The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 hit the market a few weeks ago with a larger screen and automatic exercise detection among its main novelties. However, it is no less important that now the company’s bracelet also incorporates such interesting functions as the measurement of oxygen in blood.
This is a tool to monitor our health status that is linked to the heart rate monitor . While one is in charge of seeing what the oxygen saturation is in the blood, the second is in charge of analyzing our heart and knowing if we have a normal heart rate when we exercise or are at rest.
How is each of them used?
The Xiaomi Mi Band 6 and the health functions
Smartbands are oriented to sports and to control our health and that is why the new Mi Band 6 has different tools at the service of our body. The device will track your steps taken, calories burned, distance traveled, active rest and heart rate, and sleep throughout the day, as well as blood SpO2 saturation .
- Blood oxygen measurement
- Heart rate monitor
- Track training
- Sleep log
- Tracking the menstruation cycle
Blood oxygen with Xiaomi bracelet
Xiaomi included an SpO2 sensor in the global model of the Mi Band, which allows us to check blood oxygen levels throughout the day. This helps us to know our breathing when we do any type of physical activity, but not sleep because the new device only works with specific controls during the day and this sensor does not work at night to monitor possible signs of sleep apnea.
The bracelet only takes a few seconds to register our blood O levels and the logical thing is that it shows a percentage between 95 and 100%. Below that threshold we would need some type of respiratory assistance. SpO2 spot checks are an important feature to use if you are asthmatic, experiencing breathing difficulties, or, more current than ever, if you have tested positive for Covid-19.
Using it does not have any complications. Just swipe up from the main screen to see the SpO2 sensor on the screen. You will see the option to measure now or update the measurement if you have already done it before.
Image: solvetic
The moment you press the button, a countdown will start so that you keep your arm still and optimally adjust the bracelet. Remember that to improve the results and make them more precise you should place the device above the wrist bone.
When the measurement is complete, the blood oxygen level will appear along with a measurement of the recorded heart rate.
To consult all the records, you must enter the Xiaomi Mi Fit app and, within the training tab, click on the “See More” button. Once inside, select the option “Blood oxygen saturation” to consult the data history organized by days, weeks, months or years.
Heart rate on the Mi Band 6 (or earlier)
Like its predecessors, the Mi Band 6 has a small sensor on the back responsible for analyzing your heart rate. It can be used continuously to warn the user if their heart rate rises above a certain threshold during periods of inactivity.
This component reports the heart rate readings at rest in 30, 10, 5 or 1 minute increments but we recommend that, from the Mi Fit settings, you set the control every 30 minutes to keep the autonomy of the bracelet safe. Obviously if you choose to monitor every minute you will get more accurate results but it is likely that you will have to charge the Xiaomi Mi Band ahead of time.
How to activate the heart rate monitor? Well, in a similar way to the previous method, we simply have to slide across the screen to locate the heart icon and click on it to obtain an immediate reading.
Again, if we want to take a look at our health history, you must access the Mi Fit app to, from the training tab, access the heart rate menu. Here you can check its evolution over time and detect if there are any anomalies to take into account when exercising again.
Improves heart rate detection
It is true that these monitors are not 100% professional but there are some things we can do to improve the measurements. For example, if you want the measurement to be carried out optimally, it takes time to adjust the bracelet well, not wear it too loose and ensure that the sensors are firmly in contact with our skin. But there is an aspect within the configuration of the Mi Fit that will also help us obtain better results.
If you open the Xiaomi app and access the bracelet menu in the “Profile” section, you will find a menu called Heart rate detection. Here you should select Detection method and choose a low value for the pulse measurement frequency. As we have said before, the available options are 1, 5, 10 or 30 minutes and the ideal is to reduce this number to obtain more accurate readings.
Are these measurements reliable?
Well … on the one hand yes and on the other no.
Xiaomi clarifies in its press materials that the Mi Band 6 SpO2 readings and the results obtained by the heart rate monitor “should not be used or relied on for any medical purpose. All data and tracking should be used for personal reference only. “
This makes it clear that you should not go to the doctor because you find yourself with very unbalanced values but they should serve as a guide for your workouts and that, in case you feel bad, you know immediately what may be failing in your body, not without forgetting that the Xiaomi device can also fail.