Meet The Smart Device Challenging Your Sleep & Wellness Connection

Sleep. It is the buzzword circulating the health and wellness scene. Without enough sleep, we suffer, both physically and mentally. Investing in the idea that sleep patterns can guide our daily performance is the latest in wearable wellness technologies, ŌURA.

Sleep is the new sexy, or the new forty. With its value being recognized by CEOs, physicians, athletes, and more, there is a collective consciousness surrounding sleep’s benefits to our overall health. New technologies and startup companies across the globe are focused on health and wellness, from the food we should be eating based on our DNA to activity trackers, there has been a paradigm shift on what is truly important for our well-being.

ŌURA Ring wants your finger to change the course of your future. Its sleek, comfortable, and modern design is a conversation starter. The fashionable zirconia ring is designed for accuracy. The ring is sized to fit the finger of your choice, providing an intelligent connection to your veins for thorough readings. I put this mini-fitness computer to the test.

For 90 days I only took it off to charge. What I learned, I sit down, a lot. I am a writer, and always at my desk. Having a reminder to move was annoying at first, yet today I am grateful for it. Following my progress on the ŌURA app, my biggest breakthrough was my personal sleeping habits. I need sleep. My family laughs that I am consistently the first one to bed and the first one awake, however for the nights I found myself not sleeping well, the ring helped me recognize some patterns.  

The most eye opening, during the nights my iPhone accompanied me to bed in the form of responding to emails, reading articles, or texting a friend, my sleep patterns were off. Basically my app revealed I was not getting enough deep or REM sleep.

Trying to push myself through a brutal training schedule for a half marathon, bettering my sleep became important. Learning to balance the app’s three tracking categories: sleep, activity, and readiness to function daily and train at my best. I have never been interested in tracking daily steps and calories, however I appreciate that ŌURA also monitors your heart rate, blood volume pulse, body temperature, and sleep habits. To know each morning if I was able to reach deep sleep, or if I was vividly dreaming in a REM (Rapid Eye Movement) state, helped provide insight into what my body could endure in the upcoming day. (Based on your previous night’s rest, the app will recommend activity levels to help keep your body and mind functioning at optimal levels.)

ŌURA Ring holds a charge for 2-3 days, and is comfortable to the point you almost forget you are wearing it. It is waterproof (up to 50m) and scratch resistant, so I don’t have to take it off when I take hot yoga or visit the beach.

Health and well-being start with your sleep, something that has been previously undervalued in personal well-being, until now. ŌURA is hoping to help bridge a gap in a personal mind-body connection. By becoming aware of your body and its needs, ŌURA is a personal connection to functioning at your best self.

In a fascinating conversation with CEO Petteri Lahtela, he informed, the technology has proven comparable results equivalent to sleep studies in clinical lab settings, as well as a ninety-eight percent accuracy an electrocardiogram (EKG) test. By tracking your movement consistently, ŌURA will send reminder notifications if you have been sitting down too long, and can also double as a reliable, daily heart monitor. “The ring is dedicated to helping you achieve your optimal health. ŌURA is your assistant to help improve recovery of daily mental and physical activities, giving you valuable access to balance the important things in life.”