As someone who is always in the pursuit of getting the most out of my health, recovery, performance, I have used both the Whoop Band and Oura Ring. If you are on the market for either or looking to invest more into your health here are a few easy to maintain your health and recovery bio-markers.
Resting Heart Rate (RHR)
Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
Body Temperature
Exercise - While working out is helpful in burning calories, if you are overtraining you will see your RHR increase and HRV decrease. A sign that more recovery could be necessary.
Protein - Eating too much protein close to bedtime will negatively affect your RHR and HRV
Illness - Changes in your RHR, HRV, and Body Temperature are quick ways to assess your immune system at work.
Alcohol - Even one drink within the last 2 hours of the day will affect your recovery. If you opt to drink, day drinking 6+ hours before bedtime will have less negative affects than night drinking...your body prioritizes metabolizing alcohol first. The more time you give yourself before bedtime, the more time you have to metabolize alcohol.
Sleep Supplements - Being able to see trends in sleep quality, deep and REM sleep through moderating your supplement intake, is a good way to track what works best for you.
Prestige Sleep
Magnesium Glycinate
Ashwaghanda
Meditation and Breathwork - By regularly focusing on these you can increase your HRV, which is a good sign of improving mental and physical performance.
- Have you/do you use a Whoop Band or Oura Ring?
- Do you regularly track your RHR and HRV?
- Are there any additional metrics you have tracked or noticed through your fitness tracker?
From my personal experience. The Whoop Band is more beneficial for tracking workouts. The Oura Ring is more beneficial for sleep/recovery metrics.