If you’re a Fitbit user, you can view your health trends from the past week using the Health Metrics dashboard. It is available to all Versa 2, Inspire 2 and Charge 4 users, in addition to Sense and Versa 3 users who also received access late last year.
In a nutshell, the Health Metrics dashboard can help Fitbit users manage and keep track of their health and wellbeing. It is available to users who have a compatible device in more than 40 countries globally.
Fitbit Premium members are not left out and will have access to the dashboard soon. They will be able to see their personal ranges on their Health Metrics dashboard as well.
Let’s take a closer look at what the Health Metrics dashboard is and what it can do to improve our health and wellbeing.
What is the Health Metrics dashboard?
The Health Metrics dashboard is a new tool in the Fitbit app that helps users keep a closer eye on their health and wellbeing. The dashboard provides access to track metrics like heart rate variability, breathing rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), and skin temperature variation.
Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Inspire 2 and Charge 4 users will be able to see their 7-day trends for free, while all Premium members with compatible devices can use the tool to track their 7-day and 30-day trends and personal ranges for each metric.
Where is it available?
All Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Inspire 2 and Charge 4 users in eligible countries (including the Philippines) can use and see their Health Metrics. It is available as a new tile on the today dashboard in their Fitbit app.
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If its not your dashboard, you might need to activate it by selecting “edit” and add the tile from the bottom of the page.
What does each metric mean?
Significant changes in your health trends can help you understand your wellness. Here are the metrics you’ll encounter on the Health Metrics dashboard and what it means.
- Breathing rate (average breaths per minute): A lower breathing rate can be linked to good cardiovascular health, while short-term increases may indicate your body is under stress.
- Heart rate variability (HRV) (variation of time between each heartbeat): A major decrease in HRV can help you understand if your body is showing potential signs of stress, illness or fatigue.
- Oxygen saturation (SpO2) (level of oxygen in your blood): Keep an eye on your SpO2 to notice your trends and how they may connect to your other habits as multiple factors can contribute to changes (including altitude, caffeine, respiratory issues, weight lifting, running).
- Skin temperature variation: See how your skin temperature varies to help you uncover changes to your wellbeing. Factors that may cause skin temperature to vary nightly include changes in room temperature, bedding, circadian rhythm, menstrual cycle or the onset of a fever or illness. If you notice significant variations, you may want to consider taking and logging your core temperature.
- Resting heart rate (RHR) (important indicator of cardiovascular health, fitness level, sleep quality and recovery): Increases in your RHR could be due to stress, illness, fatigue, or the consumption of alcohol or caffeine. Exercise, meditation and changes in diet can lower your resting heart rate. (RHR is also available for free in the Heart Rate tile of the Fitbit app.)
Why are these metrics important?
Tacking each of these metrics together and over time can help users better understand how it’s all connected to their long-term health and wellness journey, and serve as a potential early warning system for signals of illness.
Can these metrics be used to help in the fight against COVID-19?
Findings from Fitbit’s COVID-19 study show that breathing rate, resting heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) are all useful metrics for indicating onset of illness, making wearables a key tool in the fight against COVID-19, as it’s clear that our bodies may signal impact from the disease before more noticeable symptoms appear.
With these initial signals identified, Fitbit is continuing its work in validating an algorithm to detect diseases like COVID-19 and its focus on expanded research in real-world environments, including planning a prospective clinical trial with Northwell Health.
