The £500 Oura ‘good ring’ is hailed as England’s Euros ‘secret weapon
A new piece of kit could be the key to England’s victory at the Euros – a £500 ‘smart ring’ that’s a firm favourite with Prince Harry, Kim Kardashian, and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Finnish brand Oura has become a hit with A-List celebrities since its genesis in 2013 with prices for the sleek titanium ‘smart ring’ ranging up to £549, plus a £5.99 monthly subscription.
The technology claims to monitor sleep, body temperature, stress and heart health and players and staff have been given a state-of-the-art tracking device for the tournament, with even Gareth Southgate spotted wearing one.
As well as being a sleep and activity tracker, the device collects health metrics by taking constant readings of body temperature, heart rate and movement, with the brand describing the smart ring as ‘the world’s most advanced wearable technology’.
England coach Gareth Southgate (pictured right) has donned the ring in the lead up to the Euros
Oura Health boasts Prince Harry as it’s clientele, thanks to the ring’s health benefits (seen in 2018 in Melbourne)
Oura monitors the pulse directly from the arteries in your fingers to capture signals from your heart and infrared light photoplethysmography, which measures deeper than the green light LEDs found in most other wearables.
It claims that the precise biometrics it collects gives you the information you need to boost performance.
‘Use accurate, continuous data to prioritise rest, adjust training schedules, monitor recovery, and detect signs of illness, injury, and fatigue,’ the brand’s website reads.
Although it’s not a diagnostic tool, it can give you an early alert that illness is brewing – for instance, by alerting you to raised body temperature, which allows you to take it wasy and recover before things get any worse.
What is the Oura ring, what factors does it monitor and can it really improve your health?
- Launched by Finnish technology company Oura Health in 2013, the Oura smart ring uses research-grade sensors to provide health data in more than 20 areas.
- These biometrics include body temperature, sleep pattern and quality, recovery, stress and heart-rate.
- The ring, made out of aerospace-grade titanium, takes measurements using its built-in red, infrared and green LEDs.
- Unlike most wearable tech, which measures from the surface of the wrist, the Oura ring’s technology takes readings directly from the arteries in the finger, which are significantly more accurate.
- It then feeds back to a smartphone app that allows the wearer to see the results, broken into three key sections – Readiness, Sleep and Activities – which come with a daily score between 0 and 100.
- Readiness is based on recent activity, sleep patterns, and direct body signals (like resting heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, and body temperature). If your readiness score is low after a poor night’s sleep, it can alert you not to push yourself too hard with your workout that day
- Sleep: The device will track the total time spent asleep, your resting heart rate, blood oxygen levels, hours spent in REM vs deep sleep, latency and breathing regularity. Again you’ll get a score out of 100. However, some users have reported that the device isn’t completely accurate and has recorded them as sleeping when they were just relaxing
- Activity: The app will remind you to move every hour if you don’t, as well as tracking how many steps you take, calories you burn, and recovery time taken.
- It will also give you a goal based on your readiness score and adjust it to how well rested you are
- Wearers can then analyse their data on a mobile app and the idea is to adjust your routine if you’re not getting enough good quality sleep or need more recovery time
- The cheapest ring costs £349. Then you have to pay a further £5.99 a month for a subscription to access the data.
The app gives you a readiness score based on factors such as how active you were the day before and how well you slept
You can also tag activities such as taking a relaxing hot bath and the more data you input, the more accurate your scores.
The rings are priced up to £549, with the cheapest positioned at £349. Customers can pick from a several colour finishes, including rose gold, black, and silver.
Prince Harry made a buzz around the Oura ring in 2018 when he was snapped wearing the titanium jewellery during a trip to Australia.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, sported the black band on his right ring finger on the first three days of outings in Australia alongside Meghan Markle, 42.
The father-of-two was snapped wearing the titanium ring in the ‘Heritage’ design, one of two available on the website.
And it’s probably no surprise that wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow, 51, has shared snaps of herself wearing the ring on multiple occasions.
Actress-cum-health guru Gwyneth Paltrow, 51, (pictured) has sported the device in numerous selfies
Kim Kardashian proved she was a fan after she shared a screenshot of her sleep biometrics collected by her Oura ring on Instagram
Kim Kardashian, 43, previously shared a snap of her Oura ring biometrics to her Instagram story, and later challenged the brand to a sleep quality competition.
It is also endorsed by leading sportspeople, including NBA star Chris Paul and Olympic skier and three-time gold medallist Lindsey Vonn.
And yesterday, the ‘revolutionary’ smart ring emerged as England’s secret weapon at Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate is a firm believer in marginal gains and has been open to introducing various developing technologies during his eight-year reign as England head coach in his efforts to end the nation’s 58-year wait for a major trophy.
The Duke of Sussex donned the ring during a trip to Melbourne alongside Meghan Markle in 2018
Marc Guehi (pictured) was among the England players seen wearing the ring in training on Wednesday
And the piece of fitness jewellery has become an addition to England’s armoury as they prepare for Sunday’s European Championship opener against Serbia.
Southgate himself has been wearing the piece of kit on his left index finger and was first spotted with the ring during England’s preparations for the tournament back home earlier this month.
Several players have also used the ring while training at their Weimar base. During Wednesday’s sessions Conor Gallagher and Marc Guehi were among the players seen wearing the Oura Rings.
And in 2023, speaking to Face magazine, England defender John Stones revealed he is a Oura Ring convert.
‘The first thing I do once I’m out of bed is check my Oura Ring to see how I’ve slept – it’s addictive,’ he revealed.
‘It tells me how long it took me to fall asleep, how much REM (rapid eye movement) and deep sleep I managed, how many times I woke up…it’s mad.’
Similarly, ahead of Qatar 2022, Germany’s national team were provided with Oura rings.
The move came after a sleep researcher was appointed to help deliver advice on how to accumulate optimum rest before and after fixtures.
Anna West, a Danish-born sleep expert, spoke to the Germany squad ahead of the tournament, and recommend each player be given a ring to wear to ensure support staff have a better grasp on their respective recoveries.
