This one Oura Ring setting was a game changer for me after I had my baby
This article is part of Tom's Guide's Women's Health Week — a series of content that explores how technology and the right workouts can support and empower women through every phase of life.
Months later, when I finally felt strong enough to pop my Apple Watch and Oura Ring back on (an insignificant action to most, but a milestone to me), I leaned on a few features that really helped. I paused my rings on my Apple Watch, for example, removing the pressure to exercise on days when all I could do was sit on the sofa with my baby.
I also used enabled Rest Mode on my Oura Ring — read on to find out what it does, why I did it and how to use it.
According to Oura, Rest Mode allows you to 'focus on recovery when you feel tired, unwell, or need to slow down.' The Oura equivalent of pausing your Apple Watch rings, Rest Mode pauses your Activity Progress Goal, Activity Score and all activity-related contributors, allowing you to focus on rest. The Readiness and Sleep insights will also be adjusted to help you prioritize rest — something I wasn't getting with a newborn, but removing the pressure of not meeting activity goals helped.
Oura says Rest Mode is designed for when you're feeling under the weather, when you're injured, sick, or traveling.
If your Oura ring notices a spike in your average body temperature, you might get a notification that suggests switching to Rest Mode on your home screen. This is because the ring has noticed your body is under strain, and is suggesting that you should focus on recovery.
If, like I did, you're turning on Rest Mode when you're not sick, here's the steps you'll need to follow:
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Once you have enabled Rest Mode, the data you see on your home screen will be different. At the bottom of your home screen, you'll be able to see that Rest Mode is enabled.
When you're feeling better, simply tap the notification banner at the bottom of the home screen, or go back to the Rest Mode setting on the sidebar and select 'Turn off and delete tags'.
It's worth noting that once you turn Rest Mode off, your Activity Goal and Score will slowly return to normal, taking into account the time you've been resting. I had Rest Mode on for a couple of months as I mentally recovered, so it took my ring a week to ease me back into my normal goals. During this period, I was still able to view my step count, active calories, and calorie burn if I wanted to, but I found the mental break from hitting fitness targets was what I needed.
Remember, these devices are designed to motivate you, not stress you out. If you're feeling overwhelmed, take them off, re-set, and remember that all movement is medicine, whether you're tracking it or not.
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I swapped my Apple Watch Series 10 for a Google Pixel Watch 3 — here's what I liked and disliked
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The Fitbit-powered fitness and health tracking If there's one area in general I think Wear OS smartwatches struggle in comparison to the Apple Watch, it's with the native fitness and health tracking support. It's generally good in parts, but lacks as a package. That's where the Pixel Watch 3 differs, and that's mainly down to the strong Fitbit integration, which essentially takes care of monitoring daily step counts, motivating you to keep moving during the day, and offers the kind of metrics and insights that are both glanceable and actually useful to pay attention to. A few features stand out particularly on the Pixel Watch. One is sleep tracking, which Fitbit has had quite a head start on Apple, both with tracking and with the level of metrics it can offer. Apple's sleep tracking support is pretty solid, but in contrast to what you get on the Pixel Watch, the presentation of data on and off the watch is a bit slicker. 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Samsung's vision for health is exactly what I needed after my heart attack
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Samsung's proposed future comes too late for me, but it could help prevent an injury to someone else. The benefits of a connected ecosystem are vast, and Xealth has already taken a few steps towards this connected future. Dr. Rasu Shrestha detailed how Xealth — and now, by extension, Samsung — is already being used to deliver a connected care experience. Through Xealth, Advocate Health has built a digital experience for pregnant moms. It begins with a secure link, which can be sent via text from the EMR with one click, in much the same way a doctor sends a prescription electronically to a pharmacy. The doctor can see when the patient has signed up, guide them through the pregnancy journey, and if they prescribe a blood pressure cuff, they can also view this data directly within the EMR. 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I asked an expert why automatic espresso machines and manual espresso machines taste different — and I'm really surprised
I'm one of Tom's Guide's resident coffee nerds, which means I spend a lot of my life making, drinking, and writing about coffee. I test every coffee machine I can get my hands on — everything from traditional manual machines like the Breville Bambino Plus to the superautomatic Jura coffee machines. The best espresso machines? I've tested 'em all. I'm also an ex-barista, so I have plenty of experience on commercial machines, too. But there's one type of machine I just can't get on with: automatic espresso machines. I've tested some of the highest-rated options, like the De'Longhi Rivelia and the KitchenAid KF8. But I just... their espresso just doesn't taste great. There are a few iconic machines I have yet to get my hands on, like the De'Longhi Magnifica ($899), but for the most part, I've not been impressed so far. I assumed it was because superautomatic coffee machines brewed differently to manual, but it turns out I'm wrong. I thought maybe the grind and dose mechanisms were massively different — but manual and auto machines actually use the same internal tech. The only variable? The human touch. I spoke to Anna Batten, who is a Product Manager at Smeg/La Pavoni. Smeg is known for its range of beautiful, premium coffee machines, like the EMC02 Mini Pro and the automatic Smeg BCC12 ($799). La Pavoni is the company credited with inventing espresso, so I think it knows what it's doing. The EMC02 Mini Pro is the coffee machine I have dreams about — if money was no object, this would be the machine taking pride of place in my kitchen. So I was super excited to get to pick Anna's brain about the nerdy tech inside different coffee machines. Anna said, "The only real difference between how manual and automatic machines work is how much human interaction you have with the model." She added, "an automatic machine will be set up to prepare a consistent espresso for you, measuring the dose, tamp pressure and duration of extraction, where with a manual machine this will be down to the user to do for themselves." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. So... I'm the problem. There's nothing inherently different about how a manual and automatic espresso machine pull shots, other than my personal flavor preference. I've also spoken to Shonali Paul of Paul John Indian Caffeine Company. Shonali said, 'The difference in [automatic] machines is that they have a set process to produce the coffee you want. You can't change or tweak anything about the brewing methods. However, it will give you any coffee at the touch of a button without having to guess any rations or grinds.' So basically, the only difference between automatic and manual espresso machines is you, the user. Making espresso is as much of a science as it is an art. Anna said, "The whole coffee preparation is important in creating the perfect espresso. This starts firstly with the grind size, ensuring this is the correct size for the blend of coffee that you have, as this will vary depending on how the coffee beans have been roasted." The general rule of thumb is that lighter roasts need a finer grind, and darker roasts require a coarser grind. When you pull a shot of coffee, you're looking for an espresso texture akin to honey. Anna went on to say, "Next would be the quantity of coffee that would be optimal for the size of filter that you are using." This means single- and double-shot portafilters require different volumes of coffee. "Lastly would be the amount of pressure and how evenly this is applied when tamping your coffee, if this is not roughly around 13-14kg and evenly applied otherwise this could result in channelling or the water moving too quickly or too slowly through the puck." As an ex-barista, I know precisely how important all these steps are. However, both manual and automatic machines require the exact same coffee process — so why does automatic coffee taste so different to manual? Grind, dose, and tamp all contribute to the overall pressure — and therefore flavor — of espresso. Anna says, "[Pressure] will affect how well the water runs through the puck and will impact the flavors and oils you are extracting from the coffee grounds. If your espresso was under extracted you might find this to be weak, maybe a bit sharp or sour, whereas if this was over extracted it might taste burnt and bitter and leave your mouth feeling a bit dry." Auto and manual machines should both reach 9-bar pressure to extract espresso, although auto machines can reach that more reliably, as user error is removed from the equation. Manual coffee machines have more room for error, because every aspect of the brewing process relies on you. However, Anna says, "Automatic machines are great for creating a consistently good coffee and most of these machines are set up for very little human intervention to streamline this process. On Smeg's machines you can increase/decrease the grind size to adjust the strength of the coffee you are making." So the main difference between manual and automatic coffee machines — and likely the reason why I'm personally not a massive fan of auto espresso — is the human touch. With a manual machine, I can fine-tune every step of the way to my personal tastes. I'm in the mood for a bigger, yet more balanced coffee? I can pull a lungo. I want a richer coffee? I can adjust extraction to get a ristretto shot instead. I want a shot so bitter and strong that it makes me wince? Weird, but on a manual machine, I can do that with a bigger dose and a finger grind (although my machine might argue with me during extraction). At the end of the day, automatic espresso machines do pretty much the same thing as a manual espresso machine. The only difference? You. If you're a relatively inexperienced barista and you're using a manual machine (like the Breville Bambino Plus), your coffee probably won't taste as good as an automatic machine. However, as I said above, if you're an experienced barista and you've got a great grinder, then your manual coffee will probably taste better for you. You're in control of the brewing process, you can alter everything to suit your particular tastes. Automatic coffee machines make coffee one way for everyone. Some people love that, just as some people hate it. Anna said, "If you want to fully adjust the coffee you are creating, an automatic machine wouldn't be the correct model to choose, and a manual machine would be better suited to the user's needs. Automatic machines do the one thing manual machines can never do: they save you time. And effort." It's so true. For some people, time is too precious to be spending five minutes a day making a coffee. And that's totally fine. Some people — parents, professionals, anyone in between — need to do everything in their power to save as much time as possible. And for those people, an automatic coffee machine is the answer. As much as serious coffee lovers maintain that automatic espresso machines make "nasty" beverages, it's a worthy sacrifice for others. So while I haven't found an automatic coffee machine that makes coffee to my personal preference, you should be able to find one suitable for your palate. I definitely fall into the "I-want-to-spend-five-minutes-making-a-coffee" category of people. I have a decent amount of time: I'm not a parent, I work from home twice a week, and I actively class coffee-making as one of my hobbies. So I'm happy to grind my beans by hand and pull that shot with precision. But that's not everyone. If you want coffee reliably, regularly, and quickly, I've got some recommendations for you. I've personally tested these automatic coffee machines, and I'll be testing the highly-rated Smeg BCC12 in the coming weeks. If you get the right machine, automatic espresso machine coffee will taste better than the internet would have you believe. In my KitchenAid KF8 review, I wrote that "The KF8 pulls espresso shots through single-walled portafilters, meaning the espresso isn't aerated as it's extracted. This results in a more balanced yet complex flavor profile." I actually really enjoyed the flavor of the KF8's espresso: it was thick, sweet, and creamy. The KF8 also has a lovely bright screen and can make both dairy and nondairy milk drinks. I awarded the De'Longhi Rivelia a 3.5 rating in my review, which means it's "very good" although not "great". I particularly loved its "Bean Adapt" feature. This basically analyzes your beans and tells you what grind size to use and what temperature your espresso should be. This is one of the few machines I've used where you can actually manually adjust the grind size! And one for the manual espresso enthusiasts. If you are curious about making your own espresso, then there's no better place to start than the Breville Bambino Plus. This compact machine can fit into almost any kitchen. Also, it's so straightforward that I think a complete beginner would be able to set it up and get brewing within minutes. In my Breville Bambino Plus review, I praised its delicious espresso, tiny size, and the steam wand ease of use. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
