What Is BPM In Smart Watches How To Use It?

What Does BPM In Smartwatches Even Mean?

BPM simply stands for “Beats Per Minute”

Now if you are wondering what kind of beat I am talking about then don’t worry here is your answer. For us human beings to stay alive and be able to breathe we need our hearts to work 24/7 which means we need our heart to pump the blood at all times. Which can only be done by the beating of said heart.

So in retrospective the BPM simply refers to the number of times our heart beats to pump the blood to the different part of our body. For an average human being the good BPM range is anywhere from 60bpm to 100bpm. Although, it should be noted that athletes and those who take extra care of their cardiovascular health tends to have low bpm. As well as the good standing on the V02 Max and SPO2.

How Smartwatches Calculate Your BPM

Our next challenge is to figure out how does our smartwatches determine the BPM in our body.

If you have the smartwatch in your hand right now, I’d ask you to turn it around and look at the back side of it. You would notice there are light sensors at the edge of your watch. However, if you don’t have the watch on your hand right now I’d like you to recall any instance when you saw the greenlight blinking from your smartwatch. Because if you did then this is your answer to the question how smartwatches calculate the BPM.

Your smartwatch (doesn’t matter if it is made by Fitbit or Apple) uses the greenlight to measure your heartrate. Now you would be thinking how can greenlight or any light be used to tell what’s happening in our heart.

Well, although the situation is more complicated than just colors of light, here is what you should know: Smartwatches shine the greenlight through your wrists on to your blood stream and then wait for the reflected light to come back. Since blood contains hemoglobin (which absorbs green light very well – the reason why the color green is used). The reflected light back is used to measure the heartbeat. Or simply put the BPM.

Is BPM By Any Smartwatch Accurate Enough?

If your head is still in pain after reading how smartwatches calculate the BPM let me put you in little more misery (I am so sorry). As greenlight itself is not enough to reach the accurate BPM reading what happens is that smartwatches are engineered to use other metrics like motion and movement on different axis to better tell your heart rate.

Which as a result expands the possibility of skewed results. Think about it, you can tamper with your heart rate readings if you will keep moving your hand while your smartwatch will be taking the reading. This is even more damaging when we talk about RHR (Resting Heart Rate) which is already difficult enough for modern smartwatches to tell accurately. Since something as insignificant as calibration of sensors can greatly influence the results.

Potential Benefits Of Knowing Your BPM!

There are many benefits you can avail if you would be aware of your BPM. Given it is a basic metric and can be used to reach different conclusions depending on your age and health condition. We would always recommend that if you have the smartwatch try to measure your BPM at least once a day.

Some other benefits that you can avail by knowing your BPM:

• Monitoring Cardiovascular Health: Monitoring your heart rate allows you to keep tabs on your cardiovascular health. A consistent and appropriate BPM can indicate a healthy heart, while irregularities may signal potential issues like arrhythmias or hypertension.
• Optimizing Exercise: BPM is a crucial metric for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. It helps you gauge the intensity of your workouts. Knowing your target heart rate zones (based on your age and fitness goals) allows you to exercise at the right level for improved fitness and performance.
• Stress Management: Understanding your heart rate can help you manage stress. High BPM can indicate stress or anxiety, and by recognizing this, you can employ relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or exercise to lower your heart rate and reduce stress.
• Tracking Progress: If you’re on a fitness journey or trying to lose weight, monitoring your heart rate can help you track your progress. As your cardiovascular fitness improves, your resting heart rate typically decreases, which is a positive sign of enhanced overall health.
• Medication and Treatment Management: For individuals with heart conditions or those taking medications that affect heart rate, knowing your BPM is essential. It allows you to assess the effectiveness of your treatment and make necessary adjustments with the guidance of your healthcare provider.

“My BPM Is Too High! Should I Contact Doctor?”

If you feel you are BPM has been too high in the recent days, don’t panic. Many times the reason your smartwatch is showing you elevated numbers is because there is something wrong with the algorithm used by the watch. In which case try to update the OS of your smartwatch.

Although, if it’s still not resolved after the fix above, we would suggest that you connect with the community of your smartwatch brand. For example there is Fitbit community where you can find the answers to range of issue. Needless to say if you actually can feel your heart beating quite fast contact the doctor as soon as possible.

BPM Vs BP: The Due Difference Between Two Metrics!

So, I have seen many people still confused about the BPM and BP!

Let me clarify the dilemma of different ‘P’s here. Your BPM is the number of times your heart is beating in a minute. As for the BP it is the the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. These two things are different and shouldn’t be confused with the other.

At this moment there are not even smartwatches which can calculate the BP (blood pressure) it is not viable for wearables. Although much work is being done 24/7 by engineers at Fitbit to make it a reality for now smartwatches are only concerned for BPM.