Do Oura Users Actually Recommend It?
Media provided by Oura.Com
Why is everyone suddenly wearing large metal rings on their fingers? On social media and in the halls of Grace, the Oura Ring has gone absolutely viral. A primary reason for the accessory’s traction is its sleek design, which contrasts with the traditional Fitbit style and other fitness trackers, such as the Garmin Watch or Whoop Band. As an avid Oura ring wearer, I enjoy using the device to look at my sleep score.
Dana Foote, Student & Family Coordinator and Senior Admissions Associate, is a huge supporter of the Oura Ring. Whenever she wakes up, checking the accompanying app is “the first thing” she does. Dana loves the tracking device for the “sleep score” it provides – especially when she gets above 90. The Oura Ring uses heart rate data to determine whether your sleep was sufficient and assigns it a score out of 100. If you get a good readiness or sleep score, the app gives you a crown, which Dana (a queen) is eager to receive. A trick she has learned is “wait[ing] to put it on at night to get a better latency score.” The latency score is determined by how long it takes a user to fall asleep.
A con that Dana noted was the stylistic issue. She “doesn’t like how it looks,” so she “stacks it with other rings, it’s very basic,” she noted. Dana and I are both waiting for some more inventive styles from Oura.
Still, Dana would “of course” recommend the Oura because it is “so important for overall health for heart rate, and even lets me know when I am sick, before I get my first symptoms.” Dana gave the tracking device a gold star, as she is “literally obsessed with it.” Dana was introduced to the Oura ring by Chaplain Wood.
Molly S. ‘28 uses the ring to track her sleep and her steps. She believes the ring is “very helpful,” and she loves using it to track her workouts. The Oura ring tracks every type of movement for the user’s daily goals, whether it is walking, weightlifting, or Pilates classes. Like many other users, Molly believes that if she gets a bad sleep score, her “day is gonna go badly.” While she concedes that the ring sometimes provides unnecessary data, she would recommend it to others who like to track their fitness.
Ms. Goodman uses her Oura ring to track sleep and steps. She said that she likes the ring “some days,” while “some days I do not.” Ms. Goodman goes through “phases of wanting to know” every bit of her health reporting and not wanting to. Ms. Goodman mentioned a recurring problem: sometimes the ring tracks her activities, while other times it does not. She said she would recommend it for people who are interested in tracking their sleep; it’s not very accurate for logging users’ activities throughout the day.
Chloe R. ‘26 does not really check her Oura Ring. Although she believed that the ring is “thick and sometimes uncomfortable,” she would recommend it. She thinks the sleep score she gets is accurate and helps her understand how she sleeps better.
Personally, I like my Oura Ring. However, the constant alerts from my daily “readiness score” and reports on my sleep schedule sometimes make me wonder whether it is necessary to track these details every day. My sleep often fluctuates depending on my night, and the device only takes into account daily exercise and step count. If a potential user asked me whether I would recommend the tracking device, I would say yes, even if the surge of information could be a source of stress. I appreciate the ring because it alerts me if I appear to be getting sick by tracking my body temperature during the day and while I sleep, as well as my heart rate. Overall, it is a cool device, and I appreciate understanding how the choices I make during the day impact my sleep and readiness for the next day.
The influx of the Oura Ring, especially in a controlled environment such as Grace, shows the impact a “stylish” piece of technology can have. The Oura Ring has most recently been the next big fitness tracker, preceded by the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Whoop Band. The Oura Ring has focused on a specific demographic: active people who want to be stylish without a clunky watch or band on their wrist. The many Grace community members who have been wearing the ring and, generally speaking, highly regard it, while acknowledging its pros and cons, show the impact the device has had by centering a new demographic of fitness enthusiasts.
India B. ‘27, the author, is a staff writer for The Grace Gazette