The Oura Ring Must Be Wrong - Should I Be Concerned?
I’ve been using the Oura ring 4 since January 2025 and i have some concerns over the information it provides and it’s accuracy. Note: i've had it replaced twice due to the battery life dropping to less than 20 hours, after 9 months and then again after another 8 months.
Some context, for the past few years I regularly wake up in the morning feeling terrible. The way i explain it is that i feel like i’ve got a hangover, achy and zero energy. I’m often tired all day, i struggle with work and concentration. I don’t drink alcohol or caffeine, smoke, do any kind of drugs and only infrequently have takeaway food.
Today was one of the days that was more of a struggle. Felt awful when i woke and wasn't able to get up out of bed until about 830am having gone to bed at 1030pm the night before. I looked at my Oura data to see if it had any guidance and its given me a sleep score of 94 and a readiness score of 95! The text on the Readiness says “We had to double-take, your readiness is so high we thought the app was broken, turns out your crushing it’.
The thing is this is NOT unusual. Most days, readiness and sleep are over 80. My opinion has been that the most important metric Oura uses to the sleep score is duration in bed.
Earlier in the year the Symptoms Radar was advising me on major signs, but my readiness score was 91, which i couldn’t help but think is in conflict.
I recently went to the doctor who has recommended me for a sleep study for sleep apnea based on my symptoms. Whilst Oura cannot diagnose this issue my Oura data would lead most people to suggest that i’m sleeping too well to have it. I feel like i’ve been misled by the Oura data into thinking i sleep well when the opposite may be the case.
My second concerning data stream from Oura is the Heart Health section. For the past 3 months it has been telling me my cardiovascular age is between 7 and 9 years younger than my actual age. The only data point it presents to back up this statement is Pulse Wave Velocity which in my case is 6.9m/s. See image.
More context i’m 44 year old 5’11 male 210llbs, so a bit overweight and not very fit at all. I don’t specifically exercise but i do go for a 30-60 minute walk everyday. The doctor also told me my blood pressure is slightly high.
So how can my heart health be 7+ years younger than my actual age? i suspect 3 or 4 years older is more probable.
This post is not an attack on Oura, i’ve used it for 20 months, i love the concept over the bands and watches. But i’m concerned with the data presented in contrast to how i feel and the health problems i am experiencing.
Is it a case of the data is never going to be accurate (or even close to accurate) or is my ring faulty and needs replacing again? (As i'm clearly not sleeping well and my heart health is not exceptional) Any thoughts or guidance much appreciated.