I upgraded to the Oura Ring Gen 4 Ceramic and it helped me make some big decisions about my health

I haven’t always been into wearables. I try my best to listen to my body’s cues and to navigate life in a somewhat natural way. After all, do we really need to know every detail about our bodies, including our heart rate, stress levels, sleep cycles, or whether we’ve moved enough each day?

I used to think the answer was no, but things have changed in the last couple of years. First, I got myself an Apple Watch, and I enjoyed closing the rings, which gave me inspiration to get up and move even on days when I didn’t feel like it.

Then, I got an Oura Ring Gen 3 about a year ago, which made me a lot more invested in my health stats than the Apple Watch ever did. I loved the small form factor and the stats the Oura app gave me. And, most importantly, I started wearing the ring for sleep, which opened up a whole new world of health data,

You might wonder how a person who showed no interest in wearable technology suddenly started getting smartwatches and smart rings. The answer is, I’m not sure, but it happened organically. I started seeing smart rings everywhere last year, which piqued my curiosity. And I know that Oura was (is) one of the main players in the market, so it made sense to try that.

From sceptic to sleep-data convert

Turns out, my sleep data was more important than I thought. After wearing the ring for just a few weeks, I discovered I was getting very little deep sleep, largely due to the medication I was taking at the time. I knew the lack of deep sleep was a side effect of the drugs, and so were the nightmares and nighttime sweatiness.

Now I had proof that what I needed to do was to lose the pills, and having clear, long-term data provided by the Oura app helped me have an informed discussion with my GP. Together, we decided it was better for me to prioritise quality deep sleep rather than continue with that medication.

It’s worth stressing that without Oura's insights, I genuinely wouldn’t have known my body was missing out on such an essential stage of sleep. From that point on, I became far more invested in using Oura, if for nothing else, to see if not taking the medication improved my sleep. Not surprisingly, after a few weeks of adjustment time, my sleep score started hitting 90+ and stayed there.

A more refined ring

I wore the Oura Gen 3 for just over a year, but eventually the battery started to deteriorate, and the ring itself had become quite tarnished. So when the Oura Ring Gen 4 Ceramic launched, I knew it was time for an upgrade.

I initially ordered the same size as my Gen 3, but when it arrived, it was noticeably looser and even slipped off my finger. The internal grooves are less pronounced on the Oura Ring Gen 4, so sizing down made sense.

I chose the Tide colour, a soft, cool blue tone, which makes the ring feel more like contemporary jewellery than a wearable. Thankfully, smart rings come in colours other than just black, but the Ring 4 Ceramic’s colours are genuinely pretty – at least, they look handsome to me.

The metrics I check every day

Even though I knew the Gen 4 comes with an updated sensor setup that is said to provide more accurate readings, I didn’t experience many issues with the Gen 3. I’m not the person who crunches and compares data with other wearables, so I can’t verify any changes in accuracy. However, it’s true that you appreciate scores more knowing the data is more accurate.

One of my favourite aspects of wearing the Oura Gen 4 Ceramic is the way it presents key scores at the top of the app: Readiness, Sleep, Activity, Cycle Day, Heart Rate, and Stress. I’ve found these scores genuinely helpful when managing my day.

The sleep score, in particular, is my favourite. When I know I’ve slept well, I tend to approach the day with a much more positive mindset. Trying to maximise my sleep score also helps me fall back asleep more easily, and I’m more motivated not to get carried away with random thoughts in bed during the night.

The good and not-so-perfect of auto-detection

The Oura Gen 4 Ceramic automatically detects most of my activities, something I appreciate as an active person. I teach weekly dance classes and try to pull my weight with the housework, and the ring always logs these without any input from me. It even picks up activities such as painting and decorating (it says I did ‘yardwork’).

It usually recognises my walks and rides on my electric bicycle. That said, it doesn’t always log rides as cycling with the assist on. Luckily, if anything is missed or mislabelled, it’s easy to amend or add activities manually in the app. I would like to see an update that fine tunes recognition of e-bike activities in future software updates.

(Pilates and yoga also aren’t detected automatically, but again, these are easy to add manually.)

The metric I take with a pinch of salt

Stress tracking is an area where I think there’s room for improvement. If, for some reason, the ring doesn’t pick up shorter bursts of activity as exercise, it still logs physiological stress, which messes up my daily stress readings.

As someone who is very active and often busy, my stress levels in the app appear quite high, even though I don’t necessarily feel negatively stressed. Interestingly, my stress score tends to drop only when I’m sitting still, which can, in turn, affect my readiness score. Because of this, I don’t place too much weight on the stress metric.

Subtle alerts that changed my habits

One feature I’ve found particularly valuable is Oura’s ability to detect early signs of illness or physical strain. It often picks up subtle changes before I feel unwell, prompting me to slow down, rest, and take better care of myself.

These changes appear as either minor or major signs, and when they’re detected, the app suggests enabling Rest Mode. Even in Rest Mode, Oura continues to collect key health data, including temperature trends and heart patterns, so it can monitor how your body is responding.

On one occasion, when the ring was showing major signs, and I was already feeling under the weather, I decided to take it off for a few days, thinking there was little point in recording data while unwell. What I didn’t expect was how much I’d miss it in the smallest, funniest ways.

I wear the ring on my left index finger, and it’s almost become a fidget toy for me. I love the tactile sensation the ring provides, and without it, I felt oddly lost. I even missed the soft sound it makes when I absent-mindedly tap it against my daily cups of tea. Needless to say, within two days, I couldn’t help but put it back on.

The Oura Ring Gen 4 Ceramic has quietly become part of my everyday life. Rather than overwhelming me with data, I find its suggestions subtle enough to help me make better health decisions.

While it isn’t perfect, and there are areas where the tracking could be refined, the value lies in how it encourages awareness, rest, and better habits without demanding constant attention. For someone who never thought they’d feel attached to a piece of wearable tech, the Oura Ring has earned its place, not just as a health tracker, but as a subtle companion that helps me listen to my body a little more closely.