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How to Use Mental Wellbeing in Apple Health

ByJim Miller

Apple Health has always prioritized health features, and the latest iOS 17 update is no exception. Among the many features, the Mental Wellbeing add-on stands out. It allows you to track and reflect on your state of mind over time. Here's how you can make the most of Mental Wellbeing on your iPhone.

What Is Mental Wellbeing in Apple Health

Your mental health is just as important as your physical health. In addition to tracking your steps, calories, and exercise activities, the Health app now lets you track your mood and state of mind. The goal is to help you understand your mental wellbeing and take necessary steps if needed.

How to Log Your Mental State in Apple Health

Aside from the excellent Mental Wellbeing integration, the Health app also provides information on steps and details that impact your physical and mental health. For instance, you can learn how sunlight, being outdoors, and maintaining a good sleep schedule can contribute to your overall wellbeing. Here's how to get started:

  1. Launch the Health app on your iPhone and go to the Browse menu.
  2. Select Mental Wellbeing.
  3. Scroll down and choose Get Started. You can log your emotion or mood. Let's select Emotion and tap Next.
  4. Select how you are feeling right now using the slider and the available options.
  5. Notice how the Health app changes the animation and background to reflect your mood. It's a small but neat touch from Apple. Tap Next.
  6. The app will ask you to describe your feeling. You can choose from the provided options or tap Show More to see additional choices. Tap Next.
  7. Select an option that has the most significant impact on you. You can also add additional context. Tap Done.
  8. Logging your mental state at least twice a day can provide valuable insights into your mental wellbeing. Apple allows you to set up reminders to log your mental state during the day, at the end of the day, or at a custom time. Tap Edit Schedule.
  9. Enable the relevant toggles and tap Add Reminder to set a specific time.

You can also enable questionnaires to receive prompts when you experience a pattern of unpleasant moods.

Check Mental Wellbeing Data in Apple Health

As part of Mental Wellbeing, you can also log anxiety risk, depression risk, exercise minutes, mindful minutes, and time spent in daylight. Apple may ask you to go through a questionnaire for anxiety and depression risks, while for other options, you need to manually enter the data. Let's take a look at how to add daylight minutes:

  1. Open Mental Wellbeing in the Health app (follow the steps above) and select an option.
  2. Tap Add Data in the top-right corner.
  3. Choose the schedule when you were exposed to sunlight and tap Add.

You can learn about the benefits and potential harms of each option within the Health app.

Pin Mental Wellbeing on Apple Health Home

If you frequently use Mental Wellbeing in the Health app, you have the option to pin it to your home page for easy access.

  1. Open the Health app and tap Edit in the top-right corner.
  2. Tap the Star icon next to State of Mind under Mental Wellbeing.

Now, the Mental Wellbeing option is just a tap away on Apple Health.

Keep Your Mental Health in Check

Mental Wellbeing is available on iPhone (iOS 17), iPad (iPadOS 17), and Apple Watch (watchOS 10). We hope Apple extends this feature to the Mac desktop as well, so you can also log your mood and emotions during hectic work hours. Besides Mental Wellbeing, the iOS 17 update is packed with nifty hidden features to explore.