5 ways to better use the Health app on iPhone

L’Health app of iOS was completely redesigned over the months and versions of the Cupertino operating system (arrived at 14.3), enriching themselves step by step – also thanks tointegration with Apple Watch Series 6 features (such as measuring blood oxygen levels) and older versions of the watch – di new possibilities for monitoring your fitness. It goes from noise assessment to which we are daily subjected to the general levels of activity and movement, to be consulted with the maximum granularity depending on the days or types of movement, up to menstrual cycle monitoring, of the sleep andcardiac activity thanks to the other fundamental technology of the Watch, the one that allows you to perform a electrocardiogram. And that he has saved so many lives until today.

However, the Health app deserves a separate study: it is not easy to move about, in the sense that we need to spend some time on it and set the various parameters in the best possible way, also according to your needs and lifestyle (if you are sporty, sedentary, young, elderly and so on). So here it is some tips to use it at its best, with or without Apple Watch.

First, make sure your iPhone and Apple Watch are updated to the latest software versions to access all available functions. Then visit the tab, that is the section Summary within the Health app and edit i Favorites based on what’s most important to you. Remember that the iPhone can count steps, walking and running distance, walking speed and much more, so you don’t need a Watch in theory to use many features. It can also track and chart time spent in bed based on iPhone usage at night (and in that sense the Sleep section allows you to set routines and a goal for rest hours).

Carefully evaluate which apps you are already using. Many third-party health, fitness and wellness, meditation and sleep apps can be linked to the Health app, allowing users to view and analyze everything in one place, even the data collected by those applications. So check the settings of your favorite sports and wellness apps to see if they can be connected to the Apple platform. Likewise, it is possible to synchronize devices compatible with the Health app, such as smart scales, blood pressure bands, thermometers and more.

From your doctor to your iPhone: for now only in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada some institutes offer Health Records (i.e. clinical documentation) within the Health app: this allows the user to access all medical information available from different institutions in one view. It would be desirable, provided that the development of that solution proceeds and unfortunately in recent years it has not been so, that something similar could happen in the future with the Italian electronic health record, currently enabled and used by a dozen million Italians. To make the Health app a sort of database of all your medical information and an intermediary with the general practitioner.

Finally, check yours Health list: i.e. visit the Health checklist to activate the medical record (where available), enable SOS for emergencies, for reduced heart rhythm and especially for Fall Detection (i.e. to allow sending a message with your location in case of accidental falls that prevent the user from moving) and other health and safety features.

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