Earlier this year, Casey Means, MD, a Stanford-trained physician, author, and co-founder of Levels, caught our eye with a newsletter titled My Oura Ring data says I should move to the jungle 😄🌴.
In the newsletter, she observed that during a two-week vacation in the Costa Rican jungle, her Oura metrics, including heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, steps, and sleep, “significantly improved almost instantly compared to my data back at home in the US.” Clearly, we had to learn more about how she uses Oura to live healthier, whether she’s on vacation or in her busy day-to-day life.
Tell us about your background and your work.
Dr. Means: I’m a physician by training. I studied at Stanford for medical school and completed a residency in general surgery. However, during my time in the conventional healthcare system, I became disillusioned by how reactive and fragmented our approach to health is in the U.S. The system seemed more focused on managing symptoms than addressing root causes.
This realization led me to step away from traditional medicine and devote myself to understanding why Americans are getting sicker each year and why life expectancy is declining. I became deeply passionate about metabolic health because it connects to so many chronic illnesses. Conditions like chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress all stem from metabolic issues.
This focus on metabolic health ultimately inspired me to co-found Levels, a company that democratizes access to metabolic data so people can take charge of their health. It also led to my book, Good Energy, which discusses reorienting healthcare around root causes and empowering individuals.
How were you first introduced to Oura, and how long have you been a member?
I’ve always been interested in wearables as part of the broader ecosystem of digital health. For years, I used Fitbit and Whoop before eventually trying Oura. Initially, I was skeptical about wearing a ring—it felt unfamiliar, and I liked seeing my step count displayed on a screen. But after giving it a shot, I became a total superfan.
A funny story: my fiancé already had an Oura Ring when we started dating, and I found myself checking his sleep data every morning instead of my own. His ring became my “gateway” to trying Oura, and now we’re an Oura couple! I’ve been wearing the ring for about a year, and I absolutely love it.
What’s the most surprising insight you’ve gained about your health from using Oura?
For me, the biggest game-changer has been integrating Oura with Natural Cycles. This integration has been transformative in helping me understand the cyclical nature of my body and tailor my lifestyle and diet based on where I am in my cycle. It’s empowering and has helped me connect deeply with my health.
That said, I find it frustrating that it took me until my mid-30s to have a tool like this. I believe it’s critical for all women to have access to this kind of data—it’s a vital part of female empowerment and health education.
You’ve talked about metabolic health being central to overall well-being. How can wearables like Oura support that?
I think of it as tracking both metabolic inputs and outputs. For inputs, Oura helps monitor sleep and activity, which are crucial for metabolic health. For example, Oura’s sleep metrics highlight quality, quantity, consistency, and timing of sleep, all of which are each linked to better metabolic function.
Similarly, tracking steps and activity levels ensures you’re meeting basic physical activity needs, which many people overestimate. We know that simply taking 7,000 steps per day can reduce mortality by 50 to 70%—and this is twice the amount the average American is taking. Other research shows that getting 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day drastically lowers the risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression, sleep apnea, Alzheimer’s, and dementia. That awareness of how many steps you’re taking each day is so important.
For outputs, metrics like resting heart rate and HRV (heart rate variability) are key. A lower resting heart rate is associated with better cardiovascular and metabolic health, while higher HRV reflects overall resilience and fitness. Oura makes it easy to monitor these indicators and adjust behaviors to improve them.
What’s your #1 piece of advice for other Oura members to improve their metabolic health?
Stick to the basics: Eat unprocessed, organic food for most meals, cook at home, aim for 10,000 steps a day, lift weights, and prioritize getting enough sleep. Sleep, in particular, is underrated but so transformative. It’s truly the foundation of good health.
| Member Story: On her journey to losing over 100 pounds, member Bailey C. used Oura to make sure she was achieving her activity goals every single day. “I’ve learned to have a better relationship with fitness because of Oura,” she says. |
Rapid-fire round… What’s the first Oura metric you check in the morning?
Total sleep. I aim for at least 7 hours and 30 minutes, though my ideal is 8 hours.
Must-do morning ritual?
I alternate between drinking matcha and an adaptogenic tea blend by Pique called Nandaka, a coffee alternative made with tea and mushrooms.
To prepare it, I add a packet of the tea or matcha into a milk frother, then mix in 5 grams of creatine, a scoop of whey protein, and a little allulose. I let it froth until smooth, pour it into a cup, and it’s ready to fuel me for my workout.
What Oura metric do you check midday?
Steps. It’s the easiest way to stay accountable.
Go-to energy trick for an afternoon slump?
Spending a few minutes lying outside in the sunshine on the grass with as much skin exposed as possible—it’s so rejuvenating! Sometimes I’ll add a quick dance party to some upbeat EDM music for an extra boost. Oh, and drinking a big glass of water, because dehydration is often the culprit.
Evening wind-down routine?
We keep the lights dim around the house starting at dinner time, using dimmers and a few red lights to create a calming atmosphere. Almost every night, I take L-theanine and magnesium L-threonate as part of my routine. These two habits—dim lighting and supplements—are the most consistent parts of my wind-down.