Discover Apple Watch's best health features
The Best Health Features of the Apple Watch
The Apple Watch has become a significant tool for health and wellness, offering a wide range of features designed to support users in maintaining and monitoring their health. Here are some of the best health features available on various models of the Apple Watch:
1. Heart Rate Monitoring
The Apple Watch continuously monitors your heart rate, providing data on your resting heart rate, walking heart rate, and recovery rate after exercise. It can also send notifications if your heart rate appears to be abnormally high or low, which could indicate potential health issues.
2. ECG App
Available on Apple Watch Series 4 and later, the ECG app can generate an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram. This can help detect signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib), a form of irregular heart rhythm that can lead to serious health complications if left unchecked.
3. Blood Oxygen Monitoring
Introduced with the Apple Watch Series 6, the Blood Oxygen app allows users to measure the oxygen saturation level of their blood (SpO2), which can provide insights into their overall respiratory and cardiac health, especially important during times of health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
4. Fall Detection
The fall detection feature, available on Apple Watch Series 4 and later, uses a custom algorithm and the latest accelerometer and gyroscope to detect if the wearer has taken a hard fall. If a fall is detected and the wearer is unresponsive after about a minute, the watch can automatically call emergency services and send a message along with the wearer’s location to emergency contacts.
5. Activity Tracking
The Activity Rings on the Apple Watch track your movement throughout the day, encouraging you to stand, move, and exercise regularly. It sets daily goals and provides feedback and awards for achieving those goals, promoting a more active lifestyle.
6. Sleep Tracking
With the introduction of watchOS 7, Apple Watch includes built-in sleep tracking capabilities. It helps users create a bedtime routine, monitors sleep patterns, and provides insights to improve sleep quality over time.
7. Noise Monitoring
The Noise app can measure the ambient sound levels in your environment and alert you if the decibel level reaches a point where it could affect your hearing, encouraging you to take action to protect your hearing health.
8. Handwashing Detection
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, watchOS 7 introduced a handwashing detection feature that uses motion sensors and microphone to detect handwashing and starts a 20-second countdown to encourage thorough handwashing.
9. Fitness+ Integration
Apple Fitness+ is a subscription service offering a variety of workout videos that can be watched on an iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV, with the Apple Watch tracking your workout in real-time and displaying metrics on the screen.
These features, among others, make the Apple Watch a comprehensive health and fitness companion, offering users actionable insights into their health and motivating them to maintain or improve their wellness.