Why we like it: The Oura Ring is the best sleep tracker for a few reasons. It's discreet and far more comfortable to wear to bed compared to a health band or smartwatch.
Oura's data capture is accurate, with its sleep staging algorithm matching the performance of a polysomnography sleep lab test. The objective sleep and readiness scores it provides after I wake up often are in line with how I'm feeling on a day-to-day basis.
It also isn't hardcore about getting perfect sleep, which allows for normal people who may be working later, raising kids, or experiencing health conditions to use the smart ring and not feel disheartened. One night, I received a sleep score of 68. The ring notified me that this was below my typical range but told me that it's normal to have nights like these, "so be gentle with yourself." Then it prompted me to reflect on the influencing factors of my poor and reminded me "it's about progress, not perfection."
Also: I tested the Oura Ring 4 for weeks. Here's why it's the best health tracker right now
Another reason the smart ring is my favorite sleep and health tracker is because it takes your daily biometrics to paint a fuller, long-term picture of your health through features like Resilience and Cardiovascular Age. If I am consistent with my sleep, I see how it translates into "Solid" or "Exceptional" resilience, which further encourages me to keep up the trend. A week of poor sleep takes a year off my Cardiovascular Age of below seven years. This data is great for already active and health-conscious individuals, but it may overwhelm someone who's just getting into health and sleep tracking.
Still, if you're ready to learn more about your health in the context of sleep, activity, and stress, the Oura Ring is health-tracking's top dog. Plus, the smart ring can track your meals and pair that data with glucose insights with a Dexcom Stelo CGM. This can tell you right as you're getting sick, as it did for me during one nasty week of spring allergies, through its Symptom Radar feature.
Who's it for: This is a sleep tracker for people who want to improve their sleep quality and their overall health. The ring offers both short-term sleep tracking that examines your rest, as well as long-term sleep and health-tracking that paints a holistic picture of wellbeing.
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The ring starts at $350 and comes with a $70 annual subscription. The smart ring is best for people who are willing to pay this high price and who will regularly check and find use in their biometric data. If you get easily overwhelmed looking at your biometric data, the Oura Ring may offer too much information.
Who should look elsewhere: If you don't want to be graded on your sleep, readiness, or activity levels every morning, I'd recommend the Apple Watch. The smartwatch doesn't use sleep or readiness scoring mechanisms. Instead, you can check if your wrist temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate, and sleep duration are within a typical range through the Apple Watch's Vitals app.
Android users could look for the Galaxy Ring instead if they want a similar smart ring sleep tracker but don't want to pay the monthly subscription fee.
Oura Ring Gen 4 specs: Up to eight days battery life | Sleep cycles | Bluetooth | Up to 100m water resistant | Blood oxygen, skin temperature sensor, heart rate monitoring | iOS and Android compatible