your daily activity as a walking distance
Steps: your daily step count
It takes about 2 weeks of wearing the ring for the ring to “get to know” your body and what is normal for you. After having this ring for a year now, I have really narrowed down the things that help me to have a great night of sleep. Now I know what NOT to do and what TO DO to have a great night of sleep, which impacts my whole next day.
TEN things I’ve learned about my sleep:
1. Alcohol impacts my sleep A LOT.
My relationship with alcohol has been all over the place. Some of you reading this may know that I gave up alcohol for a year (2020). Since then, my relationship with alcohol has changed and during 2021 I drank probably 10 times. (Update: august 2022: have been sober since January 14,2022) I will write another blog post just on that topic, but for now I will focus on how the Oura ring has shown me just how much alcohol impacts my sleep. Now, everyone is impacted by alcohol differently, however, everyone is impacted in some way. For me, my sleep is impacted by one drink. My RHR is typically in the 50s, when I drink at night it stays in the mid 70s. My HRV is usually around 90-100, with one drink my HRV plummets to the 20s. My body temperature always goes up all night after one drink. Because of all of this, my sleep score and readiness score go down. All from ONE drink.
2. Mouth taping is magic & I always wake up more rested.
Mouth taping has changed my sleeping game. If you haven’t read the book Breathe by James Nestor, I highly recommend it. It is science-y and you will learn a lot. We are meant to be nose breathers, but a lot of us have become mouth breathers. I started mouth taping consistently in February of 2021. Since I have been mouth taping I wake up refreshed, I don’t have near as much bloating (I’m not swallowing air all night), I have better breath, my respiration rate is in a healthier range, and I don’t snore. Mouth breathing impacts your face shape and teeth as well. If you are more of a podcast person, listen to the Drhu Proit podcast #244 The New Mind-Blowing Science of Breathing with James Nestor. You will learn a lot about mouth taping/nose breathing/mouth breathing in this episode. I order my mouth tape of Amazon! Check out my Amazon page, it’s on there for you (under sleep).
(don’t use scotch tape)
3. Eating a big meal late at night doesn’t work for me.
I noticed that if I ate a big meal late at night, my RHR stayed elevated all night. For me, this doesn’t work well. Everyone is different, however I think that this is generally true for most. Your body is working hard to digest the food, while you are trying to get into a relaxed state to sleep. It doesn’t really make sense. Now this isn’t to say a bedtime snack will harm you, for some it helps to keep blood sugar stable during the night, but a LARGE meal close to bed probably isn’t the best idea. I go to sleep around 9pm at night. I like to eat dinner at 6 or 6:30 pm.
4. A weighted blanket can be helpful for better sleep.
Weighted blankets can be helpful for some people to achieve a deeper sleep. This won’t be for everyone, but it’s worth a try. A weighted blanket can simulate a hug, which is calming for some people. The theory behind weighted blankets is that they can help reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. Some experts claim that weighted blankets may help stimulate hormones to be released like serotonin and dopamine, which are directly related to happiness. Make sure to recognize what weight you are ordering as it correlates to your body weight. Check out my Amazon page (under sleep).
5. Meditation before sleep increases my time in deep sleep.
Meditation is FINALLY becoming more mainstream and more and more people are trying it. Honestly, I don’t know where I’d be without my meditation practice. I have used the app Headspace for 4 years. I use it every night when I get in bed and I’m typically asleep by the time the meditation is over. You can use any app and now there are a lot of free resources as well. I have been a loyal customer with Headspace and really enjoy that app, but find what works for you. Also, stick with it for several weeks. If you have never meditated before it can be a little weird and uncomfortable at first, that is normal. A lot of people are not used to sitting with their own thoughts. You are okay. Keep trying.
6. Exercising regularly is important.
Exercising regularly is going to help you for SO many reasons, but since this post is about sleep I will talk about how it impacts sleep. People who engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise may see a difference in sleep quality that night. It generally doesn’t take months or years to notice a difference. Y’all, this is GREAT. It doesn’t take much, get out and MOVE that body. We are meant to move, not meant to sit all day. You may have to see what time of day works best for you. For me, I prefer to exercise in the morning. Anything after 6 PM, I typically have trouble falling asleep that night.
7. Drink water.
A lack of fluid can make you sluggish and irritable. Hydration plays a critical role in how well you sleep at night. Going to bed even mildly dehydrated can negatively impact your sleep. (Another reason alcohol doesn’t help you sleep better). Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces per day. If you exercise/sweat, increase this amount. I love LMNT electrolytes to help keep me hydrated. My favorite flavor is citrus salt, check out my Amazon page (under supplements).
8. Magnesium glycinate
Most humans are deficient in magnesium, as it is used for so many functions in the human body. Taking magnesium at night has helped me immensely. I am not going to recommend this for you specifically, as I am not a doctor. However, this review is about my experience and this is a supplement that has personally done wonders for me. Look into it yourself and ask your doctor if you are interested.
9. I use OURA ring to track my cycle.
If you are a woman in your child bearing years (not on hormonal birth control), you can use the body temperature feature to help you to know where you are in your cycle. Your body temperature fluctuates throughout your cycle and typically follows a pattern. Once you learn the pattern, you can predict when you period will start and you will know when you are finished ovulating. Your body temperature stays on the lower side during the first half of your cycle (menstrual and follicular phases) after ovulation, you will see a spike in your temperature. Your temperature will stay elevated until your bleed begins. The day your bleed will start, your temperature drops. I can tell to the DAY when my bleed beings based on this data. If you are pregnant, your temperature will stay elevated and you will not see that drop for your bleed to begin. Our bodies are SO COOL. Anyway, this feature has been great for me to be aware of my body and to know what is going on with my cycle.
10. Getting sunlight in the morning impacts your sleep at night.
If you don’t know much about circadian rhythm, I encourage you to look into it. Our bodies run on a 24 hour clock & working with that clock will help optimize your health. Getting at least 10 minutes of sunlight outside before 10 AM will help you to sleep better at night. Going for a walk is ideal, but if that’s not possible, go stand outside and let the sunshine on you for 10 minutes. Even on days it’s not super sunny, try to do it daily.
Check out OURA RING
As always, reach out to me via Instagram or email me if you want to chat/have any questions!
xx,
Sara
