Capture your heart rate in real-time with one of Oura’s leading features, Live Heart Rate.
Live Heart Rate is only available on the Oura Ring Gen3, for both iOS and Android.
What is Live Heart Rate?
How Live Heart Rate Works
How to Use Live Heart Rate
Things to Keep in Mind
What is Live Heart Rate?
With Live Heart Rate, you can check in with your body at any time of day. A simple tap will give you immediate feedback on your heart rate in the present moment. Live Heart Rate can be accessed through the 24-hour heart rate graph.
How Live Heart Rate Works
Oura takes your heart rate in live time with the green LEDs within your Oura Ring Gen3, which enable your ring to take measurements using photoplethysmography (PPG) technology at a frequency of 50Hz.
PPG technology works by shining a light onto the surface of your skin. When this reaches your blood vessels, some of the light is reflected back onto a photodetector. The intensity of light reflected back captures the amount of blood in your blood vessel via a waveform.
Depending on the color of light used, different biometrics can be captured through their unique waveforms. For example, when your blood vessels are expanded, more green light will be absorbed compared to when they're contracted. This phenomenon allows your pulse to be accurately taken.
To gather an accurate pulse reading, you must remain relatively still for Live HR to take its full 10-second measurement. If Oura detects too much motion, your Live HR won't be available. Below, in "Things to Keep in Mind," we list several other factors that may interfere with a Live HR reading.
How to Use Live Heart Rate
1. Go to your Home tab to view your 24-hour heart rate graph card listed beneath your Activity Goal Progress. Here, you’ll see your most recent heart rate reading with a time since label, indicating how up-to-date it is.
2. Tap the large heart icon and if proper conditions are in place (balanced skin temperature, low motion, and a strong Bluetooth connection), it’ll animate to a loading state. Hold still for 10 full seconds or until your measurement is complete.
3. After your 10-second reading is complete, your heart rate graph will update with your current heart rate in beats per minute (BPM).
Things to Keep in Mind
- Several variables can interfere with a Live Heart Rate reading:
- Poor signal quality—check your device’s Bluetooth settings to confirm your ring and app are properly connected
- Unusually low skin temperature
- Excessive movement—make sure you hold still for 10 seconds during your measurement!
- Incorrect ring orientation—ensure your ring's 3 sensor bumps always remain in contact with your skin, on the palm side of your finger
- Live Heart Rate is not the same as Workout Heart Rate, nor is it intended to be a constant heart rate monitor.
- The green LEDs used to take your Live Heart Rate are designed to extract maximally accurate heart rate readings and thereby require stronger signal quality. The more you use Live HR, the more battery you’ll use up on your ring. We recommend charging your ring for a little bit each day to keep your battery in the optimal 40-60% range. You can learn more about our charging best practices here!
