Exclusive | The most stressful days of the year, according to Oura rings and what pushed New Yorkers over the edge

Do you remember the most stressful day you had this year? Your Oura ring does.The health tracker company also knows which days were collectively the most stressful for Americans as a whole — and the results are surprising.Sharing data exclusively with The Post, Oura has revealed the top 20 most stressful days from from July 1, 2025 to June 20, 2026 for both US users and New Yorkers.And while some of the dates may seem random at first glance, a few key events seem to have had a noticeable impact.More than five million people pay for an Oura membership, enlisting the smart ring to give them insights into their sleep, fitness and, yes, stress.But it’s important to note that Oura is no mood ring: It measures physiological stress through metrics like heart rate, heart rate variability (variation in time between heart beats) and body temperature.So when it’s showing a day as stressful, that means your body is stressed — which is why both upsetting and exciting things can register.“Oura is measuring activation in the body, not whether an experience feels good or bad,” says Shyamal Patel, Oura’s SVP of science.

“In other words, excitement and stress are not opposites from the body’s perspective; they can overlap.”In the past year, the most stressful day for both New Yorkers and the country as a whole was of the last year was May 16 for New Yorkers — and for folks across the country.At least in New York, this might be explained in part by the Long Island Rail Road strike, which started that day.Without the LIRR, some New Yorkers had to shell out hundreds to pay for taxis, while others had to deal with hours added onto their commute.As many as 300,000 commuters were affected.But something else interesting was happening.

It was gorgeous out — comfortably warm with a breeze and sun — a perfect late spring day.It’s possible people wearing Oura rings were out and about, socializing, drinking and staying out late, which can all register in the ring a...