A silver ring is on the left, and a modern smartwatch with a minimalist design is on the right.

Technology can be amazing and frustrating at the same time. It kind of reminds me of the media—hold on, you’ll see where I’m going with this comparison. I have a Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and an Oura Ring 3. I wear both to track my sleep and heart health because I have sleep apnea and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

The problem? Both devices give me different sleep data almost every night. Take last night as an example:

  • Samsung Health reported a sleep score of 94 (Excellent). A detailed breakdown is below.

    A sleep tracking app displays a sleep score of 94, with detailed metrics on sleep time, physical recovery, restfulness, mental recovery, and sleep cycles. A sleep tracking graph shows different sleep stages, including awake, REM, light, and deep sleep, with total durations for each stage.

  • Oura Ring 3 reported a sleep score of 74 (Good) with a sleep efficiency of 88%. Further breakdown is below.

    A sleep tracking interface displays metrics such as total sleep time, sleep efficiency, resting heart rate, and a sleep score. A sleep tracking app screenshot shows sleep stages, including awake, REM, light, and deep sleep, with a total duration of 7 hours and 26 minutes.

So, which do I believe? While both ultimately say I slept well (and I did—I can feel it), their numbers don’t match. I tend to stay up late on Friday nights to decompress from the past week, catching up on TV, PC gaming, emails, bills, and other things. Still, I slept great. But which device is more accurate?

I wear both because I’m in the Samsung ecosystem, and I already had the Oura Ring before the Samsung Ring was released. (I’m waiting for version 2 or 3 of the Samsung Ring before I jump in, so they can work out the bugs.)

This brings me to my comparison with the media. I watch Fox News for local updates and ABC News for world and U.S. news. I also check in on Newsmax here and there—mainly to keep up with my parents, who now have it on 24/7 (something I’ve warned them about). Just like my watch and ring, each news outlet presents similar information differently—sometimes slightly, sometimes drastically.

So, which do you believe? I’ve realized that, just like with my sleep trackers, you have to compare the data and come to your own conclusions.

Here’s what I’ve concluded: I don’t know which device is more accurate, but both agree that I slept well. This is further confirmed by my CPAP machine, which recorded zero AHI events (apnea episodes). In the end, I feel rested, and that’s what really matters.

Likewise, I don’t trust any single news source completely. I listen to all sides, recognize the kernel of truth in each, and make my own informed decisions.

#SleepTracking #WearableTech #HealthTech #TechPerspective