Here’s Why You’ll Love Relax, Fitbit’s Guided Breathing Experience

2016-08-25_BlogPosts_GuidedBreathing_Blog_730x485In the current COVID-19 climate, most of our daily lifestyles have been impacted, leaving us with less time outdoors and adhering to social distancing regulations. However, one thing that we can always count on is our breath. You do it without thinking, but when you actually sit down to think about it, that easy, automatic activity is pretty incredible. With each inhale you’re bringing in fresh oxygen, and with each exhale you’re ridding your body of carbon dioxide, allowing every cell in your body to function and thrive. But the positive effects of breathing go beyond biology.

Fitbit_Charge2_Plum_Relax_When a bit more mindfulness is added to that simple in-and-out, deep breathing has been shown to lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and lessen anxiety. In fact, one study found a short period of deep breathing can reduce systolic blood pressure by 3.4 to 3.9 mmHg within minutes—which means your breath can be a powerful calm-down tool. But not just any breathing will do. Those inhales and exhales need to be deep, slow, and even.

To help you get your breath in rhythm, Fitbit introduced a new on-device guided breathing experience called Relax. Exclusively available on Fitbit Charge 3, Versa Series, and Inspire HR, Relax helps you find moments of calm with a personalized guided breathing session based on your heart rate.

Fitbit_Charge2_Teal_Breathe_ExhaleEach session is powered by PurePulse and personalized by using your real-time heart rate to measure your heart rate variability (beat-to-beat changes in your heart rate), and determine a comfortable breathing rate for you.

You can choose from two-minute or five-minute sessions that display biofeedback and animations and use vibrations to help you align each inhale and exhale with the guide—so you can get the most out of your breathing experience. And at the end of each session, you’ll get feedback on how well you followed the guide.

Doing guided breathing sessions regularly can bring more mindfulness to your daily life while you’re social distancing. And the result could be a healthier, calmer, more focused you—all from just a few minutes of inhales and exhales each day.

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  • Is Relax going to made available to other Fitbit users, for example the Blaze? I mean you spend more money getting one of the more expensive Fitbit devices because it does more than the cheaper ones and then you discover that actually its not going to do everything the cheaper ones do now!

      • I just bought a blaze, but is there anyway i can exchange it? I rather get the breathing app fr my anxiety than to have the blaze at all

        • Hi! If you recently purchased Blaze from a retailer, you’ll need to go back to the retailer to inquire about a return. If the Charge HR was purchased from Fitbit, we have a 45 day return policy: fitbit.com/returns. You can return the Charge HR for a refund and then pre-order Charge 2. Hope this helps!

      • Fitbit support, you should get your Agile PM team to push out a software update with “RELAX” to the Blaze… Perhaps easier said than done, but I’m sure it’s possible! I am a LOYAL Fitbit enthusiast that’s been with You since the very beginning (Fitbit One, 2 Flex, a Surge, and a Blaze), so I know you’re capable of making this happen! Let’s do it!

    • Like!! I saw the article and thought the same thing… annoyed I don’t have it now.. although I’m not too bad at breathing ?

  • Why not offer it on the Fitibt Blaze? I just bought one yesterday and even though there is a HR sensor I am not going to get it? Fitbit just lost a customer to Apple Watch

        • lol, hi we’re going to just ignore your issue and tell you to post on our forum. The Blaze uses the same heart rate technology and they can’t include this on their? Come on guys!

        • Just so everyone knows, Fitbit deleted my comment where I asked why the Fitbit Blaze can’t have this feature when they use the same heart rate technology. This is simply an app update, not a technological update.

          • Hi Josh, our team moderates these comments, as we state above the text box when you post: “Please note: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately after submission.” Thanks!

    • How can you blame fitbit for continually improving their devices? Sure it sucks that you only just bought the Blaze and something more attuned to your needs has been released but unfortunately that’s just bad timing for you, should they make no changes or improvements? But speaking of Apple, haven’t they made billions for doing the same thing? You can’t tell me that the Apple watch isn’t going to be updated with different/better features. Its business.

      • On an Apple Watch you update and have access to all their apps. A Fitbit blaze is a full blown smart watch which is marketed above the Charge 2, can clearly have multiple apps, has the same heart rate monitor and they can’t give a breathing app to us? Apple watch will get new features that rely on new tech, this is just fitbit adding the equivalent of an app. The Charge 2 isn’t listening to you breath, it’s using your heart rate.

  • I’m curious as to whether the HR Charge 2 is using heart rate variability from the device to pace the breathing or is this simply a standard 6 -8 breath per minute guided breathing. If the HR Charge 2 *is* using HRV data, are you using software from any of the other biofeedback companies out there (e.g. HeartMath, Stens Corporation, etc.) to recommend the breathing rate? Very curious about your response.

    • Thanks for your question, Peter! Each guided breathing session is personalized based on your heart rate. Using the beat-to-beat changes known as heart rate variability, it determines your breathing rate and creates a personalized breathing pattern for each session. Personalization is important to get the most benefit from guided breathing. Check out this help article for info on the Relax feature.

  • Currently I’m using Fitbit Charge HR. I have asthma obstructed, and COPD the past 45 years. My resting heart rate is generally high at 74, due to health condition and lung medicine. Will the Charge 2 accommodate on the resting phase for this higher heart rate? I don’t breath normal anymore.

  • Does it also tell know if your breathing or heart rate is high and is making you anxious and tell you to do a “relax” session?

  • I am really pleased you are not just adding all the new features to the higher end models. I will never buy a Blaze as it looks ridiculous on my skinny wrists? Really like the look of the Charge 2 both aesthetically and feature wise.

  • Does the relax app actually give you an accurate HRV reading? I’d like to see it when I wake up each morning.

    • Our apologies for the delayed response, Adriane. The Relax feature is designed to help you focus on breathing to help you relax and lower your heart rate throughout the day. It doesn’t give you an actual HRV reading rather, it measures the beat-to-beat changes in your heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV) which helps recommend a personalized breathing pattern. To learn more about the Relax feature, check out this help article. Hope this helps!

  • For the relaxation mode on the Charge HR 2, do you need to look at the device to know when to inhale/exhale or does the device vibrate?

  • Do I need to have visual contact on the Charge 2 while doing the breathing exercise, or does it guide the breathing through vibration and I could, say, keep my eyes closed?

  • I love Relax! I would like to suggest using pulse as a prompt for inhale and exhale. I don’t like having to look at the graphics.

  • I can’t receive Whatsapp notification on my Charge 2. Phone & SMS Message notifications are ok. What should I do ?
    I’m using iPhone 6plus

  • We just upgraded cell phones to the Google Pixel. Unfortunately Fitbit is not currently compatible with the phone. Any idea when / if Fitbit will become compatible?

    • Hi Jim! Thanks for reaching out. We can confirm that Google Pixel is not a supported device at the moment. We’re not sure when it will be. Another alternative is to use a computer to sync the data from your tracker. Let us know if you have any questions!

    • Thanks for asking, Suzanne! Charge 2 can provide continuous heart rate and heart rate zone data. It uses PurePulse LED lights that reflect onto the skin to detect blood volume changes and finely tuned algorithms are applied to measure heart rate automatically and continuously.

      At this time, HRV data cannot be monitored. It’s a great idea and we really appreciate your interest in it. If you have time, check out the existing suggested idea that has been shared on our Feature Ideas Board by one of our users. We hope to see you there!

  • I’ve been trying to get my wife to learn to breath in rhythm with her walking ever since we met. She isn’t breathing properly on hill climbs (hiking, not running) so this feature sounded excellent when I bought her the Charge 2. However, it looks to me like this is for breathing exercises more than habit training and limited to short sessions. Any way to update this to include breath training for indefinite timeframe?

    Now that you have Pebble’s amazing team, I expect FitBit should be able to deliver popular demand requests more easily. I hope to see some open developer communities soon!

  • Has Fitbit considered adding relaxation / mindfulness / meditation goals to the app? I’d like to work on intentional breathing / mindfulness starting at 3 min a day and work my up. The ability to set a goal and monitor progress as one would do with steps, activity, water, etc would be great. Would love to see the effect (if any) on heart rate when doing it and changes over time as a result of daily practice.

  • I love the Relax feature on the Charge 2. I have anxiety and depression, and I have found this feature so helpful. It really works. Because of the vibration, I do close my eyes to gain full benefit. The new Charge 2 is great, definitely worth the upgrade from the Charge HR!

  • Well, I’ve had my Charge 2 for a couple of weeks now. I can tell my buddies at work are jealous. I have a great-looking customizable stainless steel band from a 3rd party vendor and all they have is a black plastic band on their Garmins. Ha HA!

  • Hello Fitbit staff… I love my new fitbit and could you add a 4-7-8 breathing exercise that helps in falling asleep.

    0. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound.
    1. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
    2. Hold your breath for a count of seven.
    3. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whoosh sound to a count of eight.
    4. This is one breath. Now inhale again and repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.

    Technique from this article:
    http://www.medicaldaily.com/life-hack-sleep-4-7-8-breathing-exercise-will-supposedly-put-you-sleep-just-60-332122

  • Does it actually remind you to practice your breathing? Or do you have to decide to do the relax mode. I know there is a product that picks up on your breathing pattern and will remind you so just wondered if this one does that

  • Would love this option on all of the products! I have two Fitbits that I use for different purposes, but don’t have the Fitbit Charge 2, since it’s an option why not offered on all??

  • I am from India. I use fitbit Zip since last 5 years. Nos i go through fitbit charge 2. I like it but i have a question. Is it track calories and distance travelled by stationary bike. I use it for 40 mins. In india real bike is not safe due to lack of bike tracks. So most of the people use stationary bike in Gym or at home. So I m interested in the product which can measure stationary bike and workout also. Is there any product you r manufacturing?

  • I have the relax “app” on my watch which – to be honest – is amazing. However it would have been nice to be able to “track it” through out the day. We can track everything! But not our relaxation periods which is sad because I think relaxing is just as important as th rest. Just putting it out there. Also it would be nice for people to also have acces to it through the dashboard. Maybe the cell phone could time the relaxation period and maybe vibrate for exhale and inhale?! I don’t know. All I know is that I would love to be able to track it on my dashboard to achieve the 2.0 version of myself.
    Thank you guys by the way amazing products! Wouldn’t change my watch for any other

    • It would be good for the Relax feature to show a HRV (cardiac) coherence score something like the emwave from Heartmath does. If the band is really using HRV, then it should be trivial for the app to display something like the emwave software does.

      For now, what is the meaning (significance) of the little (always changing) bar-graph across the bottom of the Relax display on the band? Is it related to coherence? Does it have any significance?

      Also, why only 2 min and 5 min, a 10 min Relax option would be good.

  • Hi this is minal
    Just bought the Fitbit charge 2
    It’s counting my steps while i driving my car.how come

  • Haven’t had my fit bit but a couple of weeks and am just finding out how wonderful it is,how did I ever do without it.

    • Press the button twice and the screen for tracking a Run will appear, press the button again until you see Relax. Follow the prompt on the screen to start.

  • I’m new to all of this, so my question is this, if it can monitor heart rates can it also monitor your blood pressure ?

    Will Medicare cover the cost of one of these devices ?

    Thank you in advance

  • What is the upside down teardrop with a hole in it? What is the thing that looks like fire? Where do I find these things out? Its not on any of the fitbits that I look at.

  • The breathing is quite fast on this one. I can’t see me doing it for more than 2 mins. Maybe that takes practice, but I get light-headed.

If you have questions about a Fitbit tracker, product availability, or the status of your order, contact our Support Team or search the Fitbit Community for answers.

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