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We have all heard of blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), which refers to the amount of oxygen carried by the blood. When going through the lungs, the red blood cells will attract oxygen that will be transported throughout the body.
Some Fitbit smartwatches (Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Versa, Fitbit Ionic) and fitness trackers (Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit Charge 5, Fitbit Luxe) include a sensor and underlying App needed to estimate the levels of oxygenated blood. Fitbit sensors shine red and infrared light onto your skin and blood vessels, then measure how much oxygen is in your blood. In a nutshell, red light reflects more than infrared light in well-oxygenated blood, while infrared light is reflected more by poorly oxygenated blood than red light.
Fitbit devices measure blood oxygen saturation when users are asleep, which means that a normal SpO2 should trigger a result above 95%. When the value drops below 90%, it could signify hypoxia or sleep apnea. Keep in mind that Fitbit will only track the blood oxygen values from 80% to 100%.
Even though a Fitbit watch or tracker is not a medical device, wearing your smartwatch at night is a simple way to keep your SpO2 under control. Depending on your Fitbit models, you will need to install either a SpO2 app, a SpO2 clock face, or both. So do you feel confused, don’t worry and keep on reading. We will tell you everything.
Last update on 2023-01-14 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
How to track your blood oxygen saturation with your Fitbit?
The Fitbit Sense and Versa require the Fitbit SpO2 clock face and the Fitbit SpO2 App. Let’s check how to install them.
How to install the Fitbit SpO2 App. on the Fitbit Sense, Versa, Charge 5, Charge 4, and Fitbit Luxe
The App. that will monitor the blood oxygen monitoring features of your Fitbit comes preinstalled, assuming that you live in a country in which SpO2 measurements are available. Therefore, you do not have to worry about installing it except when an issue arises or after accidentally removing the App.
The installation process is relatively straightforward. Just follow these steps.
On the Fitbit Sense and Versa Series
- Open the Fitbit App
- Tap on your Profile Picture
- Tap on your device
- Tap on the Gallery icon
- Select Apps and tap the magnifying glass, and type “SpO2”
- Tap on the install icon of the SpO2 tracker
On the Fitbit Charge 4, Charge 5, and Fitbit Luxe
- Open the Fitbit App
- Tap on your Profile Picture
- Tap on your device
- Tap on the Gallery icon
- Tap on SpO2 to select the App
- Tap on the install icon of the SpO2 tracker
How to install the SpO2 Clock Face on the Fitbit Sense and Versa
You do not need to install a specific clock face on the Fitbit Fitness trackers, but you need one for the Fitbit Sense and Versa. Don’t get me wrong; blood oxygen data will still be collected even if you install a SpO2 Clock face. They will be accessible from the Health Metrics screen of the Fitbit App, but the data will not be visible on the smartwatch screen.
Nine Fitbit SpO2 clock faces are available to choose from in the gallery.
- SpO2 Clear
- SpO2 Analog
- SpO2 Active
- SpO2 Blue
- SpO2 Waveform
- SpO2 Sundial
- SpO2 Signature
- SpO2 Stack
- SpO2 Stats
The SpO2 Clock Faces do much more than just presenting the blood oxygen saturation data. Some of them can display other data such as heart rate, number of steps, zone minutes, etc. Our favorite is SpO2 Signature. We like that you have to tap on the screen to access numerous metrics.
All of these faces are designed by Fitbit and come for free. They are carefully crafted and easy to read. Somehow, there is a catch that you must be aware of when using a Fitbit SpO2 Clock Face…They will dramatically impact the battery life of your device. The Fitbit Sense is given six days of battery life but when using a blood oxygen face, be ready to recharge your watch once every two to three days.
It is somehow not the case with the Fitbit Charge 4, 5, or even the Fitbit Luxe. Hence, if you own a Fitbit smartwatch, we suggest that you install such a watch face and decide whether to keep it or not, depending on the metrics that matter the most for you.
Can I check my SpO2 on a Fitbit Sense even without a Clock Face?
Yes, you can! Blood oxygenation tracking with the Fitbit is tricky. The watches or trackers have to be correctly positioned and should be tight enough to be accurate.
The data will be displayed in the morning after synchronizing your watch with your App. So be ready to wait up to one hour after waking up for the value displayed.
Checkin them on the App is simple. Just follow these simple steps:
- Open the Fitbit App and tap on the TODAY icon
- From there, tap on Health Metrics
- Tap on Oxygen saturation to access your weekly recorded data and more when subscribed to Fitbit Premium.
To Wrap Up
Measuring blood oxygenation saturation on a Fitbit is a nice feature. However, we regret that the data can be challenging to collect properly and that Fitbit only gets SpO2 during sleep. It is then impossible to get an instantaneous value—a standard feature when using a Galaxy Watch, Apple Watch, or Garmin.
The wrist is not the best place to collect SpO2 values, and you may be surprised to find apparent differences compared to finger oximeters. For those serious about blood oxygen saturation, Wellue offer FDA-cleared oximeters that you may find more reliable. The benefits of a smartwatch or fitness tracker are that you get many health and fitness data in a compact format.
For more information about how to use your Fitbit to measure blood oxygen saturation, we recommend that you read the booklet put forward by Fitbit.
