Australians are world leaders in sleep but should prioritise managing Friday stress in their 2026 New Year’s resolutions, ŌURA data shows

ŌURA, maker of the world's most trusted smart ring, has released new data that shows Australians are the second best sleepers in the world behind Kiwis. However, seasonal dips and end-of-week stress highlight three high-impact resolution areas for the year ahead: protect sleep over the summer holidays, reduce Friday stress, and keep strength training front of mind.

As this year comes to a close, ŌURA's data science team reviewed aggregated, anonymised data from millions of ŌURA members around the world to get a snapshot of what wellness looked like for Australians in 2025**. Key highlights were:

Australia's Sleep Score: Australia ranks highly in sleep quality internationally with an average 79.4 Sleep Score. The global leader was New Zealand with a score of 80. 

Best / worst months for sleep: April and May score highest for sleep quality, while December and January are the lowest - a reminder that the summer party season correlates with poorer sleep.

Most / least active months: Australians are most active in September and least active in March.

Weekday sleep pattern: Australians sleep best on Sunday and Monday, and worst on Thursday. 

Stress hotspots: Friday is the most stressful day in Australia (average 126.99 minutes of stressed time), followed by Thursday and Wednesday. 

Top Australian workouts (most commonly tagged): Strength training, running and cycling are how Australians are most often breaking a sweat.

Cardiovascular Age (CVA): Australian females show slightly better CVA than males (female mean -2.58 years, male mean -2.32 years), and females report higher daily stressed minutes (female 122.68 mins compared to male 96.35 mins).

What this means for 2026 New Year's resolutions
Australians already sleep well compared to many countries but there are still actions they can take to achieve easy, measurable health benefits across sleep, stress management and heart health. Based on the ŌURA data, here are four practical new year's resolutions for Aussies:

Resolve to protect sleep through the summer party season

Why: The worst sleep months are December and January. Aim to preserve a Sleep Score of 80+ by scheduling wind-down routines and keeping sleep times consistent during holiday weeks.

How: try to avoid caffeine 8 to 10 hours before bed, understand how your body reacts to alcohol on party nights, and aim to follow a 30-minute screen-free routine before bed.

Make Fridays less stressful - build a micro-reset routine

Why: Friday is the most stressful day (≈127 mins average of stressed time).

How: Commit to a short Friday reset: three 5-minute breathing breaks, a 20-minute walk after work, or a brief strength session to move stress into productive recovery.

Lean into strength training: it's already Australia's top tagged workout

Why: Strength training is the most commonly tracked activity in Australia.

How: Make it a habit with 2-3 sessions per week.

Aim for a seasonal activity plan - peak in September, boost in March

Why: Activity naturally peaks in September. 

How: Use that momentum earlier in the year by scheduling regular, measurable activity goals. Track progress in small weekly check-ins.

To help kick-start these 2026 resolutions, Oura Ring is currently on sale until 5 January with:
 

Up to 30% off Oura Ring 4 titanium styles

10% off Oura Ring 4 Ceramic.

Check out Oura Ring at JB Hi-Fi or Harvey Norman stores, or visit the Oura online store.

**Data points are based on ŌURA member data from mid-Nov 2024 to mid-Nov 2025 and limited to countries with at least 5000 Oura Ring members