• Heartbeats: The rhythmic thud-thud you feel? That's your heart pumping blood!

• Pulse: As this wave of high-pressure blood zips through the arteries, we can feel the pressure wave as a pulse.

• Why?: When the blood whizzes past, the artery wall stretches and then goes back to its original state (like a rubber band being pulled and then released).

• 🍭 Fun Fact: Every pulse corresponds to one heartbeat! So, by counting your pulses, you're also counting your heartbeats.

• Where to Measure
  • Wrist & Neck: Two hotspots where pulses love to hang out and can easily be felt.
• How to Measure

  • Use 2 or 3 fingertips to lightly press against the skin. But beware! Avoid using the thumb because it has its own sneaky pulse which can interfere and mislead you.

  • Tech Alert!🔧: Digital meters, like pulse oximeters, are fancy tools to calculate pulse rate. Clip it on a fingertip, and it uses a lightsaber battle (red and infrared lights) to see how blood flows in the tissues. The result? Your heart rate!

These aren't just your usual gadgets. They can

• Measure heart rate (as mentioned above).

• Tell the percentage of oxygen in your blood!

  *How do they do that?*🤓

  When your blood lacks oxygen, it sucks up red light. On the flip side, when your blood is full of oxygen, it's more into absorbing infrared light.