I tracked my well being with Fitbit and Oura for weeks; here is the way it went

In the case of health trackers, the very best ones don’t simply rely your steps or monitor your sleep, they allow you to obtain your wellness targets. Or at the least that’s what I inform myself every time I choose up a brand new system to check. For me, the very best health companion affords helpful well being knowledge and retains me motivated, but in addition matches into my actual life. That steadiness might be laborious to seek out. I’ve spent just a few weeks with each Fitbit and Oura, and whereas every has its strengths, neither is kind of proper for me. If Fitbit have been a coach, it’d be the type that claims, “I’m not offended, simply dissatisfied.” In the meantime, Oura is extra like a well-meaning guardian who insists, “The essential factor is that you just tried!”

Fitbit is all concerning the hustle. Its ecosystem is constructed to get you transferring, monitoring exercise all through the day, and inspiring customers to hit every day targets. With frequent reminders, progress experiences, and group challenges, it’s a little bit of a drill sergeant. This method might be energizing, nevertheless it’s not nice at factoring within the nuances of relaxation and restoration.

Most frequently, I put on the Google Pixel Watch 3 to entry Fitbit’s ecosystem. The smartwatch tracks my sleep (and does so precisely), however the insights usually don’t really feel notably actionable. After I get poor relaxation, it’s not often mirrored meaningfully in my sleep scores or acknowledged in relation to my upcoming day. I’ve scored an 81 for lower than 5 hours of sleep and a 75 for under 4 hours, after which, moderately than Fitbit bearing in mind that my physique is probably going drained, I woke as much as the identical transfer prompts and exercise targets. Likewise, my Readiness Rating not often matches the way in which I really really feel, and don’t even get me began on the Physique Response alerts.

Fitbit flags me as “burdened or excited” at the least 4 occasions a day throughout mundane moments, however finds me cool as a cucumber when I’m really experiencing elevated emotion, like when a solicitor rings my doorbell, or it begins raining and my laundry’s nonetheless outdoors.

In different phrases, Fitbit feels narrow-minded and unrelenting whereas usually lacking the large image. Personally, I don’t love transfer reminders and mindfulness prompts. Even measurables like zone minutes and steps are much less useful to me. I’m not going to hit 10,000 steps on restricted sleep or with a sinus an infection, and I definitely don’t should be guilted about it. Certain, many of those options are customizable, and notifications can all the time be turned off, nevertheless it nonetheless seems like Fitbit expects my life to revolve round my health targets, not holistic ones.

On the flip aspect, Oura leans laborious into wellness and restoration. If Fitbit is a drill sergeant, Oura is my therapist, gently urging me to sleep in, keep hydrated, and hearken to my physique. Its core focus is on sleep high quality, coronary heart charge, readiness, and total mindfulness, and it drops insights which can be usually considerate and holistic. In different phrases, Oura encourages me to contemplate my psychological and emotional well-being alongside bodily exercise, which is extra in step with how I really stay.

Oura is very sturdy relating to relaxation and restoration. I’ve woken up groggy after a late evening, solely to have the app counsel I take it simple, decrease my exercise ranges, and even delay intense exercises if my physique isn’t totally recovered. Its Readiness Rating tends to replicate how I genuinely really feel, and I respect the way in which it appears at developments over time moderately than day-by-day snapshots. It feels prefer it really will get me, and much more so the longer I put on it. It is aware of my chronotype and affords steerage primarily based on my habits and wishes.

However whereas it shines within the restoration division, Oura falls brief relating to motion. It does little to push me towards specific targets or to have fun small bursts of exercise. Its exercise monitoring is enhancing, however nonetheless minimal in the meanwhile, generally to the purpose of feeling dismissive. I’ve accomplished sweaty 45-minute exercises solely to have Oura log it as “gentle exercise” or miss it totally. It additionally doesn’t reward motion within the second the identical manner Fitbit does (on display screen), and that lack of suggestions might be demotivating should you depend on these little wins.

For the reason that ring itself has no show, there are not any real-time stats, no prompts, and no on-the-go monitoring. It’s a extra passive expertise total, which is nice as a result of I usually need one thing that quietly helps me, however I do miss instruments like coronary heart charge zone monitoring throughout exercises. I additionally miss the satisfaction of beginning and ending a exercise (with out pulling out my cellphone).

Lastly, whereas I completely adore the lengthy battery life and comfort of sensible rings, it’s simple to overlook to test in throughout busy weeks. I’ve gone days with out opening the Oura app, lacking doubtlessly useful data and dropping unsaved exercise knowledge. It’s additionally simple to not understand the battery is depleted and miss chunks of information altogether.

Fitbit is nice should you’re going from sofa potato to informal health monitoring and wish slightly hearth underneath you. In idea, the prompts preserve me transferring, and the stats ensure I’m doing so effectively. However it might probably additionally really feel tone-deaf, ignoring the truth that relaxation is an important a part of health. Oura, in the meantime, is all about steadiness and self-compassion, which is refreshing, however might be too lenient. It doesn’t all the time maintain me accountable, and with out a display screen, it might probably additionally disappear totally. The subtlety is sweet, however my forgetfulness shouldn’t be. On the finish of the day, I’m nonetheless looking for the proper mix. I need a tracker that understands each my grind and my total well-being.

TL;DR: Oura is just too gentle. Fitbit is just too pushy. One thing in between can be superb.