Oura CEO Shares Health Habits That Will Make You a Better Leader
EP 129 of The Logan Bartlett Show: Untold stories from tech's inner circle
Two weeks after Oura CEO Tom Hale started tracking and improving his sleep, he recalls, “It was like walking out of a black-and-white movie into a 4K technicolor movie… I’ve been missing this for 30 years.” The experience of feeling 20 again every day inspired him to apply for the Oura CEO role. Now, nearly 3 years into the job, we sat down to discuss what all founders and CEOs should consider when it comes to avoiding burnout and maximizing health and productivity. We covered his experiences with tools like continuous glucose monitoring, his thoughts on the future of wearables, and how AI insights will help us take better control of our health.
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✉️ Episode Memo
→ How Wearables Are Changing the Future of Healthcare
Wearables are becoming true personal health companions—everyone has a supercomputer in their pocket and thus can have body-worn devices that track their health, organizing data and acting like a check engine light for the body. The healthcare system is massively under-resourced, with far too few doctors to meet demand, but wearable technology is also able to help with preventative care. COVID accelerated this shift, teaching people to take ownership of their health, and now, wearables and AI are starting to fill some gaps in our healthcare system.
→ Sleep Is More Important Than We Want to Believe
Most of us don’t even realize how much worse we perform when (even slightly) sleep-deprived until we finally experience what well-rested feels like. During REM sleep, your brain rewires itself, locking in memories and sharpening cognition. Tom shared fascinating studies showing that NBA players who sleep 8+ hours score 29% more points per minute, while sleep-deprived players rack up 37% more turnovers. Even worse—driving on too little sleep can actually be more dangerous than driving drunk. Plus, lack of sleep messes with your metabolism, fuels late-night cravings, and raises the risk of a bunch of health issues.The good news: small changes can bring your energy back because sleep is basically your brain’s overnight upgrade.
→ Using AI as Your Accountability Partner
Making healthy choices takes a lot of willpower, but but AI is stepping in to help as an accountability partner. For example, Tom previewed a new AI-powered food tracking feature where you simply snap a picture of your meal, and AI will break it down—identifying ingredients, assessing nutritional value, and offering adjustment recommendations. Personalized insights might be the new magic to reinforce good habits and nudge us toward better choices over time. Behavior change is hard, but AI as a smart accountability partner makes it a little easier.
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