Title: SpO2 and pulse ox wearables: Why blood oxygen is the big new health metric
Headings: SpO2 and pulse ox wearables: Why blood oxygen is the big new health metric
SpO2 and pulse ox wearables: Why blood oxygen is the big new health metric
What is a pulse oximeter/SpO2 sensor?
Why track blood oxygen?
The origins of the pulse oximeter
Pulse oximeter and wearables you can buy right now
Apple Watch Series 6
Fitbit (various)
Garmin SpO2 devices
Withings
Huawei Watch GT2

Content: In this instance the on-screen widget will offer a blood oxygen percentage, coupled with data on your altitude, to show the levels of oxygen in the blood. This is particularly useful for anyone that's into hiking, alpine sports and going on big expeditions. With elevation data you can view how oximeter readings are changing relative to your elevation. However, many wearables use pulse ox for a different reason: sleep apnea. This is a condition that 8/10 suffers do not know they have, where blood oxygen levels dip during sleep. This can cause adverse health effects. The Garmin Vivosmart 4 able to log blood oxygen levels during sleep, and it's reported in your sleep data. However, the device stops short of alerting you to sleep apnea in particular, and you need to look at the data yourself. What's more, on many devices the pulse ox is turned off by default as it impacts battery life.