Hey Fitbit Community,
Your Fitbit and Pixel Watch can recognize when your body responds to positive or negative stress. Your wearables track physical changes such as a faster heartbeat, higher skin temperature, or sweating, and can alert you when they sense a possible stress response.
While a little stress can be useful, ongoing stress isn't good for your health. Your Fitbit devices1 and Google Pixel Watch5 offer several key features for stress management. Here's a breakdown of these features:
- Continuous Electrodermal Activity (cEDA) Sensor2: Available on the Fitbit Sense 2, Google Pixel Watch 2, and Pixel Watch 3, this sensor detects minute electrical changes in the sweat level of your skin, which can indicate physical signs of stress. The devices use algorithms to identify these changes throughout the day, and notify you of potential stress responses.
- Body Response Feature: If your device detects potential signs of stress through the cEDA sensor and other metrics like heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV),7 and skin temperature,6 it can send you a notification prompting you to reflect on your mood and potential triggers.
- Stress Management Score: This daily score, available on many Fitbit devices and the Pixel Watch, helps you understand how your body is handling stress based on your heart rate, sleep patterns, and activity levels.1 A higher score suggests your body shows fewer physical signs of stress, while a lower score might indicate a need to take it easy. Fitbit Premium3 provides a more detailed breakdown of the factors contributing to your score (responsiveness, exertion balance, and sleep patterns).
- EDA Scan App: For devices with an EDA sensor (Fitbit Charge 5, 6, Sense, Sense 2, Pixel Watch 2, and Pixel Watch 3), you can perform on-demand EDA scans. By placing your palm on the watch face, the app measures your electrodermal activity during a short session. This helps you see how your body responds during mindfulness exercises.1,2
- Mindfulness Tile and Relax App: The Fitbit app includes a "Mindfulness" tile with access to guided breathing exercises and meditation sessions (more extensive library with Fitbit Premium3). The "Relax" app on most Fitbit devices offers short, guided breathing exercises to help you find moments of calm.
- Mood Logging: You can log your mood in the Fitbit app when prompted by a body response notification or at any time. This helps you track your emotional responses to potential stressors and identify patterns over time.
- Guided Breathing Sessions: Both Fitbit devices and the Pixel Watch offer on-wrist guided breathing exercises to help you manage stress in the moment.
- Fitbit Premium Content (Breathing and Meditation): Fitbit Premium,3 members get access to a library of guided breathing exercises and meditation sessions. This content is accessible through the Fitbit app on your paired phone and can often be initiated or tracked through your Pixel Watch. These sessions vary in length, and cover various themes to suit different needs and preferences for stress reduction and mindfulness.
- Reflection Prompts: After a body response notification or a mindfulness session, you are often prompted to reflect on how you felt, what might have triggered the response, or your thoughts during the session. This encourages self-awareness.
Google is actively working to support mental health, focusing on:
- Improving Access to Information & Resources: This involves making mental health crisis hotline numbers and information more readily available on search engines, offering self-assessment tools, and developing online platforms for healthcare access.
- Promoting Well-being on YouTube: Google is focused on highlighting positive content, sharing personal stories related to mental health, and actively working to limit the recommendation of harmful content, especially for younger audiences.
- Integrating Technology for Holistic Health: By connecting Fitbit and Pixel devices, Google aims to bridge the gap between physical and mental health, allowing for the monitoring of how physical well-being influences psychological health.
- Investing in Mental Health Organizations: Google provides funding to non-profit organizations focused on mental health and supports initiatives that promote digital well-being for children.
- Supporting Employee Mental Health: The company offers its employees comprehensive mental health benefits, employee assistance programs, and access to on-site mental health professionals.
From mental well-being to heart health, Fitbit devices and Google Pixel Watch are designed to empower you with the insights and tools you need to start tracking, learning, and making positive changes today.
In an effort to empower users with actionable heart-health insights, Dr. Jacqueline Shreibati, Fitbit's lead cardiologist who leads clinical strategy and product leadership for teams building health features for Pixel Watch, Fitbit wearables, and Pixel Phone, highlights three key areas: exercise intensity, heart rhythm awareness, and the vital role of sleep.
- Monitor exercise intensity: Use Fitbit's heart rate zones, Active Zone Minutes, and Cardio load to ensure effective workouts.
- Heart rate zones: Percentages of your maximum heart rate, can help you determine the intensity of your workout or activity.
- Active Zone Minutes: A feature that helps you track the intensity of your workouts and everyday activities by monitoring your heart rate.
- Cardio load: Measures the strain on your cardiovascular system during exercise and daily activities. It considers not only the duration but also the intensity of your efforts, recognizing that higher-intensity exercise places greater demands on your heart.
- Understand heart health: Utilize the ECG app4 on compatible devices to detect irregularities like AFib, and enable heart rate notifications.
- Prioritize sleep: Recognize the sleep-heart health connection, and use Fitbit's sleep tracking and Daily Readiness Score to optimize rest.
- Fitbit uses heart rate and movement data to provide detailed sleep analysis, including sleep stages, a Sleep Score, and insights into sleep quality. By tracking heart rate fluctuations, it reveals sleep patterns, identifies factors affecting sleep, and monitors restorative deep sleep. This allows users to make informed lifestyle adjustments for improved sleep and overall well-being.
For more information on Fitbit, here are some additional resources:
Your Fitbit Community Team
1 Some features may require the Fitbit app.
2 Use of the cEDA sensor may decrease battery life.
3 Fitbit Premium requires a Google Account, Fitbit mobile app, compatible Android or iOS device (see fitbit.com/devices for specifications), and internet connection. Premium content and features are subject to change, are not available in all countries, and may be in English only.
4 The ECG app is only available in select countries. Not intended for use by people under 22 years old. See fitbit.com/ecg for additional details.
5Google Pixel Watch works with most phones running on Android 9.0. Requires Google Account and Google Pixel Watch app. Some features require a Fitbit mobile app and/or Fitbit Premium membership. See g.co/pixelwatch/specs for technical and device specifications.
6 Not available in all countries. Significant changes in ambient temperature may negatively impact skin temperature tracking.
7 Like all heart rate tracking technologies, accuracy is affected by physiology, location of device, and your movements and activity.
