Six Months With a Smart Ring
I wore an Apple Watch to bed for about a year, and I hated it. Kept catching on blankets, felt bulky, had to charge it during the day. When a friend told me about Oura, I was skeptical - $300 for a ring? But after six months of wearing it every single night, I get it now.
This is the best sleep tracker I’ve used. But it’s not for everyone.
Getting Started
Before you buy, order the free sizing kit. Seriously. I almost skipped this step and just guessed my size, but ring fit matters for sensor accuracy. The kit takes about a week to arrive - wear the plastic sizers for a day each before deciding.
The ring itself is surprisingly understated. I went with the black finish and most people don’t even notice it’s a smart device. It just looks like a ring.
Sleep Tracking - The Main Reason to Buy This
This is what Oura does best. Every morning you get detailed breakdowns of your sleep: how long you spent in deep sleep, REM, light sleep, and how often you woke up. The app shows trends over weeks and months.
What made me a believer: Oura showed me that my deep sleep dropped significantly on nights I drank alcohol. I kind of knew this intellectually, but seeing the data spelled out night after night was convincing in a way general advice isn’t. I cut back, and my numbers improved.
Compared to my Apple Watch, Oura’s sleep staging feels more accurate. When I wake up feeling terrible, my Oura score is usually low. When I feel great, the score reflects that. The Apple Watch never tracked as well with my actual experience.
The Readiness Score
Every morning, Oura gives you a score from 0-100 based on your sleep, heart rate variability, body temperature, and recent activity. It’s basically answering “should I push hard today or take it easy?”
I was skeptical at first, but it’s been surprisingly useful. When my score is high, I do feel better at the gym. When it’s low, I’ve learned to listen and go easier. The coolest part: the temperature tracking predicted I was getting sick about two days before I had symptoms. My reading spiked slightly, and sure enough, I came down with a cold that weekend.
What About Fitness Tracking?
Let’s be clear: this is not a fitness watch. It tracks steps and can detect workouts, but there’s no GPS, no real-time heart rate during exercise, and no detailed workout metrics. If you want to track your runs or lifting sessions, you still need something else.
I use Oura for sleep and recovery, and my phone for workouts. It’s not ideal, but the tradeoff is worth it for me since sleep was always my weak point.
Comfort
This is the ring’s biggest advantage over watches. I forget I’m wearing it most of the time. Sleeping with it is comfortable - way more so than a watch. It’s waterproof, so you can shower and swim with it. Battery lasts about 5-7 days, and charging takes maybe an hour.
The Subscription Issue
Here’s the catch nobody likes to talk about: after your first month, Oura costs $6/month. Without the subscription, you only get three basic scores with no detailed insights or trends.
Is it annoying? Yes. Should it be included for a $300+ ring? Probably. But I’ve found the insights valuable enough that I keep paying. Your call whether $72/year is worth it.
Who This Is For (and Who Should Skip It)
Get the Oura if sleep is your priority and you want detailed data on recovery, if you hate wearing watches to bed, or if you’re into HRV and biometric tracking.
Skip it if you need an all-in-one fitness device for workouts, if subscription fees annoy you on principle, or if you want real-time stats during exercise.
Bottom Line
The Oura Ring Gen 3 is the best sleep tracker I’ve tried, and it’s completely changed how I think about recovery. It won’t replace a fitness watch, but it does its specific job really well. Just know what you’re getting - a sleep and recovery tool, not an everything device.
Prices and subscription costs may change. Verify before purchasing!