My Oura Ring + Natural Cycles Review

I got my Oura Ring back in December and have been using it with the Natural Cycles app since then, so I figured it had been enough time using them that I could give a detailed review on my experience!  My decision to get an Oura Ring, and by association, a Natural Cycles subscription, was ultimately rooted in my desire to track my cycles and for it to assist me with the Fertility Awareness Method for birth control/family planning. This post will give my Oura Ring Natural Cycles review as well as answer all the questions you sent in to me via Instagram!

Review Introduction: Some Background

I have had zero desire to ever get back on hormonal birth control after going off of it back in 2018 prior to the birth of my first daughter. I learned a lot about the Fertility Awareness Method in the months leading up to her conception, and I felt confident afterwards that I could practice it for birth control/family planning instead of going on hormonal birth control. When we decided to try for our second child, I used the FAM method again but I actually decided to get the Ava bracelet to help me be more accurate in my ovulation predictions (This was before I ever heard of the Oura Ring).  I have to say, I was beyond disappointed in the Ava bracelet.  I was still taking my own temperatures as well as taking ovulation test strips while I used it, and for months and months it was *never* right about when I was ovulating. I know it takes a few months for it to learn your body, but even giving it time to do it, it was still wrong. It sucks, because it was expensive. I know it works for some people but personally, I wouldn’t recommend it from my experience as I wasn’t happy with it. Maybe I got a dud.

Using LH test strips and taking my BBT each morning with a thermometer helped us conceive our second daughter.  I’d also check cervical fluid which is another part of the FAM method. Those things are all you really *need*, so if these devices & subscriptions are too expensive, don’t worry, it can still be done!  I personally just hated taking my temperature every morning like not being able to get out of bed to pee first or move too much before doing it, it was just a little over the top lol. So knowing that the Oura Ring takes your temperature each morning and automatically syncs the data to your Natural Cycles app was a huge plus for me.  As far as LH test strips, it’s up to you if you want to use them in addition but that information does help the Natural Cycles app calculate your predicted ovulation and overall cycle even more accurately.

Next I’m going to share more info about the Oura Ring as well as the Natural Cycles App separately, since they are independent products and you do not have to use them together.

Oura Ring

I have the Horizon Style Oura Ring in Gold.  When you purchase, you will be a sent a ring sizing kit that you can use to determine the right size for your finger. They recommend you wear it on your index finger, but say that the middle finger or the ring finger will also work. I have chosen to wear it on my middle finger because it’s just more comfortable for me there and I also prefer how it looks on that finger! At first I had to get used to it just because I didn’t usually wear a ring on that finger, but now I am used to it and don’t even think about it and it’s comfortable even during sleep. I wear it for most every activity, but will take it off when lifting weights. The ring can get scratched so I just take it off.  I don’t find the activity tracking portion to be super accurate anyways (which was a question I got a lot) so I would not recommend it for activity tracking if that is your sole purpose in wanting to get one.  I wear an Apple Watch for activity/workout tracking.

Other than that, I wear it all day and at night. For sleep tracking purposes, it is AMAZING. The amount of detail you get is so cool and it absolutely has helped me foster a better sleep schedule.  Given that I had a 4 month old when I started wearing my Oura Ring, that should say something!  Each morning it gives you a readiness score and a sleep score out of 100.  Readiness takes into account your recent sleep scores, activity, & other biometric signals. I’d describe it as basically a score for how good and energetic you will feel that day!  And I’ve found it to be pretty accurate.  10/10 recommend if you want to better your sleep habits.  It gives you lots of insights into when your body operates best, how much sleep you need, the time of the night to go to sleep and the best window of time to wake up in the morning.  When I stick to those, I feel GREAT.

Below you can see some of the other info it gathers from you. I originally had it on “I think I could sleep better, I’m often tired” (again, I had a 4 month old when I started!) and just now I changed it to the second picture, “I sleep well and feel energetic”.  I think the ring has played a big role in helping me achieve that.

It’s got up to 7 days of battery life, depending on how you use it.  If you exercise a lot, it’s going to be less because it works to track those times of activity, for example. For me, I find it’s about every 4 days I need to throw it on the charger, which is no big deal at all. The ring will notify you to remind you to charge it and you can see the remaining battery life in the app.  Mine usually fully charges in about an hour! I haven’t had any issues with the ring or charging. I wear it in the shower and it’s water resistant so swimming etc. is fine.

When I was sick back in February for several weeks, my ring went on Rest Mode. It “automatically turns on when Oura detects that your body might be under stress; your daily goals are adjusted to put your rest and recovery first.” It’s even able to detect you getting sick before you may even feel it.

I do have the Oura Ring membership which is $5.99/month.  I like being able to get all of the data but I do think it’s necessary to have it if your goal is to track body temperature. If you don’t care about that part and are just interested in the sleep tracking, you’d still have access to 3 simple daily scores: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity, as well as the interactive and educational Explore content. So I do have the Oura Ring membership as well as the Natural Cycles subscription – more on that below.

Natural Cycles

Natural Cycles is the first FDA-cleared birth control app and I have been loving my experience and it’s functionality. It’s very intuitive and user-friendly, plus has tons of information without feeling overwhelming. It’s as effective as the birth control pill with typical use at 93% and with perfect use the effectiveness is 98%. The only thing more effective than that on the market for birth control is the IUD at 99%.  But I really love how much I’ve learned about my body since starting the FAM method. Tracking it all in the Natural Cycles app is the best experience with an app I’ve had.

The app is subscription based, but you can try a free demo once you download the app to check it out.  It’s either monthly or annual, and I chose the annual plan. This page outlines how you can get a discount on the annual plan + get a discount on an Oura Ring.  Also, heads up that Natural Cycles is also covered by some insurance in the US, check that out here. You may be able to be reimbursed the cost!

Basically, I wear my Oura Ring to bed every night and when I wake up, I open the Natural Cycles app and tap on “Sync Oura Ring”.  That will open the Oura Ring app and populate all of the data from the previous night, and send that data to the Natural Cycles app, the most important of which is temperature!  No more thermometers for me 🙂 The Natural Cycles app will give you a “red” or a “green” day based on if you’re fertile or not, and if you’re trying to get pregnant or not!  Green days for people trying to conceive will be the opposite of green days for people who are trying *not* to conceive.  You will tell the app this information when you create your account!

The algorithm will predict your ovulation and then confirm it after it has taken place. You can see your temperature charts on the app as well as expected period dates. Of course, these things take a couple of months to learn as you input the info. For me, it took longer because I was breastfeeding 4x a day when I first started. Therefore, I did not have a cycle. I did not get my period back until I weaned one feed. Once my cycle came back, it was able to start tracking it! It took a couple months for it to get the predictions correct but now they are on point. Definitely accurate in tracking my cycles. Here’s a snapshot of my temperature history so you can see an example. Like a BBT thermometer, it registers the 1/100th of the degree.

And then you can see my temperature spike on my graph below, as well as my confirmed ovulation.

 

Overall, I have really enjoyed using both and if we ever decide to have another baby, I know this will be so helpful to doing so.  If we decide not to have another baby, well it will continue to be helpful in doing that! I get all the awesome sleep and health information in addition and have really enjoyed that aspect.  Prioritizing my health and wellness is something that’s important to me, and our sleep is such a crucial factor for that. If you decide to get the Oura Ring, you can use this link for $40 off.  I think it’s only valid for 5 uses, so if it’s no longer working it’s probably because other people have already used it.  You can learn more about Natural Cycles here. I hope you’ve found this Oura Ring Natural Cycles Review helpful!

xo,

Bess