How Do Heart Rate Monitors Work?

Have you ever dreamed of being able to monitor your heart rate without going to the hospital? Well, that dream may actually have been realized in this day and age thanks to modern technology.

Ever since smartwatches crashed into the scene, people now have the means of monitoring their heart rates in the simplest (yet effective) way. Who would have thought that getting a casual watch can make someone’s life so much easier (and better)?

It is customary for smartwatches to include a heart rate monitoring features as part of its basic toolset and the reason why it comes with such a feature is due to the fact that these special devices come equipped with sensors that can help track your pulse and be able to provide you with some meaningful data about your health.

Tracking your heart rate is important for a variety of reasons. It can help tell you the intensity of your workouts, it can tell you how efficient your heart is, among many other things. But, have you ever stopped to wonder how these devices actually work? Well, that will be discussed further in this article.

Different Types

Aside from the heart rate monitors that come with smartwatches, there are also other types of HRMs as well. The first ones that were ever popularized in the market were the ones that strap onto your chest and others that strap on your wrist. The latter is different than smartwatches because you would have to put a finger on a receptacle for it to know your pulse.

Before smartwatches, there are some watches that could potentially monitor your heart rate, albeit it has something that is attached to it (as an add-on) to make it work. Some examples were the heart rate monitoring watches that were released by Timex back then. Although it was okay, it was not as accurate as the new smartwatches today.

The basic function of a heart rate monitor is to monitor your pulse so that it can gauge how fast your heart is beating every minute. The data that it can provide you will not only tell you how efficient the said organ is when it is doing its thing but it can also be an indication of an underlying problem or medical condition.

For example, when people have the flu, their hearts tend to beat a little bit faster just to make sure that oxygen-rich blood gets delivered to the areas that need it the most.

Smartwatches come with different sensors that can read your pulse from the wrist. Although it is not as accurate as chest HRMs, it is still more convenient.

How It Benefits You

Heart rate monitors might only provide you with how fast (or slow) your heart is beating given a certain circumstance, but that actually is more than enough for you to gauge a lot of different things.

For example, when you constantly exercise, your heart rate allows you to know if you are taxing your body enough to provide the necessary stimulus for growth. Remember that just like any other muscle, the heart gets efficient the more it is used and exercising is one of the best ways to do that.