How to get the most out of Apple Health on iPhone and Apple Watch

Allison McDaniel | Apr 1 2022 - 1:55 pm PT

Apple’s Health app features a lot of information and can be overwhelming to the average user. It integrates with other apps to give you an overall summary of your health in one place. When used between iPhone and Apple Watch, it can be a useful tool in maintaining your optimal wellbeing.

Here’s how you can navigate Apple Health a bit better.

Getting started

When starting to use the Health app, you’ll need to set up a profile. The app will need basic information, like your name, date of birth, and sex. You can change these settings at any time in health details by tapping your Apple ID photo on the top right.

Health details include blood type, skin type, and medications that affect heart rate. Here, you can also include if you use a wheelchair or not. If you choose yes, your iPhone and Apple Watch won’t count steps, they’ll count pushes.

Your profile includes not only health details but your Medical ID. Your Medical ID has your name, age, allergies, medications, weight, height, and emergency contacts, so medical authorities can view them in case of a health emergency. It can be shared during emergency calls and on your iPhone’s lock screen. The Health app even lets you sign up to become an organ donor straight from your profile.

Pro Tip: You also can export your health data from your profile if needed. This data can be backed up and saved to iCloud.

Integrate Apple Health with other apps

You can add other apps to the Health app like Clock, Cycle Tracking, Fitness, Siri, Sleep, and more. There are also third-party apps you can integrate into your Health app. Ten Percent Happier and WaterMinder are a couple great ones I recommend checking out. They’ll sync beautifully on both iPhone and Apple Watch.

View your health data

The home screen of the app features a summary of your health information. You can favorite certain subjects so that they’ll appear right up top. Within Summary, you can view your activity, trends in your health, environmental sound levels, and more. While I won’t get into the specific details of everything, it’s important to have an idea of what’s there.

Activity is a popular feature in the Health app. Here you can check your activity rings that indicate how many calories you’ve burned, how many minutes you’ve exercised, and how many minutes of the day you were standing. Combining activity rings with Apple Fitness+¹ makes the most of this attribute.

Health trends notify you when there is a change in certain health topics like heart rate or exercise minutes. We’ve heard stories in the past of how this feature has helped notify people of drastic health changes that led them to seek life-saving medical help.

There’s also an option to participate in research studies. For instance, Apple has recently done a women’s health research study using the Cycle Tracking app.

The browse tab takes more of a deep dive into particular health categories. Here you can search through nutrition, mindfulness, respiratory, vitals, and more. Each category allows you to enter certain details to provide additional insights into your health. You can view trends over time and learn about the subject too. The app offers articles tailored to each topic as well as recommended third-party apps to use to track relevant data.

You can share your data with someone in the “Sharing” tab. It’s a secure and private way to provide a summary of each topic you share, not specific details. The information is encrypted, and you can stop sharing at any time.

The app allows you to share this information with your doctor. It also lets you connect to your health system’s online portal. Simply, sign in with your health system information. It’s not only private on your device but on your doctor’s as well. When connected, your records will be downloaded so you can see the information your doctor is working with.

Do you use the Health app?

While the app has an abundance of features, certain parts won’t be for everyone. I recommend doing some digging throughout the app to see what specifically works for you.

Do you have any tips and tricks to share? What would you like to see added to the platform in the future?

More on Apple Health:

¹Don’t forget that when you buy a new Apple Watch, you get three months free of Apple Fitness+. The service gives you access to guided workouts, challenges, and more to help you stay in shape.

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