Does Oura Ring Track Steps? – Find Out Here!

Our Guide To Oura Ring Step Tracking

If you’ve invested in an Oura ring for fitness upkeep or to lose weight, you might be wondering if the Oura ring tracks steps to help monitor your daily activity.

The Oura ring does indeed track steps through its motion detection on the finger sensors which then contributes to your daily activity score.

We’ve discussed in greater detail why tracking your steps can be beneficial, how it tracks steps, and more about how the ring compares to other fitness trackers below.

Find out here if the Oura Ring connects to Apple Health!

Why Is It Good To Track Your Steps?

Nowadays, even our smartphones track our steps to help us monitor our daily movement, but watches and rings tend to be more accurate since they are designed for this purpose.

But why are tracking steps beneficial for your health?

Walking and general steps can be great for weight loss rather than heavy-duty workouts, tracking your steps allows you to reach goals and hold yourself accountable.

On average for weight loss or maintaining general health, it is recommended you do 10,000 steps per day.

How Does The Oura Ring Track Steps?

Since the Oura ring is so small, you might be wondering how this little ring can be able to track steps?

The Oura ring can fine-tune what steps are from other daily movements throughout your day. This device can do this in as soon as 30 seconds and can also separate physical activity from general steps when activity tracking.

How Does The Oura Ring Track Activity?

As well as steps, the Oura ring also tracks general physical activity and daily energy expenditure. It does this via the ring 3D accelerometer for activity tracking, this measures when the ring goes up and down and side to side for example.

For the best results when activity tracking, you have to make sure the motion sensors and sensors for heart rate are on the underside of the ring on the palm of the finger.

No-step activities like lifting might have to be entered manually into the workout tracker for accurate results.

What Does METS Mean When Tracking Activity?

The Oura ring can calculate the energy used during your daily health journey via something called METs which stands for Metabolic Equivalents. For example, a MET value of two would mean you have burned two times the amount of your resting metabolic rate.

You will typically find sedentary activities such as sitting burn around 1-1.5 METs while physical activity is over 1.5 METs since it has a higher activity burn.

Is The Oura Ring Good For Weight Loss?

The Oura ring is excellent for tracking activity levels and setting a daily activity goal, but can this ring also be used to help you lose weight?

We’ve listed how an Oura ring can help you lose weight below.

• Sleep supports weight loss – A good night’s sleep can help support weight loss, lowering your stress levels and providing energy for exercise the next day.
• Shows how drinking and nutrition affect you – Have a few cocktails before bed or an unhealthy meal? The ring can show you how this affects your heart rate variability.
• Tracks activity – Allowing you to see how many calories you have burned and the steps you have done.

What Are The Other Features Of The Oura Ring?

Apart from tracking steps, the Oura ring has a variety of other features to help stay on track with your health which we’ve listed below.

• Temperature sensors – Seven temperature sensors help sense when you might be getting sick or if you are getting your period.
• LEDs – Used to measure daytime and nighttime heart rate as well as working out heart rate.
• Finger detection sensors – This is an IR sensor in the ring which detects when it is not aligned properly.
• Guided sessions – One of the most amazing features of the ring, allowing you to track your heart rate variability during guided meditations on the app so you can see which kind of session works best for you and helps to calm you down.

Oura Ring Vs Fit Bit – Which Is Better For Tracking?

Although the Oura ring can track steps, how does this tech compare to better-known trackers such as Fit Bits? Which is better?

Oura rings track steps and activity through heart rate, they do however struggle with workouts such as weights until your heart rate spikes, therefore in terms of activity tracking, Fit bits might be the better choice.

This being said Oura rings have the advantage of taking into account your readiness, for example, if you had a bad night’s sleep Oura will take this into account and lower your daily activity goal.

How Do I Get A Good Activity Score With Oura Ring?

Meeting your Oura ring activity goal can help maintain your recommended activity per week which is essential for losing weight or general fitness upkeep.

We’ve listed the ways to hit your daily activity target below.

• Try and meet your activity goal 5 times a week – Trying to meet your Oura ring activity goal 5 times a week can help to maintain your fitness, this will change according to your quality of sleep to prevent you from feeling burnt out.
• Get 2-3 hours of medium-intensity exercise a week – We recommend getting 2-3 hours a week of medium or high-intensity exercise, this will keep you burning the right amount of calories a week allowing you to reach your score.
• Move every hour – Make sure to get up and move after 50 minutes to help your inactivity score, you can set reminders to do this so you can get your blood flowing!
• Keep inactive time below 8 hours – Keep your inactivity time per day below 8 hours will help improve your activity score, above 10 hours you will get a negative score.

Frequently Asked Questions About Oura Rings & Step Tracking

How many hours of sleep should I get per night?

It is recommended for the average person to get between 7-9 hours of sleep per night in total.

How does the Oura ring track movement?

The Oura ring uses a 3D accelerometer for movements which detects motion as well as heart rate sensors to see when you’re burning calories.

What are the cons of the Oura ring?

The downfall of the Oura ring is that it only tracks activity through the accelerometer, this means for more stationary workouts like lifting or yoga the calorie burn will not be accurate.

Can the Oura ring track cardio workouts?

Yes, the Oura ring does track movement in cardio workouts, however, it will only record the parts where your heart rate spikes.

Does Oura send steps to Apple Health?

Yes, Oura ring can be used to send your steps to Apple Health if you sync it with the app, making it a great device for people who use both to track their fitness.

Which finger does the Oura ring go on?

The Oura ring once matched to your finger size can be worn on the middle finger, ring finger, or index finger, make sure you do the sizing process before ordering your final ring.

How many steps should I do each week to lose weight?

It is recommended you do anywhere between 10,000-12,000 steps each week to lose weight with the Oura ring which is around 7 hours walking per week or a one-hour walk a day.

How does Oura ring calculate my activity goal?

The Oura ring calculates your activity goal by taking into account your readiness goal, if above 85 for the day then your baseline activity goal will be higher up, this takes into count your sleep quality, stress, and cycle too.

Final Words

Overall, the Oura ring does track steps and can sync them with Apple Health and other major health apps to track workouts. The Oura ring tracks activity through motion and spikes in heart rate.

The pro version of Oura ring can accurately track active calories if you’re trying to lose weight and adjust activity goals based on how you might be feeling.