Fascinating data from high-tech sleep trackers show the frightening impact that drinking alcohol before bed can have on your body.
Owners of Oura rings, sleep-tracking jewellery loved by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow , and Prince Harry, have taken to social media forum Reddit to share the worrying impact of even one glass of wine.
One 60-year-old woman wrote that she was ‘taken aback’ by her sleep statistics ‘after a night on the town’.
‘Seeing it for yourself hits home,’ she said.
The report from her Oura ring showed that after a boozy night her resting heart rate – a measure of sleep quality with lower scores typically healthier – spiked by 15 per cent to 52 beats per minute.
A higher resting heart rate suggests the organ is having to work harder, and studies have found that consistently high reading can be sign of increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death.
Likewise, her heart rate variability (HRV), a measure of the range of the time between heart beats, with higher scores typically better, also took a hit.
She said the 18 milliseconds HRV the ring recorded was half her usual reading of ‘the high 30s’.
Fascinating stats collected from high-tech rings have revealed just how badly drinking alcohol can disrupt your sleep
The Oura ring, launched back in 2013 by Oura Health, a Finnish technology company, comes with a hefty price tag, starting at £299 and costing up to £549
One user, a 60-year-old woman, said she was ‘taken aback by my sleep stats after a night on the town’
She wrote that she believes her HRV dropping was a sign alcohol had put stress on her body, causing her heart to work harder than usual.
Commenting on the results earlier this week she said the data would make her think twice before knocking a few glasses back again.
‘I’m not much of a drinker – the last time I had alcohol before last night was the end of November,’ she wrote.
‘But these stats nonetheless will make me pause next time I’m thinking of having a drink. At the very least, I’d be thinking of limiting it to one or two.’
Another Oura user shared how having as little as one glass of wine, an evening ritual for many Britons, had wrecked their sleep.
They said that having the equivalent of just over 1.5 units of alcohol had led to an awful night of sleep and a slump in Oura scores.
The user reported a spike in heart rate – a jump to what they described as an unusually high 59 beats-per-minute.
Another Oura user shared how having as little as one glass of wine, an evening ritual for many Britons, had wrecked their sleep
Prince Harry made a buzz around the Oura ring in 2018 when he was snapped wearing the titanium jewellery during a trip to Australia. He sported the black band on his right ring finger on the first three days of outings in Australia alongside his wife Meghan Markle
Replying to the post another user said they had a very similar experience with a glass of wine.
‘My resting heart rate is +10. It’s good to know the ring really is monitoring things.’
A normal resting heart rate is between 60 to 100 beats per minute when awake, though this typically falls to 40 to 50 beats per minute while sleeping.
Research has linked a higher resting heart rate with increased risk of premature death. One study in 2013 found men with a resting heart rate above 90 had triple the risk of an early death.
Normal HRV on the other hand varies significantly by age and by individual.
Dr Jabeen Begum told WebMD the average HRV for a healthy adult is 42milliseconds, though it can range from anywhere between 19 to 75milliseconds.
Oura said it has seen the impact of alcohol in the sleep data shared by users on a larger scale.
In a report, the company said consuming alcohol led to an average five per cent increase in resting heart rate compared to a user’s typical average.
Likewise, they found HRV decreased by an average of 12 per cent after boozing and the amount of rejuvenating ‘deep sleep’ fell by an average of 7 per cent.
The Oura ring launched back in 2013 and comes with a hefty price tag, starting at £299 and costing up to £549 for some versions.
Wellness guru Gwyneth Paltrow, 52, has shared snaps of herself wearing the ring on multiple occasions
Inside the ring there are three sensors: tiny infrared lights that measure heart and breathing rate, an accelerometer to track movement and a body temperature monitor that spots fevers and monitors women’s menstrual cycles.
As opposed to many similar trackers, which often come in the form and function of watches, Oura says its ring design sets it apart.
The location — with the index finger recommended — means it captures signals directly from the heart to provide more accurate data than that which is gathered from wrist-worn devices.
Last year scientists found Oura data could be used to help predict if a wearer had diabetes, flu or Covid.
Adults are recommended to get between seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
However, surveys suggest the average Briton gets just six hours and 20 minutes a night.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
