The Oura ring is a biometric device that tracks sleep quality and other health data such as heart rate variability. The company describes its device as "the revolutionary smart ring," and claims that 86% of members experience an improvement in sleep quality.

But is Oura ring proven to be accurate in research studies? How does its accuracy compare to other biometric devices like Apple Watch? Can it improve physical fitness? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of Oura ring?

In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze clinical trials on Oura ring to determine if the device is proven to be accurate, and how its accuracy compares to other "smart" biometric wearable devices.

We'll also feature real Oura ring customer reviews, and discuss whether sleep tracking devices can actually increase insomnia.

Is Oura Accurate or Not?

Oura Ring has been studied in clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals, which is the highest standard for product research.

A clinical trial published in the Behavioral Sleep Medicine journal compared the effectiveness of the Oura ring against polysomnography, which is the medical standard for diagnosing sleep disorders.

When most patients undergo a “sleep study,” the doctors are using polysomnography to measure sleep quality.

This was a well-designed study in our opinion, and the Oura ring performed decently: the Oura ring was 96% accurate in detecting sleep compared to polysomnography, 48% accurate in detecting wakefulness, 65% agreement in detecting “light sleep,” 51% agreement in detecting “deep sleep,” and 61% agreement in detecting REM sleep.

One interesting finding from the study was that Oura ring data discrepancies were greater when the device was worn on the ring finger, so users may want to consider wearing it on other fingers.

A 2021 medical review on Oura ring reported improved accuracy in the brand's newer devices.

Researchers in this review proved that by combining various sets of biometric data from Oura ring, sleep parameters can be tracked more accurately.

For example, accuracy of detecting REM sleep was 90.87% when combining accelerometer, temperature, heart rate variability and circadian features data. This is a significant improvement on the 61% agreement in detecting REM sleep from the study previously cited.

A comparative study published in the Sensors journal analyzed the accuracy of six commercial biometric devices: Oura ring, Apple Watch, Garmin Forerunner, Polar Vantage, WHOOP and Somfit.

The Oura ring and Garmin devices slightly outperformed the other wearables in accuracy of sleep tracking. WHOOP was superior to Oura ring when it came to tracking heart rate.

Overall, we consider Oura ring likely to be effective for accurate sleep tracking. It seems to be the most accurate brand on the market in this category.

Real People Try Oura Ring

A YouTube creator named "The Quantified Scientist" has an in-depth review of Oura Ring 3 that shows how the device is set up, analyzes its accuracy in real-world settings, and shares some potential downsides:

A YouTube creator named "Kevin the Tech Ninja" compared the Apple Watch to the Oura ring:

Are Sleep Trackers Even Necessary?

We haven't come across any convincing research studies suggesting that at-home sleep tracking through biometric devices like Oura ring improves health.

There are certainly hypothetical instances where Oura ring could help improve a user's health.

Perhaps the user notices trends by tracking data with Oura, like that their sleep quality is lower when they eat before bed, and then they make changes based on those trends to improve their health (in this case increasing the time between the last meal and sleep).

But until wearable tech achieves equivalent accuracy to medical testing, we're unsure of the purpose of this type of device.

If an individual thinks they have a sleep disorder like sleep apnea, they should speak with their doctor about getting a sleep study done, because this is the most accurate way to diagnose sleep disorders, and can be subsidized by health insurance.

Oura ring may be fun to play around with for "biohackers," and it may be interesting for some consumers to see data on their sleep habits, but we wouldn't recommend using Oura ring to diagnose or treat any health condition.

Using sleep tracking apps can also have the opposite intended effect, and can cause anxiety and insomnia in some people, according to UW Medicine:

Customers Rate Oura Ring

Since Oura ring is only sold on the brand's website and not on Amazon, we believe the best place to search for honest customer reviews is the brand's Better Business Bureau (BBB) page.

The brand currently has an average rating of 1.1 out of 5 stars.

Many customers are complaining about the device failing after a few months or years of use, like this complaint from a user named "Zoe G":

"My ring needs to be charged every 36 hours now after just 15 months of using it (charing properly, as instructed). Messaged customer service and am being told that my ring was only covered for one year and have to buy a new one (gave me $75 discount but that is still $225). So upset that this device really only works for a little over a year"

To the credit of Oura, the brand responds to nearly every customer complaint trying to resolve the situation, which is the sign of a high-quality brand. 

Since many customers are complaining about poor customer service, it may be advisable to complain on the BBB website if you face an issue with Oura ring, because it may lead to an expedited response and resolution.

Can Oura Ring Improve Fitness?

Oura ring is typically used for sleep tracking, but it also has fitness tracking functionalities.

A YouTube creator named Keltie O'Connor used Oura ring for fitness tracking over the course of two years, and shared her thoughts in a video with over 190,000 views:

Our Clean Sleep Picks

Ritual BioSeries Melatonin is our top premium sleep supplement.

It provides an effective dose of melatonin, which is clinically shown to improve sleep quality, and which is arguably the best-studied compound for sleep support.

Nolah Weighted Bamboo Blanket is a great option for consumers who prefer non-supplement solutions for sleep. Weighted blankets are clinically shown to improve sleep quality in both older adults and in children, and early research suggests they may also reduce anxiety.

Both of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients or materials that we consider to be unhealthy.

Oura Ring Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of Oura ring in our opinion:

Pros:

• Strong clinical backing
• Most accurate sleep tracking wearable device
• Non-intrusive
• Better look than most wearable devices

Cons:

• Unclear value proposition
• Less accurate than medical sleep studies
• Less accurate heart rate data than WHOOP
• Limited functionality without monthly subscription
• Expensive
• May cause anxiety in some individuals

Conclusion

The Oura ring is backed by high-quality clinical research, which suggests it can accurately report sleep quality metrics.

It appears to be the most accurate consumer wearable sleep tracker on the market.

Oura is not currently as accurate as a standard medical sleep study, but we believe it can be as the technology improves, at which point this device would be tremendously useful.

For now, it's hard for us to see the value that justifies the high price of this product.

While it may be fun to play around with the data and it doesn't seem likely to cause any harm, it's unclear to us why someone would pay hundreds plus a subscription fee for this device if their goal is to use it to improve health.

Any individual who believes they may have a sleep disorder should speak with their doctor about getting a sleep study done.

In people prone to anxiety, obsessively tracking sleep quality may actually increase insomnia, so that's something to watch out for.