A new study has found that the heart rate sensor on the Apple Watch is accurate enough to track stress levels in users, providing a potential avenue for Apple to launch a native stress monitoring experience in the future.
Heart rate variability (HRV) is a metric that reflects how adaptable the body is to change and is often used to gauge stress and happiness levels. In the study, researchers measured HRV in participants using six ECG readings per day to determine their stress levels.
They found that the “stress” models had a high level of precision but lower recall, while the “no stress” models performed well with a recall typically above 60%. The study also noted that tracking sleep and activity in addition to heart rate measurements could further improve stress monitoring.
While Apple does not currently offer a native stress monitoring feature, users can still track their HRV on the Apple Watch and use third-party apps to monitor their stress levels.
To view your HRV history, go to the Health app on your iPhone and navigate to Browse > Heart > Heart Rate Variability. You can check out the 6M or year trend to see if your HRV is trending upwards, which may indicate lower stress levels, or downwards, which could suggest higher stress levels.
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