Respiration: Comprehensive list of wearables that measure your breathing rate

What is respiration?

Basic science teaches us that respiration (aka breathing) is inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon dioxide. However, there is more to it than that. Respiration draws on chemical and mechanical processes to bring oxygen to every cell of the body and to dispel carbon dioxide. Our body needs oxygen to fuel all of our living processes. The respiratory system brings air from the environment to the lungs and enables gas exchange both within our lungs and our cells.

When you breathe in, the dia pharagm moves downward and towards the abdomen, and the rib muscles pull the ribs upward and outward. This makes the chest cavity bigger and pulls air into the lungs. The reverse happens whilst we breathe out.

As we inhale oxygen enters our alveoli and through diffusion moves from the alveoli to the blood and is spread throughout the body by the haemoglobin in the red blood cells.

How do wearables track it?

Many wearables that track your respiration derive it from your heart rate variability (HRV). Every breath that you take is captured by your HRV as the length of time between heartbeats shortens slightly when you inhale and when you exhale it lengthens in a particular way (respiratory sinus arrhythmia).

Why is it important to track?

By monitoring our breathing, we can observe not only how our body responds to different environments or events but also our state of mind. Changing the rate at which we inhale and exhale correlates with how the state of our mind changes. When we extend our exhale, it tells our body that we're in a relaxed state so that it can lower cortisol levels and increase endorphins. Breathing can influence involuntary bodily responses too. By controlling our breathing, we can exercise control over our heart rate, blood pressure, and circulation.

Abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing is a great method to stimulate the relaxation response that results in less tension and an overall sense of well-being. By breathing this way we can actually decrease our metabolism, slow our heart rate, relax our muscles, decrease blood pressure and increase bodily levels of nitric oxide.

The quality of our breathing can be influenced by many external factors including pollution, weather, and pollen.

With wearables, users can examine how their breathing changes throughout the day and night in different types of environments and use this technology to help log, track, or trend their breathing so they can help identify triggers that could potentially impact their breathing (for example, changes in temperature). They can then take steps to help improve their environment and ultimately, better their lives.

The normal respiration rate (RR) for an adult at rest is between 12 to 20 breaths per minute, whilst under 12 or above 25 is considered abnormal. In serious cases, a change in RR is often the first sign of deterioration as the body attempts to maintain oxygen delivery to the tissues. Failure to recognise early signs of deterioration can result in poor outcomes for patients.

Through the Terra API, we provide connections to a range of different devices so that your users can track their respiration data.

Below is a list of the wearables that track respiration data today:

• Garmin Forerunner 55, Forerunner 745, Forerunner 945, Vivoactive 4/4S, Venu 2 Plus, Venu 2S, Venu 2, Venu Sq, Instinct series, Fenix series, tactix, Quatix, Marq, Descent, D2 series, Legacy Hero series, Enduro, Lily, Epix
• Fitbit Versa 3, Versa 2, Charge 5, Inspire 2, Sense, Luxe, Charge 4
• Polar Grit X, Grit X Pro, Ignite, Ignite 2, M430, Unite, Vantage M, Vantage M2, Vantage V, Vantage V2
• Withings ScanWatch
• Eight Sleep Pod Pro