Unguided sessions are part of Oura's suite of mindfulness and meditation features. An ever-growing library of guided meditation programs, sleep stories, and other multimedia can be accessed through the Explore content.
How Unguided Sessions Work
How to Use Unguided Sessions
Things to Keep in Mind
How Unguided Sessions Work
Unguided sessions provide a timer and an optional soundscape for use during your meditation practice. When you start an unguided session, all of the sensors in your Oura Ring activate on a continuous cycle. This provides biofeedback insights at the end of each session so that you can see the benefits of your mindfulness routine.
- 1-2 minute sessions will show your lowest resting heart rate (RHR)
- 3-5 minute sessions will display your lowest RHR and your average heart rate variability (HRV)
- 5+ minute sessions will show RHR, HRV, and skin temperature trends
Lower RHR values, higher HRV, and slightly increased skin temperature variation are generally indicators of positive effects on your body. Increased skin temperature variation may be a sign of relaxation response activation: as your heart rate lowers and your blood vessels open up as a result, more blood circulates through your skin, leading to a slight increase in average body temperature.
Unguided sessions can be useful in managing stress and anxiety, relaxing before bed, and releasing body tension.
How to Use Unguided Sessions
To use an Unguided Session:
- Tap the + in the lower-right corner of the Oura App's home screen.
- Select Unguided session
- Select your desired session time. Open-ended sessions will run until you manually stop them, up to a maximum of 180 minutes
- Unguided sessions come without voice instruction, but you can select an optional soundscape, adjust volume, and toggle the session end chime on or off
- Select Start
- You can end timed sessions at any point by selecting End early. Open-ended sessions can be stopped by selecting End session
- Select an answer to the "How do you feel?" questionnaire
- View session results. You can send this data to Apple Health or Health Connect by Android if you've enabled sharing with third-party apps
- Previous sessions can be viewed from the app's Home screen under "Timeline"
- Sessions can be deleted by selecting Delete session at the bottom of a "Session details" card
Things to Keep in Mind
- Try to remain still during unguided sessions. Excess movement can interfere with the ring sensors' ability to take accurate measurements and may result in incomplete data.
- You may need to charge your ring more frequently because unguided sessions use all of your ring's sensors continuously. Read more about ring battery tips.
- Your ring and app do not need to be connected during a session. To see your post-session data, simply sync your ring and app upon completion.
You can use a separate audio app while taking an unguided session. Simply start a session without a soundscape, then launch an audio app of your choice. Make sure you do not force quit your Oura App, or your session will not be recorded.
