Featured Image Credit: Apple
Topics: Apple, Health, Mental Health, Technology
Callum Jones
These days, we know that mental health is just as important as physical health - but while many are willing to head to the doctors with a physical health issue, there is certainly still a stigma surrounding mental health.
With advancements in technology, it is now pretty easy to be able to track your physical health through a variety of different apps all at the tap of a finger.
And while there are plenty of mindfulness apps out there to help with mental health conditions such as anxiety, there are not many that allow us to track our own mental health.
That is all about to change though thanks to Apple and their latest update coming to the Apple Watch.
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The developer beta of watchOS 10 is available to Apple Developer Program members right now - with a public beta starting next month - and available to everyone with Apple Watch Series 4 or later from this fall.
The update - which will also be available in iOS 17 and iPadOS 17 - allows Apple users to log their momentary emotions and daily moods.
These prompts take the form of some rather colourful visuals on screen to determine how users are feeling.
Apple have reassured users the new tracking feature - which encourages people to reflect on their 'state of mind' - is grounded with science and built with privacy in mind.
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. With these innovative new features, we’re expanding the comprehensive range of health and wellness tools that we offer our users across iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.
"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."
As part of the logged moods in the Health app, users will be able to see how other lifestyle factors tracked in the app are impacting their mental health, such as sleep and exercise.
As part of the commonly used depression and anxiety assessments, users can even be advised on whether to seek medical guidance for their own wellbeing.
While it may not fix the stigma around going to seek support, it's likely that having some mental health advice at the touch of your fingertips is going to help.