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The Apple Watch surprised me in how much awareness of my health it generated - mainly how much and what quality sleep I was getting, but also other general sign

by j4yav 5y ago

The Apple Watch surprised me in how much awareness of my health it generated - mainly how much and what quality sleep I was getting, but also other general signals. It helped me pay more attention and make some good health improvements. Presumably any other smart watch offers similar benefits.

dkobia 5y ago
Second this. I was highly skeptical of the watch until I received it as a gift for Christmas. It has made me more acutely aware of how sedentary I’ve been during a typical work day. Closing the rings is now an obsession and I’m better for it.
- tzs 5y ago
  Mine too. I currently have a streak of 1004 consecutive days of closing all three rings going on. > Closing the rings is now an obsession and I’m better for it So far I've not become obsessed about it. It is more that I've changed my habits so that I'm more active. There have been a few times where before the watch I might have skipped my morning walk due to something like waking up with a sore ankle, without even checking to see if it was a "you slept on it wrong and the soreness will go away when you move it a little" kind of soreness or a "OK you actually did hurt it yesterday and should just stay off you feet all day" kind of soreness. Now I check, and so far it has always been the former. I'm thinking of intentionally taking a day off and missing closing all the rings just to keep from accidentally becoming obsessed over the length of the streak.
  - d3nj4l 5y ago
    Congrats on the streak!
  - kemayo 5y ago
    I'm on day 1,805 of my streak. I find that this is well past the level where people just make fun of you if you tell them about it. ;-)
dividedbyzero 5y ago
When do you charge yours? Is the battery life good enough for using it day and night?
- notreallyserio 5y ago
  Not OP: I charge mine while I'm in the shower and eating breakfast. That gets me through the day with about 50-60% to spare. I do wear mine overnight. I have a relatively new series 7. It remains to be seen how it performs as the battery cycles hundreds of times. edit: Fixed percent remaining. It was much better than I'd remembered.
  - gnicholas 5y ago
    Could you get by if you just charged while in the shower? Also, do you think your current use is lower than normal due to COVID/WFH/lack of travel? I've considered getting one but hate the idea of having to charge my watch every day. My Pebble still gives me what I need, so I'm holding onto it for as long as the battery is in decent shape.
    - PhantomGremlin 5y ago
      Could you get by if you just charged while in the shower? How long of a shower do you take? :-) A very related question is just how intensively will you use it. Here are some guidelines from Apple: https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/ https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/ My Series 6 watch is on my wrist for up to 23 hours a day. My battery is usually above 50% after a full day of use. I charge every day but for less than 30 minutes. (I usually take it off the charger before it is completely charged.) Depending on your work and living arrangement (e.g. I'm mostly home) it's also so easy to drop onto the charger for just a few minutes. E.g. I can top-off the watch while I go into kitchen for a cup of coffee or a snack. So no need to devote a 30 minute continuous block of time. I have low battery use because I mostly use the watch for notifications and activity tracking. I keep the display off by default (which is probably the main power draw). The aluminum watch with sport loop is very light and comfortable. It's easy to forget you're wearing it.
pc86 5y ago
If you want to stay away from the Apple ecosystem, or just don't like the aesthetics of the Apple Watch, I've found Whoop to be great for tracking sleep quality and activity. There is a monthly fee but it's minimal if you're using the data it collects. Not worth it for something passive, or if you're sedentary outside of work.
- owenversteeg 5y ago
  I was really tempted by Whoop but then I saw this: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/05/whoop-3-platform-review.html https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/05/whoop-3-platform-review.... There are also some good points raised in the comments. In particular, I like this comment: > I’m probably biased because I’ve used Polar for 20 years and Whoop for over 4 years now. I like where Polar has got to on their new Vantage products in terms of activity load, sleep, recovery etc. I started using Whoop because I was frustrated with how far behind the curve that Polar were on the V800 and I liked what Whoop were trying to do. > Fast forward 4 years and Polar results correlate the closest with how I feel and perform and also with other recovery measurements I use e.g. HRV4Training and Elite HRV. I find Whoop the least reliable in terms of accuracy of data and also correlation with how I actually feel. I like the way Whoop presents data but I have little faith in it due to the accuracy of the sensor etc. YMMV. That said, I like wearing a mechanical watch, and I'm not a huge fan of wearing a smartwatch, so I'd much rather wear something like the Whoop than a Polar Vantage watch or an Apple Watch. So if someone here wants to defend the Whoop and convince me the data is decent enough, I'd love that :)
  - pc86 5y ago
    Same, I really like mechanical watches as well so that sort of limits what options I have :) I have noticed a bit of a disconnect between how I feel and what the whoop says, but not so much that I'd think it's wrong. Just eyebrow raising every now and then. I've never tried a Polar though.
CodeGlitch 5y ago
I have a Garmin and feel the same, definitely more aware of my health. Battery lasts about 2 weeks which is impressive.
- nullwarp 5y ago
  Yessss I have a Garmin Instinct and I love it, easily my favorite Smart watch. It's got just enough smart stuff that I'd use without a bunch of extras I'd never use. And I charge it once a week if I'm biking a lot and using the GPS.
- tra3 5y ago
  Can you share which garmin you have? Battery life is By far my biggest issue with the Apple Watch. Once it discharges I forget to use it.
  - 121789 5y ago
    I have the forerunner 245 music. It lasts days (at the worst) and can sync offline spotify playlists
    - tra3 5y ago
      Thanks! Does it include body battery too? Do you find it useful?
      - 121789 5y ago
        Yes it does. I found it pretty enlightening. It tracks almost perfectly with how I feel in the morning and helped me get a sense of how alcohol in particular affected me.
  - CodeGlitch 5y ago
    https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/707174/pn/010-02427-10 https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/707174/pn/010-02427-10
palmeida 5y ago
Recommendations for apps to track sleep ? Preferably without subscription but just a one time payment. Petty Apple does not provide a sleep tracking app.
- subeadia 5y ago
  AutoSleep (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-track-sleep-on-watch/id1164801111 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-track-sleep-on-watch...) has been fantastic for my needs.

by j4yav 5y ago

dkobia 5y ago

Second this. I was highly skeptical of the watch until I received it as a gift for Christmas. It has made me more acutely aware of how sedentary I’ve been during a typical work day. Closing the rings is now an obsession and I’m better for it.

tzs 5y ago
Mine too. I currently have a streak of 1004 consecutive days of closing all three rings going on. > Closing the rings is now an obsession and I’m better for it So far I've not become obsessed about it. It is more that I've changed my habits so that I'm more active. There have been a few times where before the watch I might have skipped my morning walk due to something like waking up with a sore ankle, without even checking to see if it was a "you slept on it wrong and the soreness will go away when you move it a little" kind of soreness or a "OK you actually did hurt it yesterday and should just stay off you feet all day" kind of soreness. Now I check, and so far it has always been the former. I'm thinking of intentionally taking a day off and missing closing all the rings just to keep from accidentally becoming obsessed over the length of the streak.
- d3nj4l 5y ago
  Congrats on the streak!
- kemayo 5y ago
  I'm on day 1,805 of my streak. I find that this is well past the level where people just make fun of you if you tell them about it. ;-)

dividedbyzero 5y ago

When do you charge yours? Is the battery life good enough for using it day and night?

notreallyserio 5y ago
Not OP: I charge mine while I'm in the shower and eating breakfast. That gets me through the day with about 50-60% to spare. I do wear mine overnight. I have a relatively new series 7. It remains to be seen how it performs as the battery cycles hundreds of times. edit: Fixed percent remaining. It was much better than I'd remembered.
- gnicholas 5y ago
  Could you get by if you just charged while in the shower? Also, do you think your current use is lower than normal due to COVID/WFH/lack of travel? I've considered getting one but hate the idea of having to charge my watch every day. My Pebble still gives me what I need, so I'm holding onto it for as long as the battery is in decent shape.
  - PhantomGremlin 5y ago
    Could you get by if you just charged while in the shower? How long of a shower do you take? :-) A very related question is just how intensively will you use it. Here are some guidelines from Apple: https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/ https://www.apple.com/watch/battery/ My Series 6 watch is on my wrist for up to 23 hours a day. My battery is usually above 50% after a full day of use. I charge every day but for less than 30 minutes. (I usually take it off the charger before it is completely charged.) Depending on your work and living arrangement (e.g. I'm mostly home) it's also so easy to drop onto the charger for just a few minutes. E.g. I can top-off the watch while I go into kitchen for a cup of coffee or a snack. So no need to devote a 30 minute continuous block of time. I have low battery use because I mostly use the watch for notifications and activity tracking. I keep the display off by default (which is probably the main power draw). The aluminum watch with sport loop is very light and comfortable. It's easy to forget you're wearing it.

pc86 5y ago

If you want to stay away from the Apple ecosystem, or just don't like the aesthetics of the Apple Watch, I've found Whoop to be great for tracking sleep quality and activity. There is a monthly fee but it's minimal if you're using the data it collects. Not worth it for something passive, or if you're sedentary outside of work.

owenversteeg 5y ago
I was really tempted by Whoop but then I saw this: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/05/whoop-3-platform-review.html https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/05/whoop-3-platform-review.... There are also some good points raised in the comments. In particular, I like this comment: > I’m probably biased because I’ve used Polar for 20 years and Whoop for over 4 years now. I like where Polar has got to on their new Vantage products in terms of activity load, sleep, recovery etc. I started using Whoop because I was frustrated with how far behind the curve that Polar were on the V800 and I liked what Whoop were trying to do. > Fast forward 4 years and Polar results correlate the closest with how I feel and perform and also with other recovery measurements I use e.g. HRV4Training and Elite HRV. I find Whoop the least reliable in terms of accuracy of data and also correlation with how I actually feel. I like the way Whoop presents data but I have little faith in it due to the accuracy of the sensor etc. YMMV. That said, I like wearing a mechanical watch, and I'm not a huge fan of wearing a smartwatch, so I'd much rather wear something like the Whoop than a Polar Vantage watch or an Apple Watch. So if someone here wants to defend the Whoop and convince me the data is decent enough, I'd love that :)
- pc86 5y ago
  Same, I really like mechanical watches as well so that sort of limits what options I have :) I have noticed a bit of a disconnect between how I feel and what the whoop says, but not so much that I'd think it's wrong. Just eyebrow raising every now and then. I've never tried a Polar though.

CodeGlitch 5y ago

I have a Garmin and feel the same, definitely more aware of my health. Battery lasts about 2 weeks which is impressive.

nullwarp 5y ago
Yessss I have a Garmin Instinct and I love it, easily my favorite Smart watch. It's got just enough smart stuff that I'd use without a bunch of extras I'd never use. And I charge it once a week if I'm biking a lot and using the GPS.
tra3 5y ago
Can you share which garmin you have? Battery life is By far my biggest issue with the Apple Watch. Once it discharges I forget to use it.
- 121789 5y ago
  I have the forerunner 245 music. It lasts days (at the worst) and can sync offline spotify playlists
  - tra3 5y ago
    Thanks! Does it include body battery too? Do you find it useful?
    - 121789 5y ago
      Yes it does. I found it pretty enlightening. It tracks almost perfectly with how I feel in the morning and helped me get a sense of how alcohol in particular affected me.
- CodeGlitch 5y ago
  https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/707174/pn/010-02427-10 https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/p/707174/pn/010-02427-10

palmeida 5y ago

Recommendations for apps to track sleep ? Preferably without subscription but just a one time payment. Petty Apple does not provide a sleep tracking app.

subeadia 5y ago
AutoSleep (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-track-sleep-on-watch/id1164801111 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/autosleep-track-sleep-on-watch...) has been fantastic for my needs.