Fitbit Trackers & SPO2 Tracking: Complete Guide!

What Is SP02 & Does Fitbit Track It?

So before we begin, it is important to understand what is SPO2 in first place. Well, the easiest way to grasp the concept is this: Every human being (alive human being) has blood running in their veins. It goes from one part of body to another and that helps to keep the organs work round the clock. Now your blood contains the oxygen. The more oxygen your blood contains healthier you will be. This is all SPO2 is about. It is the percentage of your blood that’s saturated with, or contains, oxygen. 

Now that we understand what is SPO2 is, it is time to find answer to the question: Does Fitbit track SPO2 for us? Well, just like above, the answer is yes. It indeed does. Although, according to the company itself this tracking ability might be restricted in certain countries. So, take a look before you buy yourself (We have added link to resources at the end of post).

But How Does Fitbit Track Your SPO2?

Fitbit measures your SPO2 at the night time while you are sleeping using three things:

• Red Light
• Infrared Sensor
• Infrared Light

Your health tracker will shine both of these lights (red and infrared) onto your wrists and take note of reflected data to estimate the oxygen level in your blood. The general rule of thumb goes like this:

• If oxygen level will be high more red light will be reflected back.
• If oxygen level will be low more infrared light will be reflected back.

At this stage it is vital to take note here that accuracy of Fitbit measurement are still up to debate. Even today in 2023, so it is advisable from us here at Chronoat as well as brilliant minds at Fitbit that you shouldn’t take the readings gained from your Fitbit tracker too seriously.

Note: Don’t confuse red light with greenlight on Fitbit (that is for Heart Rate). Another thing to know is that sometimes red light might keep blinking even after you wake up.

“How Can I See My SP02 Numbers On My Fitbit?”

There are two ways through which you can gain the access to SPO2 monitoring in your Fitbit. The first is through the clock face called SPO2 and the other is Fitbit application called SPO2. However, it should be noted that clock face SPO2 is only for the Fitbit Inspire 3, Versa Series, and Sense Series. As for the application you can download it on the following Fitbit trackers:

• Fitbit Charge 4 and Charge 5
• Fitbit Luxe
• Fitbit Inspire 3
• Fitbit Sense and Sense 2
• Fitbit Versa 3 and Versa 4

How To Check SPO2 Stats On Clock Face?

Have your Fitbit tracker on yourself during the complete period of night. In the morning sync the data, and you will find the stats on the clock face waiting for you. At times it might take hour or so before Fitbit updates the data on the clock face. So don’t worry if you don’t see the new set of data immediately.

How To Check SPO2 Stats on Application?

It is very simple to see the SPO2 stats from the application. For Sense series, Versa 3, and Versa 4 open the Today app  on your watch. As for Charge 4, Charge 5, Inspire 3, and Luxe swipe up from the clock face.

You can also tap the Oxygen Saturation tile to see your SpO2 range and 7-day graph on Sense Series and Versa 3 and 4. Or swipe up to find the Oxygen Saturation or SpO2 tile. You will see your most recent average resting SpO2 level.

Science Behind Low & High SPO2 Numbers On Fitbit!

As we mentioned above SPO2 level of your body is very unstable metric, and the fact that Fitbit method is estimation at best doesn’t help it’s case. So, if by chance you are seeing your numbers dropping too low or getting too high then there could be many reasons for it not relevant to your body.

For example movement of your arm and position of Fitbit tracker on your wrists matters a lot when it comes to tracking data. A slight detour can skew the results in a manner that shouldn’t be allowed yet it happens. And this is nothing new, we have seen this issue in VO2 Max, Resting Heart Rate, even Sleep Tracking in Fitbit trackers.

Another thing that could be cause of eerie results is how everyone is shaped different. No man is made the same. Meaning differences in body structures can also impact the accuracy of your Fitbit device’s sensors. Just the same way limited blood flow to the surface of the skin can cause the havoc.

However, at the same time we also can’t reject the possibility that perhaps something is influencing the oxygen level in our body, and in these cases it is usually the external factors. For example if you are at Mount Everest air at the top will be less dense and therefore would’ve less oxygen. So, if you would measure your SPO2 level there it is bound to be low.

This is just one example, there are many cases where it is the external factors that are at the play and toying with both our bodies and health tracker. In which case it is vital to know the working of model to ensure we can take timely measures.

What You Can Do To Increase The SPO2 Accuracy On Fitbit?

Now that we have the general understanding of the matter let’s look at what measures you can take to ensure you get the best from your Fitbit tracker.

• Sleep at least for 3 hours before you begin your hunt to check the SPO2 level of your body. Fitbit trackers needs 180 minutes of data before they can reach to any conclusion.
• Make sure your Fitbit mobile application and Fitbit tracker are in complete sync before you try to see the SPO2 data.
• Never uninstall or deny app permission to anything called SPO2. Your one foolish mistake can lead to a witch hunt of loss of data.
• Charge your Fitbit tracker before you go to sleep. Your tracker will also lose lots of battery while tracking the SPO2, so practice battery saving steps like going for DND mode and low brightness. Also if your tracker has come to age replace the battery.

While the above written are precautions at best there are also more active approaches you can take to ensure smooth tracking. For instance wear your Fitbit slightly higher on your wrists. Always make sure your Fitbit is in the contact with skin. If you have tattooed skin don’t place the Fitbit right above it, and most importantly never wear the Fitbit too tight or too lose for the tracker to lose it’s meaning.

“Is There Difference Between SPO2 & EOV”

Yes.

SPO2 is the study of saturation of oxygen in your blood. It counts the oxygen level of your body and that is what is important to it. As for EOV (Estimated Oxygen Variability) it is an estimate of the changes in your blood oxygen saturation levels. In easy words you can think of it like this:

EOV = SPO2 rating of Friday - SPO2 rating of Thursday

Fitbit trackers can also measure the EOV but just like SPO2 score the value is often an estimate and shouldn’t be used for medical references.

How To Remove SPO2 Tracking From Fitbit?

Well, there are two ways to do so, and both of them involve deleting the clock face and application from your Fitbit tracker. It should be noted here that you would’ve to remove both clock face as well application – if you were using both of them.

Clock Face: To remove SpO2 tracking, change your clock face to one not listed in the SpO2 clock face category:

• From the Today tab  in the Fitbit app, tap the icon in the top left  your device image.
• Tap GalleryClocks tab.
• Browse the available clock faces. Tap the clock face you want Install. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the new clock face.

Application: Uninstall the SpO2 app

• From the Today tab  in the Fitbit app, tap the icon in the top left  your device image.
• Tap GallerySpO2 or SpO2 TrackerUninstallUninstall.