Beyond Steps: A Doctor at Apple Reveals 9 Hidden Apple Watch Health Features You Need to Activate

Your Digital Doctor: Unlocking the Apple Watch’s Secret Health Power
Your Apple Watch is more than just a fitness tracker—it’s a powerful, passive health monitor. Dr. Lauren Cheung, a clinician at Apple, recently highlighted nine often-overlooked features built into the device that can provide vital health insights and even save your life.

If you want to go beyond monitoring just your steps and heart rate, here are five essential and often hidden Apple Watch Health Features you should activate today:

1. The Vitals App: Your Overnight Health Dashboard
   The Vitals app provides an immediate, holistic view of your health using overnight metrics, including heart rate, wrist temperature, respiratory rate, and sleep duration.

How it works: When two or more of your key metrics fall outside your personal typical range, the watch issues a notification explaining why (e.g., potential illness or alcohol consumption). This allows you to make informed decisions, such as resting or consulting a doctor.

How to activate: You must wear the watch for at least seven nights to establish a baseline. Then, go to Settings on your Apple Watch, tap Vitals, and turn on notifications.

2. Heart Health Notifications: Alerting You to Irregular Rhythms
   This passive feature runs in the background and is crucial for identifying potentially serious heart conditions.

How it works: Your Apple Watch can alert you to unusually high or low heart rates, and most critically, to signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib)—the most common type of irregular heart rhythm among adults and a leading cause of stroke. The watch’s ECG app (available on Series 4 and later) allows you to take a test to record your heart’s electrical signals.

How to activate: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, tap My Watch, tap Heart, and set your desired BPM limits for High and Low Heart Rate. For irregular rhythm notifications, go to the Health app on your iPhone, tap Browse, tap Heart, and enable Irregular Rhythm Notifications.

3. Noise Notifications: Protecting Your Long-Term Hearing
   Your Apple Watch serves as a proactive defense against environmental damage, educating and empowering you to protect your hearing over time.

How it works: The Noise app measures the sound levels in your environment. If you are exposed to dangerously loud sounds that could damage your hearing, the watch will send a notification.

How to activate: Use the Noise app on your Apple Watch or iPhone to set up and enable the notifications.

4. Fall Detection: Your Emergency Lifeline
   For users with active lifestyles or those aged 55 and over, this feature provides a critical safety net.

How it works: If your watch (Series 4 or later) detects a hard fall, it sounds an alarm, displays an alert, and taps your wrist. If you are immobile for about a minute, the watch automatically contacts emergency services and messages your designated emergency contacts with your location.

How to activate: On your iPhone, open the Watch app, tap My Watch, tap Emergency SOS, and turn Fall Detection on. (It automatically turns on for users 55 and older). You can choose to have it on always or only during workouts.

5. Time in Daylight: Boosting Mental and Physical Health
   This simple yet powerful feature leverages the ambient light sensor to ensure you are getting enough sun exposure.

How it works: The watch automatically estimates the time you spend in daylight. For adults, research shows spending about 20 minutes outdoors daily can boost mood and provide essential Vitamin D. It is also crucial for children’s vision health.

How to activate: Ensure Motion Calibration & Distance is turned on in your iPhone’s Settings (Privacy & Security > Location Services > System Services). You can then view your data in the iPhone’s Health app under Browse > Other Data > Time in Daylight.

By utilizing these Hidden Apple Watch Health Features, your smartwatch transforms from a convenient gadget into a powerful, always-on partner in your health and wellness journey.