Your Sleep Score reflects the quality and quantity of your sleep by analyzing key factors like sleep stages, restfulness, and timing. Learn what affects your score and how you can work toward better sleep.
How Oura Measures Your Sleep Score
What Is a Good Sleep Score?
What Is the Crown Icon?
How to Improve Your Sleep Score
More Information
How Oura Measures Your Sleep Score
Oura analyzes your sleep by measuring the dynamics of your resting heart rate, average body temperature, movement, and time spent in specific sleep stages, including light, deep, and rapid eye movement (REM). Oura's proprietary algorithms combine these metrics to provide a complete picture of your unique sleep patterns.
Your Sleep Score gives you a holistic perspective of how well you're sleeping on a daily basis (overall sleep quality). It's calculated using multiple contributors, including your total sleep time, sleep efficiency (the percentage of time you spend asleep during the night), latency (the time it takes you to fall asleep), and more. You can view a detailed view of your Sleep Score by tapping on the sleep shortcut at the top of the Today tab, or going to the Vitals tab. Your Sleep Score takes into account all your sleep, including naps. Oura records one main sleep cycle lasting at least three hours between 6 PM and 6 PM the next day. If that sleep period ends after 6 PM, it's counted toward the next day.
What Is a Good Sleep Score?
Readiness, Activity, and Sleep Scores — and their contributors — are rated on a scale of 0-100.
- 85-100: Optimal
- 70-84: Good
- 60-69: Fair
- 0-59: Pay Attention
An 85 or higher may be a sign that you are ready to take on new challenges. Scores below 70 indicate that you may benefit from prioritizing rest and recovery in the indicated areas.
What Is the Crown Icon?
On days when your Readiness, Sleep, or Activity Score is 85 or higher, you'll see a crown icon next to your Readiness, Sleep, or Activity Scores.
How to Improve Your Sleep Score
Your body knows what it needs and will give you signs to help you find balance. Your Sleep Score is a reminder of those needs. If your score falls below 70, it might be a good time to focus on gradually working toward the 85 range.
Below are some tips to help improve your Sleep Score. You can also add a tag for several of the options listed and observe how your sleep data may change via trends.
- Set aside enough time for sleep. To get the recommended 7-9 hours of total sleep per night, try to give yourself an 8-10 hour window between bedtime and wake-up. This buffer will account for the time it takes you to fall asleep, awake time, and any brief disturbances during the night—all of which don't count toward your total sleep time. Total sleep time is the most signficant contributor in achieving optimal rest and boosting your Sleep Score.
- Cut off screen time and artificial light at least an hour before bed. Dimming or turning off the primary lights in your home or bedroom can help, too. If you need to use a device near bedtime, dim the screen or consider blue light glasses to reduce stimulation. In the morning, try to get some natural light as soon as possible. Both reducing bright light at night and getting light in the morning help support your circadian rhythm, which regulates your sleep and wake patterns.
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Regularity helps anchor your sleep, which can naturally improve both its quantity and quality. Your circadian rhythm functions best with a consistent routine, making it easier for your body to rest and recharge.
- Limit strenuous exercise, heavy meals, and alcohol consumption ~3 hours before bed. Consuming foods high in sugar and low in fiber in the evening can lead to more wake-ups during the night and less deep sleep. This is because sugar raises your metabolic rate and average body temperature, making it harder for your body to relax and stay in a restful state.
- Limit caffeine past 2 PM. Even some decaffeinated beverages, like decaf coffee or decaf green tea, still contain small traces of caffeine. You may want to consider limiting your consumption of these in the later evening hours as well.
- Create a relaxing nightime routine. Try activities like a warm shower, reading, light yoga, or mindfulness to help you unwind before bed. This can signal to your body and mind that it’s time to "power down," making it easier to fall asleep when you hit the pillow.
- Set aside time to clear your mind. Spend a few minutes in the two hours before bedtime to write down your thoughts, concerns, or to-do lists for the next day.
- Cool down your sleep environment. The optimal sleep temperature is around 67°F/18°C. Your body needs to slightly drop its core temperature by around 2-3°F/1°C to initiate sleep and keep you at rest throughout the night. A warm bath or shower in the hour or two before bed can help by drawing heat to the surface of your skin, allowing your body to cool down faster.
- Try to use your bed only for sleep and rest. Avoid activities like watching TV, working, or eating in bed. Doing these in your sleep space can create associations that make it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.
Looking for more insight about these metrics? Try Oura Advisor for personalized guidance that's based on your past data. Oura Advisor is currently only available in English.
Learn more about how Oura measures sleep in this video:
