AIVELA estimates two related but different nighttime signals. Respiratory rate is the average number of breaths you took per minute during sleep. Blood oxygen, or SpO₂, estimates the percentage of hemoglobin carrying oxygen and is summarized from stable nighttime readings. AIVELA uses both primarily to compare tonight with your own recent pattern. They can add useful context to Balance, but they are consumer wellness estimates, not a diagnosis of breathing or oxygen problems.

A travel night deserves its travel context

An unfamiliar place or a different altitude can make you look more closely at breathing-related trends. Read the data state, repeated pattern and how you feel together. The view can improve the questions you ask, but it cannot tell you from one night that travel explains the change or that a medical concern is absent.

Two signals, two questions

Breathing moves air into and out of the lungs. Blood oxygen describes how much oxygen is being carried in the blood. The two are connected, but they are not interchangeable.

Your respiratory rate can change while SpO₂ remains close to its usual level. SpO₂ can also vary without a large change in average breathing rate. That is why AIVELA keeps them as separate measurements rather than combining them into one “breathing” number.

For daily use, ask:

• Respiratory rate: Was my sleeping breathing pace close to my usual pattern?
• Stable average SpO₂: Was my nighttime oxygen estimate broadly stable relative to my recent baseline?

Respiratory rate is a nighttime estimate

AIVELA estimates respiratory rate from repeating changes in nighttime physiological signals. Breathing subtly changes the timing and shape of the pulse signal; across a sufficiently stable sleep period, an algorithm can use those repeating patterns to estimate breaths per minute.

The App presents a nighttime average rather than asking you to interpret every breath. Sleep provides a more consistent setting than daily movement, talking, exercise, or changing posture, all of which can make the signal harder to interpret.

Respiratory rate can vary with sleep position, altitude, recent exercise, alcohol, congestion, illness, room conditions, and individual physiology. A single difference does not identify which factor was responsible.

SpO₂ uses red and infrared light

Hemoglobin absorbs red and infrared light differently depending on whether it is carrying oxygen. During an SpO₂ measurement, the ring sends these wavelengths into the finger and measures the returning optical signal. Algorithms use the pulsating part of that signal to estimate oxygen saturation.

AIVELA summarizes stable average SpO₂ during sleep. It does not use the lowest isolated point as the main interpretation because a brief low value can reflect movement, contact, circulation, or another signal-quality problem rather than a sustained change.

SpO₂ is displayed as a percentage. That precision does not make it equivalent to an arterial blood measurement or a medical pulse oximeter used for clinical decisions.

Stable windows matter more than isolated points

Optical estimates depend on the quality of the light signal. AIVELA filters out periods that are not reliable enough and requires usable stable data before presenting a result.

Signal quality can be affected by:

• a ring that is loose, rotated, or not fully against the skin;
• hand movement during measurement;
• cold hands or reduced circulation;
• pressure on the ring while sleeping;
• skin and tissue characteristics, including pigmentation;
• incomplete synchronization or a short wear period.

Filtering can leave a gap. A missing value is usually more honest than a precise-looking number built from poor data.

How Balance uses these signals

Balance looks at several nighttime body signals together. Respiratory rate and stable average SpO₂ are compared with personal baselines alongside resting heart rate, HRV, skin temperature, recent sleep, and activity context.

This approach asks whether several signals remain coordinated and close to what is usual for you. It does not mean that “usual for you” is automatically medically healthy, and it does not let one normal-looking value cancel every other concern.

AIVELA may highlight a change when it persists or appears with other deviations. It should not name a disease or claim a cause from the pattern alone.

How to read your results

Start with the trend rather than the most dramatic point:

1. Check whether the result is based on a complete, well-synchronized night.
2. Compare it with your own recent range.
3. Look at related signals and how you feel.
4. Add relevant context such as travel, altitude, congestion, alcohol, or unusual exercise.
5. If the change continues, treat persistence as more informative than one night.

Use Normal SpO₂ mode for routine tracking and lower power consumption. Measurement availability still depends on fit, signal quality, and sufficient stable data.

What these measurements cannot tell you

AIVELA Ring Pro is not a medical pulse oximeter or a sleep-breathing diagnostic device. Respiratory rate and SpO₂ in the App cannot diagnose or rule out hypoxemia, sleep apnea, infection, lung disease, heart disease, or another condition. They also cannot determine why you feel short of breath.

Consumer optical oxygen estimates have known limitations, and individual readings should be considered with symptoms and other information. If you experience difficulty breathing, chest pain, bluish lips or face, confusion, severe weakness, or another urgent symptom, seek appropriate medical help instead of waiting for the ring. For persistent concerns, speak with a qualified healthcare professional.

Read the stable trend, compare it with yourself, and never let a wearable number overrule meaningful symptoms.

Related reading

• How PPG Measures Heart Rate and Pulse Changes
• What AIVELA Can See, and What It Cannot
• What Is Balance?
• Data Quality, Gaps, and Estimated Results