A message I had never seen before had popped up on my Oura ring app. Both my heart rate and temperature were elevated and it suggested that I go to “rest mode”. Doing so would have the Oura drop my “activity goal” for the day and just have me just rest.
The Oura ring – a good early warning device.
I blinked. It’s actually happening, I thought. My partner had bought me an Oura ring when she learned it could be used as an early coronavirus detection device. (The Rockefeller Institute has found that it’s able to pick up signs of a coronavirus infection 2-3 days before symptoms, and the NBA used it as an early detection device.) Since I’m often away from Las Vegas, where my doctor and hospital facilities were, it was important that I know as early as possible to give me a chance to get back before my symptoms potentially became disabling.
I hadn’t had any symptoms at that point. However, Oura had told me that prior to this, I’d really been pushing for two and 3 days, that my “readiness scores” – a combination of lowest overnight resting heart rate, deviation from my average overnight body temperature, physical activity, and metrics such as HRV (heart rate variability), sleep and activity balance – had dropped enough (58,61) that Oura had dramatically lowered its activity goal for me. Still, I’d blasted through Oura’s activity goals those days – doing double and three times what the ring suggested was healthy.
Now it was telling that something had really gone awry. Had I, despite all my precautions – wearing a face shield, two masks, and going to stores early and very infrequently, somehow caught the coronavirus?
I did not have a fever but my nighttime temperature remained elevated throughout.
Later that day, a hint of a headache occurred. My partner pushed for me to immediately drive the two hours to Vegas. I was tired and pushed back, but listened to reason, and by that afternoon I loaded everything into the van, and back to the Vegas area I went. We camped near a friend with ME/CFS who offered to help out if things went south.
The next day the headache, fatigue and fluey feelings hit. The headache was excruciating – particularly at night – and left the top of my scalp feeling painful to the touch. For two days, my readiness scores dropped to new lows (44,47) and started to pick up.
From then on, the Oura ring consistently tracked my increased temperature at night – warning me to remain in rest mode for the next two weeks or so as I recovered from the cold.
I never sent the Oura ring into “rest mode” and continued to track what it considered my “activity goal” should be. So long as my nighttime temperature was increased, the Oura ring dropped my activity goal dramatically. I never had a fever.
My heart rate recovered more quickly than my nighttime temperature. Oura clearly gave it a lot of weight. So long as it was above around 0.7 degrees above normal, the Oura ring advised that I remain in rest mode. The nighttime temperature reading became my lodestar. Every morning I would check it as I woke up, and it remained raised for about two weeks – even into the time when I started feeling quite a bit better. I credit it with helping me to get the rest I needed to get better.
The Oura ring is not perfect. It does track when I overdo it pretty well – it’s easy to see my HRV going down and HR (heart rate) going up when that happens. Because the Oura ring bases readiness scores on 14-day weighted averages, it provides individualized recommendations. Even at her best, for instance, it never recommends my partner, with her more severe ME/CFS, do as much activity as it does me. It can see that mild exertions that wouldn’t bother me are able to knock her off.
It also provides some nice recommendations – like suggesting earlier bedtimes when I’ve overdone or haven’t been sleeping well. Once it asked if I’d had a large meal before bedtime. That was a little freaky because it turned out that I’d eaten a huge meal before bed and had slept poorly. You can also monitor an activity like a meditation break to see how it affects your heart rate variability. That’s something I have not taken advantage of but should as my average HRV (19) is well below average for my age. Oura also occasionally provides tips via email.
Particularly early in the cold, my readiness scores plunged.
It doesn’t seem to know whether I am in pain or not. I can wake up in considerable pain or feeling exhausted, only for it to tell me that my readiness is optimal! It also overdoes it on recommended activity levels. My partner finds that cutting Oura’s recommendations in half works for her. Sometimes the sleep stats seem right on and sometimes they don’t.
The ring worked great, though, when the virus – whatever virus it was – hit. It warned me a full day before I started having really disturbing symptoms. That enabled me to get to Vegas before things got bad. Most importantly, it was very effective in helping me to rest. I need a little push in that area and seeing that elevated temperature day after day was a great reminder that I was not back yet.
I think back to two years ago, when in the midst of a mild cold, I decided to do some work on the van. It took more effort than I’d imagined and I came back feeling pretty good. The next day, though, the cold had taken on new life and now was embedded deep into my muscles. Two years later, some of that muscle pain persists. I imagine if I’d had that Oura ring then, things might be different today.
The ring has also enabled me to relax a bit more. A couple of days ago, I had a scratchy throat and a little cough. Could I actually have caught the coronavirus right after I came down with that cold? The next morning the Oura ring suggested no – my temperature and heart rate were fine and the cough was gone.
The virus that made me ill will remain a mystery. I now think it was probably a nasty cold virus – perhaps a rhinovirus. Rhinoviruses are more contagious than the coronavirus, and more difficult to remove than the coronavirus, but are not as deadly. If a highly contagious rhinovirus became deadly, though, that would be really be something.
Whatever happens, having the Oura ring around will help.
(Health Rising is not affiliated with Oura in any way We get our funding from you :))
On a similar note check out how Hannah used similar tools to learn how to pace and improve her health.
this sounds like an easier way of doing pacing—or maybe a variation of it:
Oura-pacing.
anyone here experience difficulties in sizing the ring?
anyone here compare any pacing formats’ usefulness to the Oura ring’s usefulness?
hopefully pricing will come down as more people use this device.
When you order a ring they send you a sizing kit. I picked a size that would fit on a few different fingers depending on if I had any kind of swelling or change in size and it fits great.
My Oura ring did not pick up quite as severely when I got coronavirus in January, but I CAN tell that I need more rest on days with low HRV or high heart rate at night.
It provides good reminders for me – who am not so good at listening to my body’s signs. When it says rest – I feel more comfortable at taking time off and doing just that :). That’s a real win.
I have this ring and it doesn’t make any difference to my ME or my PEM.
It tells me I’ve had decent sleep which I haven’t and it knows something is off by the recordings but doesn’t know how to interpret them. I wouldn’t buy another.
I bought an Oura ring last year mostly to measure quality of sleep but this little device has been helpful in other ways.
Sounds like a very interesting device! I’ve been looking into HRV and all kinds of gadgets, but since my body temperature and heart rate fluctuate all over the place anyway (POTS, constant dehydration, tachycardia, arythmia), and I have lunatic sleep patterns, I think I’d make them all explode.
Are there any measurements/gadgets that would help with POTS? At the moment the most useful are “cramp = take more magnesium” and “lips dry – drink more water.”
Thank you, Cort! Great article. I’ve been debating about getting the Oura ring. I want the data and suggestions, but I don’t want to obsess over my health stats. I don’t think I can resist now. Just too interesting to see what it comes up with.
For me I think focusing a bit more on my health stats would be a good idea. I’d love to find a way to track well-being, pain and energy in relation to HR, HRV, Readiness scores. Looking for a way to do that.
Thanks for the info Cort. Elaine – You echo my thoughts exactly. No obsessing but maybe more of an awareness. I often feel I have fevers at night. Oura would be a better crystal ball for me than my Samsung with its frequent charging and lack of temperature monitoring.
I also have POTS and I use a pulse oximeter which is also good for predicting COVID since it measures oxygen levels pluse heart rate. I cannot use a smart device like the Oura ring since I am also sensitive to wifi waves. I learned my heart rate is what makes me have to lie down regularly as it is the only way to reset my heart rate. I think of it as me running a marathon since my heart rate goes so high just walking around my house or doing other physical activity. So, no wonder I get so tired. I manage my heart rate and I do better. I am also doing a detox protocol.
Karen,
Someone on the monthly Bateman Horne MECFS support call mentioned a fitness tracker she uses that tracks HRV and has an airplane mode (meaning no wifi). She has it on airplane mode when she’s wearing it, and only takes it off airplane mode once or twice daily to synch with the app on her laptop (and I believe can step away while that’s happening).
I don’t remember the brand name (I’ll try to remember to look it up and post here if I find it), but if this is something that might help perhaps you could google fitness trackers with airplane mode functions.
Karen, the Oura ring uses Bluetooth. Here is what the website says: “Consider turning on Airplane Mode if you’d like to eliminate all EMF exposure from the ring. Keep in mind that the Bluetooth signal from your Oura Ring is only active during a small portion of each day (well below 1%). It’s also completely turned off while you’re inactive or sleeping.” I hope this info is helpful.
I’m trialing Rise Sleep App, so using Circadian Rhythms to pace myself. I’m feeling it helps a lot, but I’d like to try Oura ring, too!
I have severe ME/CFS and know folks who built Aura. I sent this along to them. They’ll be so glad to know they helped.
Message sent, they are thrilled and circulating this article through the teams.
Could you ask them to drop the price to make it more affordable for folks that are too disabled to work and therefore unable to afford at the current price? Please?
It is expensive and I would hate to lose mine. Twice I’ve lost temporarily lost the ring at my campsite. Once it took me an hour sifting through the dirt to find it.
I’d add a note of caution about interpretation of Oura data for people with ME/CFS. I don’t think that without research on people with ME/CFS the people who have developed this ring will be in a position to understand how it can be made relevant as an aid to those with ME/CFS.
My impression from using the ring is that it is based on patterns for normal healthy people, by estimating readiness on the basis that works for healthy people. While rest, engagement of the parasympathetic nervous system as indicated by increased sleep time, lower resting heart rate and higher heart rate variability, equates to recovery and readiness for activity for those with normal health, for those with ME/CFS it does not as “non-refreshing sleep” is a key part of the diagnosis of the condition.
I have taken measurements while trialling bandaide medications that stimulate the sympathetic nervous system resulting in increased heart rate, decreased HRV and decreased sleep time – while on these medications I can do a small amount of basic activity (eg get dressed), while in contrast the change in these parameters would be interpreted by the Oura ring as having less readiness for activity.
Cort’s article is mainly about the usefulness of the ring to indicate an infection; that is a different thing to what its potential application to ME/CFS might be. Much needed research on patterns among those with ME/CFS would be great to develop its potential application.
Thanks Sue. Both my partner and I agree that you have to adjust the ring’s findings for ME/CFS. It would be great if someone could find a way to do that and do a study to highlight the pluses and minuses of the ring vis a vis ME/CFS.
Hi Corey, it occurred to me that as the Oura ring shows effectiveness at picking up infections, that there may be data out there for some who have developed long covid, and this would be a valuable record of changes pre-covid, during the acute infectious stage and post the acute infectious stage. This could apply equally to those who get ME/CFS following any infection or other cause if they have been using an Oura ring. It might be too small a sample but there is rarely an opportunity to get data data before illness to make a comparison. The people at Oura would really need to engage with a research group that understands ME/CFS or visa versa. As there is an OMF funded group at the Uppsala University in Sweden, Finland’s neighbour, maybe that’s a starting point for collaboration.
More broadly there is likely data from any number of different devices collecting HR, HRV, sleep patterns, activity etc among some people who develop ME/CFS that could be gathered for a research project by an interested group. In this case the data could potentially be gathered via doctors with an interest and experience in ME/CFS. This may provide some insights into the condition.
Ive had an Oura for 2 years and I loved it. It helps me with understanding my energy levels and sleep, and dramatic difference showed up and were sustained with 3 different prescription drugs. It’s helped me see if I’m trending better or worse.
I wish there was more info from Ours for sick people, and that they didn’t think we were all 30 year old athletes training for competition. I particularly find their HRV discussion to be useless (as well as the ME/CFS researchers’ findings on HRV to be useless, because my POTS beta blocker and benadryl for MCAS both hijack my HRV, so I have no clue how to read it in that context.
But, all in all, it’s been worth the investment for other reasons.
I remember that Bateman Horne Center did some kind of collaboration with Oura – does anybody know what came out of it?
At some point I asked them about that. From what I gathered it just didn’t get completed. I don’t know why.
These comments have been so interesting. At 81 and almost 40 years of ME/CFS/FM, I generally know when I’m about to crash. I have the typical hangover/jet lag feelings every AM. But they go away on a good day after 2 cups of coffee. But if it continues well into the afternoon to almost dinnertime, I know I’m in for it. So I cancel any upcoming activities and plan concentrated resting until I feel better. Having not worked or done volunteer work for a while now. I don’t require as much resting. I just don’t crash as often either. But I live far enough away from family and friends that I don’t care about much of anything active anyway. I’m happy to walk my dog weather permitting. I live thru the books I read. I don’t read the research articles I used to either. I find it aggravates me so its best to stick to cozy mysteries. I was diagnosed with moderate ME/CFS/FM by Dr. Lapp so I’m not likely to have serious crashes at this point anyway thankfully. I have friends who are in the severe category and that is another story. I pray for them all the time.
I was resistant to investing in wearables. They are expensive and my impression was the technology is still too early to be particularly accurate or actionable, especially for those with a condition like ME/CFS where even the most cutting-edge technologies can struggle to explain our poor health.
Lucinda Bateman was the second doctor to suggest I get an Oura ring and that was enough to get me to pull the trigger. Mine arrived a week ago.
I’m still learning what to expect from it but so far I’m reasonably impressed. Over the weekend I had possible food poisoning and it detected a number of signals on its own like elevated body temperature and reduced HRV. I was able to track these metrics as they improved for some early assurance I wasn’t undergoing GI distress from onset of Covid.
I’d be happy to report back a little ways down the road how things turn out.
Good luck Winston! Glad to hear that Dr. Bateman suggests them. Please let us know how it goes.
I have been using an Oura ring for 4+ years. I got one to be in Suzanne Vernon’s ME/sleep study and then last year participated in a UC San Francisco study about forecasting pre-covid and covid symptoms.
It’s strengths to me are both in helping to make wise choices, mostly about activity, and how validating the data is in sharing with my doctors, family, and friends. For Oura Activity, Oura measures oxygen in the blood just like a pulse oximeter does but then uses that information along with heart rate in al algorithm that the phone app displays in a chart. We know that people with ME utilize oxygen differently from healthy people, shifting into aerobic metabolism very quickly rather than being in aerobic, so our activity can be way beyond what it seems to first tell us. If I’m in PEM, it might say that I took 18,000 steps on a day that I was at home resting. As Cort wrote, I can also see the impact of being in PEM through having a higher lowest resting heart rate, lower heart rate variability (and my best is even lower than Cort’s, at 17), higher respiratory rate.
I used to write to Oura often to ask that they create an app for ME that would reflect how this our activity measures differently from their typical user. They never have. They really designed this for people seeking to improve their health or athletic performance or to conceive a child, but even without them creating a specific app for us the readings—and especially over time—are so telling.
Though I began having weekly IV-saline for POTS before I had an Oura ring, once I began using the ring I could show my doctor the positive impact the infusions had on my heart rate variability and also my POTS, espeically in hot weather. When the pandemic arrived and I no longer felt safe going to the infusion center because it is inside a hospital and I’d have to go through the single entrance with everybody else (and I”m one of the ME people who still catches everything, seventeen years in), I stopped going. After a couple of months I was able to use my worsening heart rate variability data with my doctor who could then prescribe home health care infsuionss. That’s been invaluable!
My husband has an Oura ring also. He has “full health” Its instructive to compare notes on days we’ve been together all day, doing the same things. He’s kind of my “healthy control.” And we know it’s not a faulty ring. I gave him my first ring when I got an updated one, and the ring that had recorded all that high activity on rest days for me switched to recording his activity “accurately” for a healthy person. we’re both on the next generation of ring now and the outcomes are the same.
Something I love about Oura is that it shows exactly how hard it is to take a shower! That standing up in a hot environment is hard on us! Every morning after a day I’ve showered, Oura now asks if I want to tag that particular time as a workout! Interestingly, I can sit in our hot tub on occasion and for much longer than I’d be in a shower, and it doesn’t measure anything like shower provokes.
I also use an Apple Watch 5 to fool heart rate throughout the day. In addition to POTS I also have some true arrhythmias that I can feel, and the 5 series allows me to take a 30-second ECG that can capture that for me to share with my cardiologist. The 5 series also gives a cumulative average resting heart rate and walking heart rate throughout the day. That is one of the most important numbers for me in making wise choices.
I learned to try to track average heart rate throughout the day in the early days of wearable devices. For two years before my first Oura I used a Mio Alpha with Wahoo app—in the old days before the apps could calculate everything for us. For those two years my dear husband would download my data every evening and take 10-15 min. to put it into a graph. Wahoo would give me an average heart rate for the day, and I learned over those two years of tracking that I could see myself fixin’ for a crash by my average heart rate inching up from the low 70s into the 80s over a s stretch of too much activity, like trying to help sort through my dad’s condo to move him to a senior living apartment. Though I did all of my effort seated on the floor, putting things into boxes while my sisters huffed and puffed up and down steps and Blake drove things off to Good Will, I got slower and slower as that week went on and my average heart rate climbed. All that and a flight home to California, and I went into a three-month crash.
Sometimes we can use the devices to choose wise action or inaction. Sometimes life just requires us to push through. At least we have corroborating evidence then of how crappy we feel.
Great stuff Carolyn. That’s great you were able to use the HRV readings to get your doctor to provide more help….:)
Thanks for the detailed account Carollynn.
“Something I love about Oura is that it shows exactly how hard it is to take a shower! That standing up in a hot environment is hard on us! Every morning after a day I’ve showered, Oura now asks if I want to tag that particular time as a workout!”
Did you ever try to see how showering at a lower temperature (warm enough to bear versus hot) differed in both how you feel and what Oura recorded? Both Issie and I do better with non hot showers. She has bad POTS like you too.
hello everyone, I’m “new” to this forum. sorry my english, i’m italian …
I have been using a smartwatch (fitbit sense) for 2 months to monitor sleep according to the instructions of the doctor with whom I do biofeedback, do you think there is a lot of difference between aura and smartwatches? I’m thinking about seeing mine for Aura or for the Whoop bracelet …
Thank you for all this info! It really helped!
Also, perhaps the people in Oura will be more interested in creating a special app for people with chronic conditions now that COVID-19 is increasing the ranks of those in need.
I use the Elite HRV app on my ipad, paired with their Corsense monitor. I only check it in the morning for my ‘morning readiness’ Two weeks ago I started the week with a readiness of 7 and by Saturday and Sunday I was down to 2. It felt like it! I wondered if it was my coronavirus activating. On Sunday I took 20g vitamin C, in 4 doses of 5g each spread over the day. By Monday my reading was 7 and by the end of the week I was scoring 8-10 on different days. I don’t know if I would have taken action without some outside electronic reading.
I had no idea there were other apps aside from the few I use on my Apple Watch. I’m suspect of the cardio reading I get on it but perhaps I should pay more attention, since it caught a nurses eye once. I’ve never heard of this Oura ring so I’m intrigued to learn more. Thanks for all the sharing! I am a grateful patient of the fabulous Dr. John Chia in Torrance, CA. Going on…20 years?!
Does anyone have any recommendations re: HRV etc… monitors for those of us with metal allergies &/or allergic contact rashes? I’ve wanted to purchase something but the myriad reports of fitbit rash (and apple watch rash, etc…., seems the same thing applies to most brands) has kept me from proceeding. Last thing I want to do is spend lots of money (that I don’t have) on something that I won’t be able to wear if I react to it.
Hi Anne,
I also have some metal sensitivities, so I checked the Oura site & found this:
Materials
Durable Titanium
PVD Coating
Non-Allergenic, Non-Metallic, Seamless Inner Molding
The titanium is a good choice, but I wonder about the coating…
How would the Ouro compare to the Apple Watch 6? My sister just gave me an Apple Watch 5. I haven’t tried it yet and I understand it doesn’t measure the blood oxygen. Trying to decide what if anything to buy.
ANYTHING that has anything to do with the ROCKAFELLER group is total garbage and never getting a cent of my money! All they stand for is crimes against humanity and DEPOPULATION!!!!!!!
Does the Oura ring use the same “electro” technology as Fitbits and Garmins? (Dpn’t know how to describe it!) But I can’t wear Fitbit and Garmin fitness trackers as they bring my wrist out in a nasty burn-like rash, which I presume is due to electromagnetic sensitivity.
Does anyone know if the Oura ring would do the same thing?
Mog,
The rash you’ve experienced is more likely to be an allergic response to something used in the watch or band. EMFs can cause problems for sensitive people, but a contact rash where the watch sits is not so likely to be from EMFs.
This article by a dermatology clinic has a good explanation: https://bhskin.com/blog/do-you-have-a-rash-from-fitbit/.
There was even a class action lawsuit over this in 2014, and the manufacturers admitted the most likely cause was nickel in the watch (a surprising number of immune compromised people develop nickel allergies after enough exposure): https://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/fitbit-hit-with-class-action-lawsuit-over-force-band-rashes.
The same issue seems to impact most fitness trackers, but I understand some are better than others. One would imagine manufacturers would avoid using nickel these days, but the rashes persist in a significant subset of people. Sadly, some of the watch manufacturers are tight-lipped about watch and band materials, including whether/where/how much nickel might be present, especially as new models come out.
I’d REALLY like to buy one, but searches online show that manufacturers are neither helpful with allergic/rash issues nor forthcoming with information. I’m surprised I don’t hear more about this in the MCFS/fibro population, considering the immunity issues most of us have.
I’m really hoping someone on here who’s experienced this and found a solution will share their insights.
Hey Cort,
What’s up with the constant comment moderation of late? I’ve been commenting on here for years – now all of a sudden every comment requires moderator approval, whether or not it contains links?
Technical glitches? New policy? I’m pretty sure I’ve refrained from using salty language!
Ha! The moderation system has a mind of its own. It’s automatic and I have nothing to do with it. Theoretically once you have a couple of comments approved it should let you go by but it sometimes chooses to put some of our most prolific commenters in the moderation queue…I don’t have any idea why you were the lucky one this time but hopefully it will calm down 🙂
Thank you Anne. I did wonder about whether it was an allergic reaction but the rash came up on the opposite side of the wrist from the actual watch unit and it wasn’t under the buckle area either. It was the same spot that was affected with both the Fitbit and Garmin, which seemed weird.
Thanks Anne. A fitbit was a total waste of money for me. I thought it was the EMF that made it feel so unpleasant and irritating to wear but maybe it was the nickel? Am interested to try an oura ring but my reaction to the fitbit has made me a bit wary. Will investigate if there are any nickel components.
That might be an allergy to nickel, which i have. I take my apple watch off several times a day
Hello again Mog (and Deb and Karen) – and Cort!
It turns out that the Oura Ring *does* have an airplane mode (which means it isn’t using/producing EMF while you’re wearing it).
And my search for ‘Oura’ and ‘rash’, and ‘Oura’ and ‘allergy, allergic’ came up with only one hit – and it seems that was resolved by more careful washing. So it seems that the Oura might just be a contender for us.
I’ve got a birthday coming up, so will seriously start to look into this.
Cort,
If you ever happen to be speaking with the Oura folks, would you mind asking about this on our behalf? If this is true, the Oura people could be marketing to a whole segment of the immune-compromised population who have been gun-shy to purchase fitness trackers due to the previous problems. (It turns out there were *multiple lawsuits* against Fitbit over rashes, allergic reactions, etc… – including by stockholders suing over loss of share value). Even if the rashes were only 2% of Fitbit customers (still, that was over 10,000 people and counting last I saw), the good will generated by any company who steps up in good faith to address this would have great marketing value.
@Cort:
* Is it possible to record and view things like oxygen saturation, HRV, HR on for example an automated hourly basis in the App?
* Does the App gives quality deep sleep versus light sleep info?
* Is the App free or does one need to pay for full functionallity?
Those things are hard to find on the website.
Also, how good is battery life in between recharging in practice. I’m not the person to think about doing so every day.
Thanks for the blog and the info!
This article says it stays charged for 7 days.
https://www.machinedesign.com/medical-design/article/21128438/put-a-ring-on-it-digital-ppe-pick-up-coronavirus-symptoms
This is all new to me. Thanks for writing about your success using the ring to tell you when you in for a bad time, possibly how to avoid a bad time. The Workwell Foundation has published links to their pages, where they talk a lot about Heart Rate and Variations in heart rate as the indicators to avoid PEM. I wonder if they have any views on the usefulness of this device or any similar continuous monitor of heart rate and the variability. Their online link is here:
Link to their educational material, including the factsheet,
https://workwellfoundation.org/resources/#edmat
I purchased an Oura Ring a few months ago. Wanted to track my average HRV, which is 17 in my case. The low average HRV is the only “proof” I have of suffering from ME/CFS for the past 14 years. So, helps to alleviate my anger somewhat. My HRV today is 14 and consistent with the relapse I am experiencing. Glad I bought it and look forward to utilizing it more.
Anyone find any info from Oura saying when rings with new features will be released ( and what the new and improved features may be? )
I think during the last fundraising to keep HealthRising supported, somebody said that:
items bought when on some specific webpage meant that HealthRising received a portion of money from the price paid.
Anyone have a llnk or ‘how to’ info so someone can safely buy an Oura ring and benefit HealthRising at the same time?
Thank you to all sharing info thoughts ideas and concerns re: tracking health here.
$300 for a device that could help help me avoid a crash? I’m in. I understand this might be unaffordable to folks on disability or unable to work due to ME, I wonder if they would consider a discount code for disabled folks? Maybe just submitting a photo of a handicap placed or something so HIPPA doesn’t become a prohibitive burden.
Anyway, I’m planning on using my stimulus money for one. Thanks again Cort!
In case folks from Oura are reading this: please consider working with someone like Cort to help you offer different levels of activity goals, normal and pacing for CFS/ME (and now for the legion of Covid-long haulers joint our ranks) There is a massive marketing potential for Oura with our population because there is a huge unmet need that’s growing exponentially. While tracking fitness metrics for some people might help them stay on their performance game, for us this could be the difference between being able to make it to work or crashing and loosing a job.
Thanks once again, Cort, for an interesting article. I’ve been using a Fitbit for years to monitor sleep and activity and that has helped me, but now I’m thinking that Oura may add things my Fitbit can’t do (e.g. temperature). I’ve learned so much from you!
I’ve had my Oura ring for only two days and I LOVE IT! Looking forward to it learning about me over the next few weeks and then the resulting possibilities. I love how well it tracks my sleep alone, which isn’t even the main reason I used stimulus money to buy it. Thank you, Cort! Your never-ending support and research in this community is truly invaluable!
Cool! Good luck!
I’m new to this group. Just now finding out about pacing after being diagnosed four years ago. Will this ring warn me of a “crash” or that I’ve exceeded my limits? Recommend that I need to rest? How have others started using this ring to help them? I have to say, I am very hopeful that I can learn to learn how to take care of myself with this group!
It will give you recommended levels of activity – which I need to adjust downwards for ME/CFS. It’s pretty good but not perfect at tellin you after the fact that you’ve exceeded your limits. For me it helps me rest when I need to as I tend to just overdo and overdo – and it’s nice to get warnings about that. The fact that it combines sleep, activity levels, heart rate, HRV and temperature is nice – it gives you a nice picture of what’s happening with various symptoms.
There have been times I’ve woken up with good readiness scores and felt like crap! Other times it picks it up nicely – particularly if I overdo or don’t sleep well for a couple of days in a row. Certainly not perfect but helpful for me.
If your doctor is interested you can show him/her how your HRV/HR etc. responds to activity. That’s provides a biological bridge he/she can probably understand and can make the disease more real for them
Thank you! I will look to see what HRV means for ME/CFS and hopefully it will help me chart a way to better health.