Oura: Learning the Ins and Outs

I bought Oura with the objective of syncing up the information that it provided and then using Apollo Neuro—a very different instrument of wearable jewelry—to give me a medical path to follow in order to learn more about myself, really, at any time in the day.

Now these two wearables—Apollo, a band and Oura, a ring—have two very different aims. I would say that Oura is a diagnostic, giving you feedback from inside your inner workings; and Apollo works hand in glove with your autonomic nervous system to give you some control over how you are feeling in different situations. The autonomic nervous system has as its functions the sympathetic system, which is all about “fight or flight” mechanisms, and the parasympathetic system, which is all about “rest and digest.”

One of the first things I learned from Oura was that I had been fooling myself. I was often tired at work (of course, it’s a tiring job nonetheless) but I had assumed that I was getting at least seven hours of sleep. Imagine my surprise when the sleep element of Oura told me I had gotten barely five-and-a-half hours sleep and not much of it was beneficial! ?

The sleep category, which you get by pairing your ring with its’ downloadable App of the same name. When you click on the sleep (a blue half-moon) it gives you:

·?????Total sleep

·?????Time in bed

·?????Sleep efficiency

·?????Resting heart rate

·?????A Sleep Score

And then a slide-driven contributor that outlines Restfulness, REM sleep, Deep sleep, and Latency.

For details and explanations, you can click on any one of these things for a definition or understanding of what that term means, and even a section and advice panel that can tell you how to improve it for your benefit.

I am absolutely sure that Sleep goes a long way to someone being in optimum health. While sleeping, this is the time your brain (which never stops) gets to recharge and repair itself. Here are some of what happens:

·?????Cerebrospinal fluid increases—which washes away toxins and waste

·?????The brain consolidates short-term memories and the days knowledge into long-term memories

·?????It controls executive functions (which are many, including taking care of hormones)

Without adequate sleep:

·?????The brain will prevent you from making good decisions

·?????It Increases stress

·?????It Inhibits focus, cognitive efficiency, and so much more.

The point is: sleep is vital. In an upcoming article we will talk more about sleep.