Smart Rings | The Oura Ring

Dance the self-optimization craze with me Photo: julien Tromeur / Unsplash My girlfriend is currently taking part in a study in which she wears a so-called “Oura ring” for two weeks. A market leader in smart rings that are worn day and night and record all kinds of body data: They measure the body's heart rate, temperature, sleep and general movement activity.

The health data is then transferred to an app and compiled clearly: How long was I in the deep sleep, light sleep or REM phase? When during the day was my stress level exceptionally high, when was I particularly relaxed? The app creates a profile from this and comes with friendly advice, such as: Maybe go to bed a little earlier today if you can manage it, dear XY?

Actually exciting – and somehow practical too. Although I think to myself: I usually notice myself that I haven't slept well. And if you have to have your stress displayed through an app, maybe you should listen to your own body for a change.

At this point, Leni Karrer dedicates herself to paid care work and writes every two weeks about phenomenal things from pop culture, the digital world and feminism.

Another friend and her entire family wear a “whoop band,” basically the same principle as the ring. However, you can also create a group in the app and compare the data. So the friend can see at any time how much her sister and her father have slept. Unfortunately, just the thought of not only me but also others monitoring my sleep makes my heart race.

But the smart companies advertise life-changing health optimization: “Understanding your body is just the first step,” says the website, and “Oura […] gives you proactive recommendations and connects you with the right medical professional if necessary.”

Wanting to live a healthy life is not new and of course not reprehensible, but nowadays health seems to have to be visible and, above all, measurable.

This is also clear, among other things, on social media, where the optimization and measurement craze has now infiltrated all areas of life: nutrition, sport, relationships. Influencers establish morning, breakfast and evening routines, count calories and kilometers, eat anti-inflammatory or “anti-cancer” foods, and promote the new trend sport Hyrox, which aims for maximum utilization. Author Marie Joan calls this movement “Health Maxxing.”

While in the past you tended to show what you had, today you show how disciplined you are. And this works particularly well with the help of data. An example of this is the boom in the running app “Strava”, which records the route after jogging and can then be posted, almost like a “photo as evidence”.

What lies behind this need to constantly control and optimize your own body? Maybe it's less about living a healthier life and more about being less afraid. Because if we constantly keep an eye on our body, it seems less unpredictable. In our partially flooded world, the desire for security is great - and data provides this supposed security.

But the company Oura recently went to court: Plaintiffs accused the company of only estimating sleep data using algorithms and artificial intelligence - and that the ring's sensors were not able to record physical activity so precisely.

So it's all nonsense? Then I'm happy. In the evening I lie in bed next to my girlfriend and sleep surprisingly poorly. The next morning she looks at her ring. The app basically says: Take time for relaxation.

I was amused at first. The following night I slept excellently - and in the morning I was suddenly excited about the evaluation. I couldn't wait to find out what the ring had to say about my night: »Efficiency: Optimal. Keep it up and you'll get the rest you need."

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