A smart ring like the Oura Ring can do a lot of good things when you set it up to track your health and fitness metrics. The Finnish brand manages to squeeze a lot into this nifty wearable, and with a straightforward setup, you can have it working for you out of the box in no time. There are some best practices to consider to keep everything running smoothly as you wear it.
Best practices for wearing the Oura ring
You can wear the Oura Ring on any finger on either hand, though in the fine print, Oura recommends the index, middle or ring finger as the more optimal options. Of those, it highlights the index finger as the most ideal because blood vessels there are generally bigger, providing better PPG (photoplethysmogram) pulse monitoring to detect blood volume changes.
Another reason is that the knuckle on an index finger is usually narrower than the base, which helps with both comfort and gaining more accurate readings. You can still get good results with a middle or ring finger but if accuracy is paramount, find the best fit for your index finger.
Comfort matters because the ring is supposed to work without you noticing. The only thing you need to be sure of is the indent (which corresponds with the onboard sensors) needs to face down for proper alignment.
All the embedded sensors work as needed, and you may notice when the LEDs inside reflect off your finger’s skin. Red and infrared LEDs indicate the onboard SpO2 sensor is measuring blood oxygen levels while you sleep. If they’re green, then the ring is measuring heart rate, heart rate variability and respiration rate as you sleep. The temperature sensor doesn’t have a corresponding LED but it’s now part of a feature set that could hint at whether you might be falling ill. As for movement and activity, the built-in accelerometer handles that.
None of these sensors need manual configuration. The Oura Ring goes to work after the initial setup, though it takes about two weeks for it to form a baseline for your data. Wearing it properly only helps with overall accuracy.
Checking and extending battery life
You can’t replace the battery inside the Oura Ring, so some good stewardship can go a long way in lengthening its viability long-term. Being a lithium rechargeable battery, it has a limited lifespan that sees capacity and performance gradually decline over time. Since the ring doesn’t have any haptics, it can’t alert you when the battery is running low, so you have to be more aware as you go.
The easiest way to check is through the Oura app, which always shows current battery level in the upper right-hand corner. Another option is to turn on low battery notifications by going to the main menu in the upper left-hand corner and then Settings –> Notifications –> Battery level. This way, Oura can push a notification to your phone when the ring’s battery is low. Fully charged, the Oura Ring 4 can last up to eight days, but that’s only for the largest two or three sizes. Seven days is more likely for all others.
Certain features can affect battery life, like tracking heart rate during workouts or keeping tabs on all activity, along with nightly sleep tracking. As various sensors go to work while you sleep, Oura recommends your ring retain at least 30% charge before going to bed. A good rule of thumb is to keep the charger handy and top up as you need to during periods of general inactivity. That could be while sitting down at your computer, having a meal, cooking or showering.
If you’re running low and aren’t in a position to charge, you can slow things down by turning on Airplane mode in the app under the battery section. This cuts off the Bluetooth connection between your phone and the Oura Ring, stretching out a charge a little further.
Oura membership details
An Oura Ring is truly at its best with a membership, and the main reason why is because most functions are only available through a subscription. Oura gives you the first month free when purchasing a Ring 3 or Ring 4. After that, it’s either $7.99 per month or $89.99 for an annual membership subscription.
With a membership, you gain unfettered access to all of the ring’s features and insights. That includes all the daily health metrics, like your Readiness, Sleep and Activity scores, along with insights into heart rate and stress. On top of that, you get more granular and detailed information, be it a slew of sleep data, blood oxygen tracking, body temperature and third-party integration with apps like Strava.
Being a member also affords you the chance to see how you’re doing over days, weeks or months. Oura personalizes recommendations based on all the data the ring records, be it meditation practices, the best time to sleep to recharge and trends over time. It recognizes patterns that aren’t otherwise available without a subscription.
Let the membership lapse and you lose out on almost all those features, limiting your exposure to only the three main daily Oura scores, battery life, app settings and Explore content (meditation, breathing and sleep exercises). While that means the Oura Ring is still functional without a membership, its scope doesn’t extend nearly as far. For the ring to feel more personal, you would need to access the full gamut of features.
Practical considerations for your Oura Ring
To keep the Oura Ring safe, it’s worth remembering that it’s not indestructible. It is water-resistant to depths of 100 meters (330 feet), so runs perfectly fine in the shower or while snorkeling or shallow diving. Oura doesn’t recommend wearing it while scuba diving or keeping it submerged underwater for over 12 hours.
Operating temperatures are also a factor, with the range going from –10-52°C. If you expose the ring to temperatures beyond that range, you run the risk of damaging the battery. Hot tubs, saunas, steam rooms, ice baths and cryotherapy tanks are fine since all fall within that range for humans.
The Oura Ring 4 has a titanium body that makes it more rugged than it looks but be wary of too much friction with tough surfaces, especially those made of metal or stone. Lift weights with a glove on to protect the ring from scratching against the bar, for instance. Same if you’re doing chin-ups or lifting free weight dumbbells.
Cleaning the ring is also a good idea about once a day. It’s as simple as just rubbing the inner ring clean with your shirt or a microfibre cloth. If you wash your hands wearing it, wipe it dry as well. Doing so ensures nothing obstructs the sensors from tracking through your skin.
Whenever you’re ready
Follow these practices and they become old hat over time. The benefit is how much they collectively help make the Oura Ring feel more personal. With the right fit, you get more accurate readings for your activity and sleep. Managing battery life doesn’t have to feel challenging when you figure out a routine that works for you, thereby helping the ring last longer for however long you use it.
It feels more personalized when you maintain a membership subscription, so always factor that in when looking to budget for the Oura Ring. It’s capable of capturing a wide range of data points highlighting your health and fitness, and new features come each year.
Check out all the smart rings available at Best Buy.
