Oura fitness tracker – FIT IS A FEMINIST ISSUE

Can you think of an example of when you first started doing a thing, then what you do shifts over time without you even really noticing?

Looking back at my 2021 post about getting an Oura ring, I wrote about how my new finger fitness tracker had suddenly got me reviewing my stats after every soccer game, emptying my bar fridge, and cleaning my house. The story surprised me a little for how I’d forgotten how much this little gadget had motivated me.

Five years later, and I’m taking an indefinite soccer break. Most mornings the ring delivers a verdict I can already predict based on my choices the night before. And despite software updates, the ring tells me when I’ve cleaned, but it doesn’t do the cleaning for me!

Elan’s hand with Oura ring — My Oura ring glows green and red occasionally. Otherwise, I don’t notice it all that much.

These days, I check the app half as often as I used to. On a recent 2-week hiking and biking trip to the Azores I left the ring (and charger) at home entirely to avoid extra pack, and it didn’t cross my mind again until I got back.

Over 5 years, the app interface has changed along with how I use it. Added doo-dads. There are now scenic pictures behind my stats, and the app calls me cutsie names like “champ.” There are new dashboards too, one tracking “saved activity time” and another breaking down the “energy zones” I’ve engaged and avoided. I look at neither.

Weekly Zoned Minutes report that I’m not in the zone, at least not Zone 4 or Zone 5. — Weekly Zoned Minutes report that I’m Not in the Zone, at least not in Zone 4 or Zone 5.

I do regularly use the app for a 5 to 12-minute midday meditation break. They’ve added Headspace-style voice narrations with choose-your-own soothing background noises, and there’s one narrator’s voice I like. But it’s stuff I could probably also find online for free.

I also still go back to the sleep performance tracker. Sometimes, Oura and my partner have divergent views about how restless or disrupted (or disruptive) my sleep was. At least the fitness tracker never complains about me.

Overall, 5 years later my Oura’s job has shifted, mostly confirming what I already know I should or should not be doing. It also seems to have an overload of data sitting on top of the two or three things I most care about.

I’ve been reading more lately about personalization and AI in the context of education, and it lines up with something my fellow blogger Nat wrote about her three months of smart watch data: she’s not motivated by stats that aren’t meaningful to her. Like Nat, what I want from the next version of my fitness tracker device is personalization: the ability to say show me what I most care about and hide the rest.

Until then, I guess I’ll to keep wearing it. Not because I need it, but because it’s free for me to use without a paid membership. And, I’d rather have it and not need it 75% of its stats than to need them and not have them.

Screenshot my my Oura app after a night’s sleep, with a mountain in the background. The screen notification says, “tHey there champ, your resting heart rate indicates that you’ve recovered well. Looks like you’ve done a good job balancing your workouts and rest.” — Screenshot of my Oura app after a night’s sleep, with a mountain in the background. The screen notification says, “Hey there champ, your resting heart rate indicates that you’ve recovered well. Looks like you’ve done a good job balancing your workouts and rest.” Have I?

By Elan Paulson

“Left hand with Oura smart ring on finger, right hand shows phone with the Oura app´s energy and activity statistics” by Marco Verch is licensed under CC BY-2.0.

A number of FIFI bloggers have discussed the merits and problems of fitness trackers. Wearable trackers help folks to monitor their exercise, but they also track, store, and potentially share private health data. These high tech gadgets are slick, but their wearers can focus on the numbers rather than on the feel of exercise, during and after. They digitally reward–but also pressure–building a life around 10,000 steps per day.

More and more people in my life have fitness trackers. I held out on purchasing a wrist one because of the above issues, and watches and bracelets irritate my skin and get in the way of my keyboard.

But when I heard about a 6-gram titanium OURA ring that tracks activity, sleep, and more, I caved. I don’t know how the many sensors works in this smart ring. I just know what’s happened so far for me since I got a Fitbit for my finger.

Going Dry for Better Sleep

I can sleep for hours and hours—anytime, anywhere, like a cat (or a sloth). It has been a source of pride for me, but since getting the Oura the ring’s app reports that I am consistently only getting half of the nightly recommended “deep sleep” levels. Not enough deep sleep can negatively affect memory, cell regeneration, and energy levels. So maybe I can sleep all the time because I don’t sleep as well as I could.

The Oura’s app gives advice when it tracks sub-optimal levels. It has been tested to provide relatively accurate sleet data. So, I am now following its advice by going without alcohol for a month (for the first time in my life, I will add) to see if this lifestyle change affects my sleep pattern for the better.

More Housework for Staying Active

Oura reports on activity levels, activity frequency, and daily activity goals. Many folks who have compared trackers (sometimes coming out better, and sometimes coming out worse, and even compared Oura to itself). It’s not the best or the worst of the bunch.

My Oura stays most happy with me when I move often, even for bits at a time, and one of the easiest way to keep moving on a regular basis while I am working from home is to take 5 minutes stretch and housework breaks.

I have never (in my life) been a regular house cleaner, but here I am tidying tidying, every day.

Smaller Wearable for Game Play

After a beautiful time playing scrimmage over the summer, I’m back playing indoor rec soccer. At our game on Thursday our ref stopped the game to tell my teammate she had on “illegal equipment.” It was her wrist fitness tracker. She had to remove it before the game could resume. Slowly I put my hands on my hips, Oura out of sight, then when the whistle blew kept playing.

Later this season, we have all been told no jewelry. But, with some tape it stays safe and out of sight.

Oura and charging station — The wee USB charging station on which my Oura charges every 4 days for about 20 minutes.

Sensors for What I am Not Sensing

A month ago, for a few days, I inexplicably became incredibly sensitive and grumpy. For days, I just wanted to cry, rage, and sleep. No other specific physical symptoms to indicated I was sick. What the heck was wrong with me?

My Oura noticed that my temperature was consistently elevated. So then I noticed. I followed its advice went a little easier on myself, physically but also mentally. Then, whatever was going on with me passed, and so did the temperature spikes.

Overall

My last attempt at wearing a step tracker revealed I was more motivated by people than by numbers alone. There are still the dependency issues and data risks. But right now–with only a few months into having the Oura–I have an empty bar fridge, a clean house, illegal equipment I can hide, and another way to pay more attention to my emotional health.

I have the Generation 2 Oura ring from this Finnish company (of the same name). The new Generation 3 ring (available now!) comes with more and newer sensors, and new features, including period prediction. (Slick!) So, I might just be asking for the Gen 3 for Christmas.

Do you have a fitness tracker or an Oura ring? What are your experiences?

Tag: Oura fitness tracker

A Fitbit for My Finger, Five Years On

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