// March 2022
This month I tested positive for Covid for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
After more than two years and incidences in Berlin and many parts of the world at very high levels, it was only a matter of time after all. As I am writing this I am glad to only have mild symptoms of a common cold, likely also thanks to having received a vaccine and booster shots.
What amazes me is that it took a whole six days for me to test positive and realize the infection since the day I likely contracted. Luckily I didn’t have contact with too many people in this time period but it makes me wonder if I could have known earlier. Hence, in the following, I want to analyze early warning signs and lessons learned.
Background
On Friday, March 4th, I went out to a bar and club with a couple of friends. The evening was a lot of fun and I got home quite late. Being passionate about data-driven health I continuously measure a variety of my vital parameters. Typically after a night out, I can tell that quality of sleep is not great (an irregular bedtime and e.g. already minor amounts of alcohol have drastic effects on the amount of deep sleep and recovery we can get).
To track quality of sleep I use an Oura ring which collects a variety of data and uses it to provide insights, including a daily readiness score that acts as a measure of recovery. On Saturday, March 5th I received my lowest readiness score in weeks alongside a warning that my body temperature and resting heart rate are elevated, both signs of a lack of recovery (first two screenshots below).
An early warning sign? Last two pictures show two different nights out, do you spot a difference?
After having slept in and eaten a big breakfast I didn’t feel bad at all so I did not pay close attention to the warning. After all, I had had a busy week and faced a similar warning a couple of weeks earlier on February 18th when a colleague from the UK was visiting and we spent two continuous nights out with the team. Back then I was subjectively feeling worse driven by a lack of sleep (third screenshot).