New Oura Ring Data Shows How Stressed We Were on Election Day

Americans have been stressed this week, and now we have the smart ring data to prove it. Ouracreator of the popular Oura ring, took a closer look on Election Day and found that Oura users showed more signs of physiological stress than usual.

Specifically, between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm ET on November 5, Oura members saw a 2.3% increase in “stressful” minutes, according to anonymous data provided by the company. They also experienced a 19.5% reduction in “recovery” time, which is a reflection of the body’s most relaxed state.

Stress is tracked throughout the day and recorded in the Oura app based on data such as movement, body temperature, heart rate and heart rate variabilityor HRV. HRV measures changes in time between heartbeats and is considered a particularly good indicator of health. autonomic nervous system function. (Think fight or flight balance in a relaxed state.)

According to the company’s blog post, Oura ring wearers experienced an average increase in heart rate at night – 2.8 beats per minute, which was 3.7% higher than on a comparable night.

Oura said the data collected is anonymized.

For those who have pre-election anxiety or those who stayed up late to watch the election results, the fact that many in the US were more stressed than usual or did not sleep as well as they stayed up to see the election results is not a groundbreaking finding. There is also no data showing stress levels based on which candidate you voted for or hoped to win; Oura reported similar data for 2020 showing poor sleep and increased stress.

However, the information gleaned from the smart ring is an interesting reminder of how our mental state affects our physical health and, as Oura put it in her blog, “the overall response to a significant social event.”