Quitting alcohol changed my Oura Ring 4 metrics in a month

After more than a month without alcohol, the author recorded notable improvements on the Oura Ring 4, including higher stress resilience (rising from “Adequate” to “Exceptional” at times) and a sleep score that reached 93/100.

I stopped drinking alcohol as a personal, monthlong experiment and tracked my sleep and recovery with an Oura Ring 4 and its app. I wanted to see both physiological and psychological effects, including sleep quality, stress handling and daily readiness. The ring’s stress resilience and sleep features were used to compare trends over several weeks. The reporting below summarizes what the device recorded and how the author says they felt. Key findings: - Stress resilience rose noticeably during the month, moving from “Adequate” to “Exceptional” on three occasions, and readiness reached a reported high of 92/100. - Heart rate variability (HRV) balance reached an optimal level and the author’s lowest average resting heart rate fell to about 52 beats per minute for February, down from 55 in January and a December peak of 59. - Overall sleep score improved to a personal high of 93/100, with recorded peaks in REM sleep (about 1 hour 50 minutes) and deep sleep (about 1 hour 33 minutes). - Nighttime breathing regularity showed fewer disturbances during the alcohol-free month; the article notes that alcohol can worsen airway obstruction in sleep apnea and impair breathing responses during sleep. - The author reports feeling more level-headed, calmer and better able to recover, and mentions a recovery expert’s reminder to pay attention to how one feels in addition to wearable numbers. Summary: Measured trends reported by the author point to improvements in daytime stress resilience, HRV and sleep quality during the alcohol-free period, and the author describes feeling calmer and more balanced. The author plans to continue tracking and report back in another month.