When it comes to gadgets for tracking heart health, nothing can replace the Apple Watch yet. Features like continuous BPM, ECG, Afib detection, blood oxygen among others on the Apple Watch may sound basic to end users. But if you consider things like resting or walking heart rate, heart rate variability, heart rate notifications, cardio recovery, cardio fitness, waist circumference, walking steadiness, stairs speed along with things like personal medication and BMI, the latest Apple Watch is without any doubt the most sophisticated smart watch for alerting trends in heart health.
Now after heart health, Apple is focusing on mental health. The Cupertino-based tech giant wants to deliver a similar kind of ‘data awareness’ for mental health as well without breaching your privacy.
For better heart health, most people know what steps to take: Eat well. Exercise. Do an annual checkup with your doctor. We want to bring that same level of awareness to mental health, too: Dr. Lauren Cheung, Senior Manager, Clinical team, Apple.
“For better heart health, most people know what steps to take: Eat well. Exercise. Do an annual checkup with your doctor. We want to bring that same level of awareness to mental health, too. That’s why we’re introducing our new features to help people everywhere better care for their mental health, and in doing so, help raise awareness for this important topic. And as always, these features are based in science, with privacy at the core,” said Dr. Lauren Cheung, Senior Manager, Clinical team, Apple.
Apple recently announced new health features in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and watchOS 10. New mental health features allow users to log their momentary emotions and daily moods, see valuable insights, and easily access assessments and resources.
“iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch offer new vision health features that encourage healthy behaviors that help reduce the risk of myopia, and the Health app comes to iPad, giving users new ways to see their health data,” according to Apple.
Dr. Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice president of Health said, “Our goal is to empower people to take charge of their own health journey. Mental health and vision health are important, but often overlooked, and we’re excited to introduce features that offer valuable new insights to provide users with an even better understanding of their health. These insights help support users in their daily decisions and offer more informed conversations with their doctors.”
Our goal is to empower people to take charge of their own health journey: Dr. Sumbul Desai, M.D., Apple’s vice president of Health.
Apple, right now, is relying on inputs from the user to gauge as data markers. The Health app in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, and the Mindfulness app in watchOS 10, offers users an option to reflect on their state of mind. Users can opt-in to state how they are feeling in a range from Very Pleasant to Very Unpleasant. Then, they can select associations that are having the biggest impact on their feelings, like Travel or Family, and describe their feelings, such as Grateful or Worried.
The Health app in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, and the Mindfulness app in watchOS 10, offers users an option to reflect on their state of mind.
In the Health app, users can see valuable insights to identify what might be contributing to their state of mind — whether it’s associations or lifestyle factors, such as sleep or exercise — and can use these insights to better manage their overall health.
Of course, it’s a long work in progress for Apple to help people be more aware about their mental health. But the good part is that the company is showcasing its prowess in software and data science to help users and not showing inclination towards selling another gadget for doing the same right now.
“Mental health is as important as physical health. So we design tools that give you insights into both, and the connections between the two. There are important benefits to identifying emotions as we experience them. Reflecting more deeply on these feelings and labelling them has therapeutic benefit in the moment and, according to research, can improve emotional self awareness, emotional regulation, and can decrease symptoms of depression,” explained Dr. Cheung.
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