Starting with the Apple Watch Series 6, Apple added a great new sensor to better understand your overall health by measuring your blood oxygen level.
We'll explain how to take a blood oxygen reading on the Apple Watch below.
What Is Blood Oxygen?
Blood oxygen is the measurement of the hemoglobin in your red blood cells that are carrying oxygen.
Most people have a blood oxygen level of 95 to 100 percent. It can also vary throughout the day.
Anything below those levels can possibly indicate a serious medical issue that needs to be looked over by a physician.
How to Measure Blood Oxygen on Your Apple Watch
The first step to taking a blood oxygen measurement on your Apple Watch is to open the Blood Oxygen app. You need to be 18 years or older to use the app.
For the app and watch to take a reading, you need to stay still and make sure your wrist is flat with the Apple Watch facing up. Also, make sure that your Apple Watch band is snug but comfortable on your wrist. Additionally, your Apple Watch needs to be flush with the top of your wrist.
Select Start and then wait for 15 seconds. You'll see a countdown on the watch screen. After the countdown, you'll see the measurement if there is a successful reading.
For quick access to the testing app, you can even add it to a watch face as a complication. A simple tap will open up the app.
Tracking Blood Oxygen Readings in Apple Health
All the on-demand blood oxygen readings can be found in the Apple Health app. Open up the app and go to Browse > Respiratory. You can see readings for the day, week, month, or year. It's also possible to filter measurements only taken while sleeping or at a high-altitude location.
The app will also measure blood oxygen levels in the background. Depending on your activity level, the number of times the measurement is taken will vary every day.
Since the blood oxygen measurement uses bright red lights that shine against your wrist, it might be distracting in certain dark situations like a theater or bedroom.
You can disable background measurements in Sleep Mode or Theater Mode by heading to Settings > Blood Oxygen on your Apple Watch. In the same menu, you can completely disable the background measurements.
Using an Apple Watch to Better Understand Your Health
Thanks to the Apple Watch's Blood Oxygen app, you can better understand this important vital sign and take an on-demand measurement at any time.
And if you're looking to improve your health, you can also take advantage of a huge number of great Apple Watch fitness and workout apps.