What Is A Normal Blood Oxygen Level – Pulse oximeters used to be something you’d only see in doctors or hospitals to measure the Oxygen saturation in your red blood cells (squeezing your index finger is a trick;

The Apple Watch, Garmin fēnix, and Oura Ring (among others) have added Blood Oxygen saturation levels (called peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, or SpO2) to the long list of health metrics their smart wearables can track. . These devices use infrared light to take 24/7 blood oxygen readings, collecting data points into graphs that illustrate trends over time.

What Is A Normal Blood Oxygen Level

Why are you worried? It turns out that low blood oxygen levels, especially during sleep, can alert you to health problems like Sleep Apnea or chronic breathing problems.

Oxygen Levels @ Altitude 101

Here we learn what SpO2 numbers mean, what normal oxygen levels are during sleep, and what to do if you drown.

Your wearable’s oxygen sensing capabilities are coming close to rivaling a traditional pulse oximeter that sticks to your finger, according to a study conducted on the Apple Watch. (1).

“Pulse oximetry on sleep trackers is usually accurate,” says sleep expert Chris Winter, who hosts the podcast Sleep Connected with Dr. Chris Winter. “Technology isn’t hard.”

Sp02 tells you how oxygenated your blood is. Most healthy people maintain an average blood oxygen level of 95 percent or higher. That is, depending on activity, breathing rate, and body condition, it is normal and healthy for readings to rise or fall by a few percent during the day.

Finger Pulse Oximeter Blood Oxygen Saturation Pr Monitor With Bluetooth Free App

First, one or two low readings can be rough. Winter says body position, hand or wrist temperature, and movement can all affect your reading.

Another factor: height. Let’s say you flew from the Jersey Shore (sea level) to Crested Butte, Colorado (8,900 feet above sea level). Winter (2): “Exercise can cause blood oxygen levels to drop below 95 for several days.”

With those caveats out of the way, let’s move on to the three red flags and what it could mean for your health if your oxygen levels are below normal while you sleep.

Condition #1: Your normal oxygen level during sleep is usually above 95+, but recently it has started to drop.

Five Android And Ios Apps To Help You Track And Monitor Blood Oxygen Levels

If you have a night camera, it can show you when you read. In one study, participants who had a nightcap 30 minutes before bedtime experienced more severe sleep apnea symptoms (3).

“Alcohol before pregnancy can cause breathing problems, which can cause blood oxygen levels to drop,” says Winter.

Another possibility: You have an upper respiratory infection. Like alcohol, nasal congestion can make it harder to breathe at night. Pneumonia can also lower blood oxygen levels (4).

“Seek medical attention if an infection causes your respiratory rate to exceed 23 breaths per minute,” says Winter.

Best O2 Finger Sensor

It could be a lung problem, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Winter says. This is definitely something you should mention to your doctor.

If your device has nighttime readings below 92 and others above 95, it can be a red flag for sleep apnea, which some sources estimate affects 34 percent of middle-aged men (5).

People with insomnia stop breathing for 10 seconds or more, five, 15, 25 or more times an hour. The brain senses that oxygen levels are dropping and wakes up several times to catch its breath. However, many people with morning sickness do not remember a restless night. That’s why oxygen trackers are so useful, says Winter.

Insomnia, Winter says, especially if you’re too tired throughout the day to get your Sp02 readings, your partner won’t stop complaining about being tired, or you’ll wake up with a headache.

Normal Oxygen Level: Range, Symptoms And Treatment

“In addition to increasing your risk for many life-threatening diseases, sleep apnea can accelerate aging throughout your body,” says Winter.

To help people understand why sleep apnea is so dangerous, Winter likes to use the analogy of two men who set out to investigate a submarine wreck. One person is equipped with a scuba tank and the other with freezing equipment.

A scuba diver can swim for half an hour. But the snorkeler has to start again about every 45 seconds to push in more air.

People with sleep apnea experience deep awakenings, which reduces the amount of time they spend in deep, restorative sleep. (6)

Low Spo2 Level? Know Symptoms Of Low Blood Oxygen Levels

“This sleep disruption can reduce the brain’s ability to produce toxins during sleep, increasing the risk of memory loss,” Winter said. “Additionally, when you hold your breath for 10 seconds or more, the pressure in your chest increases and increases your risk of heart problems. Eventually, the cells in your body become starved of oxygen. “

All of these inhale toxins, increasing your risk for everything that can shorten your life (8).

“It can increase your risk for many dangerous diseases and conditions, including sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, stroke, diabetes, hardening of the arteries, and even car accidents due to fatigue,” says Winter.

In a study of 622 adults, for every one-point increase in the apnea-hypopnea index (a diagnostic tool for determining the presence and severity of sleep apnea), approximately 215 day-old people had cells (8).

Blood Oxygen Levels: What Are Normal Spo2 Levels By Age?

Telomeres, the protective caps at the ends of chromosomes, play an important role in cell division. When cells divide, telomeres shorten. Because telomeres are so short, cells cannot divide at all. No one goes through life without telomere shortening. (9) Winter: “Sleep apnea appears to accelerate this process.”

The cells’ powerhouses, the mitochondria, can age and lose effectiveness by starving cells of energy and creating tissue-damaging products. One study found that in subjects under 50 years of age, sleep apnea was associated with an increase in specific signs of aging, such as dysfunctional mitochondria (10).

Possibly. Although there are many other treatments available, from dental appliances to surgery, CPAP machines remain the gold standard for treating sleep apnea.

Short for “continuous positive airway pressure,” CPAPs blow air into your nose and/or mouth to keep your airways open while you sleep. Research shows (11, 12) that it may help reverse some of the aforementioned accelerated aging.

Fingertip Pulse Oximeter, Oxygen Level Pulse Rate

That means not everyone with sleep apnea needs CPAP, says Winter, who compares mild sleep apnea (defined as fewer than 15 breaths per hour) to someone who smokes one cigarette a month.

“In fact, it would be better if they didn’t smoke,” he says, but someone who smokes four packs a day has a higher risk of disease than someone who smokes one a month.

According to him, it is similar to sleep apnea. In fact, sleep experts categorize you as “normal” if you stop breathing less than five times an hour. One exception: If you feel like hell and fall asleep while driving, regardless of how many apneas you experience in an hour, a CPAP machine can be life-changing.

1. L. Zumerkorn Pipek (2021): Comparison of sp02 and heart rate values ​​on the Apple Watch and standard commercial oximeter devices in patients with pulmonary disease. 2. Rojas-Camayo, J. et al. (2018). Acid saturation values ​​above sea level are highest in the Andes habitat in acclimatized individuals. 3. Izumi, I. et al. (2005). Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on nocturnal sleep apnea parameters in healthy middle-aged men. 4. Chatterjee, N. A. et al. (2021). Admission respiratory status predicts COVID-19 mortality. 5. Yeghiazarians, Y. et al. (2021). Obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. 6. Roy, B. et al. (2022). Dysfunction of the glymphatic system in adults with obstructive sleep apnea. 7. Almaz, J. A., & Ismail, H. (2021). Obstructive sleep apnea and cardiovascular disease. 8. Li, X. et al. (2019). Association between sleep-disordered breathing and epigenetic aging: Evidence from the Multinational Study of Atherosclerosis. 9. Carroll, J. E. et al. (2019). Obstructive sleep apnea, nocturnal awakenings, and leukocyte telomere length: the Multinational Study of Atherosclerosis. 10. Pinilla, L. et al. (2021). Association of Obstructive Sleep Apnea with the Aging Process. 11. Cortese, R. et al. (2022). E pygenetic age-related acceleration in obstructive sleep apnea is reversed by anticonvulsant therapy. 12. R. Cortese et al.

What Is Pulse Oximetry?

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