This article covers how Oura measures your Readiness Score, what's considered a "good" score, quick tips on how to improve your readiness, and the various factors that may result in lower Readiness Scores.
What Is the Readiness Score?
What Is a Good Readiness Score?
What Is the Crown Icon?
How to Improve Your Readiness Score
Factors That May Decrease Your Readiness Score
What Is the Readiness Score?
Your Readiness Score reflects how balanced your recovery and activity are. It looks at your sleep quality, body signals, and activity levels to show how prepared you are to take on the day.
The Readiness Score looks at both short-term and long-term metrics, or your Readiness Contributors. Overnight metrics include the lowest resting heart rate and its timing, average body temperature, sleep quality, and physical movement from the previous day. Long-term metrics include HRV, sleep, and activity balance.
Readiness Contributors with "balance" in their name, such as Activity Balance, HRV Balance, and Sleep Balance, use 14-day weighted averages. They compare your recent 14-day average (with the past 2–5 days having slightly more weight) to your long-term average over the past two months.
For example, your Activity Balance compares how much physical load you've taken on over the past 14 days to what your body is used to over the past two months. If you had an intense workout yesterday, it will have a bigger impact on your Activity Balance than a workout from a week ago.
Readiness Score also takes into account natural biometric fluctuations throughout the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy.
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.
What Is a Good Readiness 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.
Some variation in your Readiness Score is a good thing. It shows you're challenging your body in healthy ways. A manageable amount of stress can help build metabolic and cardiovascular strength. The key is to push yourself, recover, and repeat this cycle to support long-term well-being.
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 Readiness Score
If you’re looking to improve your Readiness Score and support recovery, here are a few tips for today to improve your Readiness tomorrow:
- Try to limit intense physical activity, but don't stay completely inactive either. Opt for light movement that gets your body moving without adding strain, such as a 20-minute walk, light yoga, or stretching
- Take it easy, but try not to sit for long periods. Aim to avoid sitting for more than five hours if possible, and incorporate movement throughout your day
Factors That May Decrease Your Readiness Score
1. High or low body temperatures
- High average body temperatures may be a sign of stress on the body, such as illness
- Low average body temperatures may be a sign of changes in your system, such as those that take place during the female menstrual cycle. Lower body temperatures have been shown to occur during the follicular phase (the 14-day period leading up to ovulation)
2. High or low resting heart rates (RHR)
- A higher-than-usual RHR suggests that your body is over-challenged and not recovering properly
- A lower-than-usual RHR may indicate low arousal of your nervous system, meaning your body isn't being challenged enough to maintain physical fitness. This could lead to feelings of lethargy
3. High or low Heart rate variability (HRV)
- Significantly higher-than-normal HRV might indicate low nervous system arousal
- Lower-than-normal HRV can be a sign of excessive stress or strain on your body.
4. Consistently insufficient sleep
- According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine guidelines, the average adult (18+ years) needs 7-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal health
5. Higher or lower Activity Balance
- Higher Activity Balance may indicate that you are overexerting and pushing yourself too hard
- Lower Activity Balance may indicate that you are not challenging your body enough
6. Late heart rate stabilization
- Heart rate stabilization happens when your RHR stays within 3 beats per minute (BPM) of your lowest RHR for the night.
- Heart rate stabilization typically occurs before your RHR reaches its lowest point. Ideally, this happens earlier in the night, giving your body more time to recover
