Forget counting steps, the Oura Ring 4 helps improve my sleep quality like nothing else

The Oura Ring 4 was released late last year as an upgrade to the Generation 3, loved by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and those who want better to understand their sleep, stress, and movement habits without the bulk of a watch.

While I've included the Oura Ring 4 on our list of best fitness trackers, I must say first and foremost, it's not strictly a fitness tracker. It's not designed to offer advanced insights into cardio exercises like running and cycling, and it won't count your reps in the gym. However, it does count steps, deliver insights on basic workouts, and above all, prioritise sleep and stress in a way that no other device does.

I've been testing fitness trackers and smartwatches for over five years as woman&home's digital health editor. I'm also a keen runner and gym-goer, a 10,000-steps-a-day enthusiast, and a sleep obsessive. So, it's fair to say I've seen my share of devices. Smart rings are a newcomer to the space, and I've been excitedly trying out the various models, with the latest being the Oura Ring 4.

Oura Ring 4 review

Oura Ring 4: Specifications

• Width: 7.90 mm
• Thickness: 2.88 mm
• Weight: 3.3g - 5.2g
• Size range: 4 - 15
• Colours: 6
• Battery life: 8 days
• Waterproof? No, water resistant up to 100m

Sleep tracking on the Oura Ring 4

Unlike other health and fitness trackers, the Oura Ring 4 was engineered to prioritise accurate sleep insights over anything else. So, you best believe it's accurate and detailed.

Using your body temperature and activity patterns, the ring detects how your body temperature falls (signalling you're falling asleep) and when it rises (when you wake up). Once the ring has worked out you're asleep, it starts collecting data on your vitals (including heart rate, respiration, and body temperature)

On waking up, I had a complete overview of my night, outlined in various metrics. Alongside the regular insights into sleep stages (light, deep, REM, and awake times), I can see:

• Time spent in bed vs asleep: I found this useful to improve my sleep hygiene as I learnt I spend about an hour in bed scrolling on my phone or lying awake before falling asleep.
• Sleep efficiency score: The percentage of time spent asleep compared to time spent awake in bed.
• Restfulness score: This tracks your wake-ups, excessive movement, and any tossing and turning that could affect your sleep quality.
• Latency: This is the amount of time it takes for you to fall asleep after lying down. According to Oura, you should be asleep within 15 to 20 minutes of lying down. However, as I found, it can be skewed if you lie down - then look at your phone.
• Timing: This depends on the time you fall asleep and the time you wake up. Ideally, you want your sleep midpoint to be between midnight and 3 AM, Oura says. Sleeping too much outside of these times can negatively impact your circadian rhythm.
• Heart rate data: Two separate tabs detail your lowest heart rate and the time you reached it, and your average heart rate variability throughout the night. The higher your score, the greater your cardiovascular fitness and stress resilience. It's also a sign of a lower biological age. However, the number differs for everyone.

With this data in my back pocket, I've learned how to sleep better. I've started going to bed earlier, keeping my phone away from my bedside table to not be tempted, cut down on my alcohol intake and late-night workouts to try and improve my sleep hygiene. I'm excited to see if this makes a difference in the coming months.

What I love most about sleep tracking on the Oura Ring 4 is that you can track trends in your data. For example, I can tag my habits (e.g. when I've drunk alcohol, had caffeine late at night, or exercised late) to see if it's had an impact on my sleep quality over time. Tap into any of the metrics and you'll get a graph showing how your score that night compares to the rest of the week or month, which I found useful to work out whether I needed to change my sleep routine.

I also saw my heart rate variability increase over time, a reassuring sign that I was getting fitter ahead of a marathon I was doing.

Stress monitoring

We all know what it feels like to be stressed, the Oura Ring 4 doesn't need (or want) to tell you when you're under pressure. What it does do, however, is take signs of stress and relaxation (resting heart rate, HRV balance, body temperature, recovery index, sleep, sleep balance, previous day's activity, and activity balance) into account to give you a Readiness Score.

I use this score to work out whether I can increase my exercise efforts or need to dial them back. Often, it's the combination of my work, social, and fitness habits that causes me to feel tired, and the Oura Ring 4 is so useful to help pick up which one of the three is causing me problems at any given time. In terms of finding balance, it's been a game-changer.

What's more, much like sleep tracking, the Readiness Score looks at my data over time, whether that's a week or a month, so I can edit my lifestyle longer-term if needed.

Activity tracking on the Oura Ring 4

The Oura Ring 4 automatically tracks and logs three pre-selected workouts (I chose walking, running, and cycling as I do these most, but there are 40 to choose from on sign-up), delivering data in the app as soon as the ring recognises that you've stopped the activity.

In the data, you'll see the session duration, distance covered, steps (if relevant), active calorie burn, average pace, and average heart rate. You'll get a breakdown of your heart rate zones and how that tracks with your other workouts that week, and if enabled, you'll see a GPS map overview of your route.

It feels super intuitive, and I've found it genuinely interesting to see how many small bursts of exercise I do throughout the day alongside my regular workouts, and how these impact my cardiovascular and metabolic health.

My only concern is the accuracy of the step counting. Early on in testing, I noticed that the ring recorded almost 1000 extra steps every day, compared to the watch I used as a baseline. This is to be semi-expected, though, as the ring sits on the finger, which moves a lot more than the wrist, so you may find the device picks up steps when you're typing or gesticulating, as I did. Over the testing time, it became more accurate.

But while I'll sing the praises of the Oura Ring 4 to whoever will listen, I do want to emphasise that you'll get more detailed insights into your workouts from other devices. If you're a runner, for example, it's worth weighing up Oura Ring vs Garmin as the Garmin Forerunner 265 will deliver advanced insights into your running form (such as vertical oscillation, cadence, and stride length) with finish time predictions for various distances.

I plan to keep my running watch on my wrist and complement the data I get from this with my Oura Ring 4. If you don't have dedicated fitness goals beyond improving your health (you're not signed up for a marathon, for example), then you'll likely find the Oura Ring ideal for monitoring your fitness.

Design

The Oura Ring 4 comes in six colours and one design. The metallic finish is bright when new, and regardless of the size you buy, it'll measure just under 8mm. For me, this is about triple the width of my wedding ring.

The sensors (which include green and red LEDs for heart rate, heart rate variability, and sleep respiration; red and infrared LEDs for blood oxygen tracking; a digital temperature sensor; and an accelerometer) sit on the inside of the ring, facing the skin.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the charging method is also incredibly chic and discreet. It's a small platform with a space for the ring that can be charged via USB-C, so you can have wireless charging whenever you need it.

What is the Oura Ring 4 like to wear?

The Oura Ring 4 feels incredibly lightweight on my finger, so apart from when I'm moisturising my face and body, I wear the device 24/7, and I forget I'm wearing it most of the time. The fact that it blends in seamlessly with my other gold rings and watches makes this easier.

The ring is chunky, regardless of the size you buy, but still significantly more discreet than any fitness tracker I've tried - including the Huawei GT Pro 5, which looks like a regular timepiece. The untrained eye wouldn't be able to tell it was anything more than a regular ring, making it suitable for all of life's occasions.

As you move your hands, the ring will naturally twist around. This was a problem with the Oura Ring Gen 3 as the sensors only worked properly when they sat on the palm side of your finger. In the new model, it's not a problem thanks to the upgraded sensors, which benefit from the ring's improved design in the newer model.

Is Oura Ring 4 worth it?

I was really excited to see the new design and features in the Oura Ring 4 and because of these, I'd say the ring is certainly worth investing in if you want to improve your health from the core pillars (sleep, activity, and body stress) rather than just focusing on exercise.

The app is very easy to use, and the ring is a delight to wear, inconspicuous yet stylish.

You're not going to get deep insights into your running, cycling, swimming, or other exercise metrics like you would on the Coros Pace 3 or some of the best Garmin watches, for example, but you will get the basics. For many people, that will be more than enough.

Aside from the early step count inaccuracies, the only disadvantage of owning the Oura Ring 4 (as opposed to other smart rings, like the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring) is the subscription fee. You have to pay £5.99 per month, otherwise you only have access to very basic health data. This basic health data, to be honest, you could find elsewhere for much cheaper, so it's worth weighing up the Oura Ring vs Fitbit Charge 6, one of the best Fitbits with similar fitness data offerings, before making a decision.

You also need to use a sizing kit to find the right size (free) before buying your ring, so purchasing isn't a quick process.

If you don't mind the subscription fee and are happy to invest, I'd say the pinnacle of smart ring technology is in the Oura Ring 4 right now. It doesn't get better than this when it comes to accurate and genuinely insightful sleep and health metrics.

How I tested the Oura Ring 4

For over one month, I wore the ring every day, including when I slept, exercised, showered, and so on, allowing the device to pick up my rhythms 24/7. This, I found, improved the accuracy of the device over the weeks.

I also did a variety of workouts and activities with the Oura Ring, to get a complete grasp of how it faired in different environments. For example, I wore the ring on holiday in Spain to see if warmer temperatures impacted my sleep (they did) and during a busy week at work to see whether heightened stress had an impact on my wellbeing (it did).

I tested the Oura Ring 4 against my Coros Pace 3, which I've had on my wrist for over six months, to make sure the data was consistent. As the watch has had more time to get familiar with my body, it worked as a great baseline for accuracy.

Oura Ring 4 vs 3

• Price: Thanks to the release of the Oura Ring Generation 4, the Oura Ring Generation 3 is now much cheaper, especially during peak shopping times like Amazon Prime Day. I've found the ring in silver for less than £200.
• Size and weight: There's not a lot in it. The newer model is lighter and fractionally smaller, but side by side, it's barely noticeable. Weight is a consideration if you plan on wearing the ring 24/7, though, as this can add up over time.
• Colour range: The Oura Ring 4 comes in six colours, including brushed silver and rose gold, whereas the previous model only comes in four colours.
• Battery life: Both the Oura Ring 4 and 3 use a charging dock to fuel the battery. The newer model lasts eight days between charges, and the older one lasts seven.
• Accuracy: Thanks to the new Smart Sensing technology, the Oura Ring 4 is more accurate than the 3. You don't always have to have the ring perfectly positioned to get the data insights, making it a more versatile design.

Does Oura Ring 4 need a subscription?

Yes, after a one-month free trial, you have to pay £5.99 a month to continue using the Oura Ring 4. Without the subscription, you only get access to basic insights.

If the subscription fee is a sticking point for you, I'd recommend trying one of the other smart rings, such as the Samsung Galaxy Smart Ring (similar RRP but without a subscription) or the Ultrahuman Ring.

Can I wear an Oura Ring 4 on any finger?

Oura suggests wearing the ring on your index finger for the most accurate results. However, you can technically wear it on any finger you like.

I switched to wearing the ring on my middle finger about three days into my testing, as this was more comfortable for me, and I found it got in the way less throughout daily life. It wasn't any less accurate than when I wore it on my index finger.

Can you shower with Oura Ring?

Yes, you can shower, wash, or go swimming with the Oura Ring 4 on your finger, but it's only water resistant up to 100 metres so take it off if you're planning on deep sea diving.

I wore my ring showering and when washing my hands, not only so I wouldn't take it off and lose it, but to give it a clean.