Apple watch health tracking

[Trojan Horse]

Hey guys just wanted to know how you used you Watch for health tracking

I just got the SleepWatch app so hopefully, it will track sleep from now on

What do you guys use to track workouts?

Whenever I go lifting should I open the workouts app, or is there a better app to handle that?
(Currently use Strong to track workouts but it doesnt sync well, i.e. new workout on iPhone doesnt show on Watch, and that doesnt track health data)

Normally, after the gym it takes me about 30-40mins to walk home. Will the watch automatically record this or do I have to select it manually? It pops up saying 'record outdoor walk' after 10mins, but I'm not sure if that adds the previous 10 mins as well.

And also, how accurate do you find the data? Is calories, or distance 90% accurate? Is the ECG and heart beat sensor almost 100% accurate? Do I have to do anything to continuously record my HR through my workout?

 

[Combat squirrel]

to answer all ur questions everything ur unsure about - yes it does do all those things, the built in fitness apps are great at trackng, yes if u say yes to recording a walk it does take into account everything you did since you started. Yeah the ecg and heart is accurate, in fact its one of the most accurate and powerful smart watches available. yeah it records all bio data when its in exercise mode.

 

[Kainz]

I walk heaps on the way to work and back and have never seen my S4 even once record my long 20min walks to start my work journey etc.

ECG and Heart rate sensor being accurate on any of these wrist devices are somewhat debatable when compared to a chest straps. I've used a few Fitbits before and they were the closest to my old Polar H10 (think its that). My S4 is some 10bpm off give or take.

I am also on the lookout for a decent workouts app as the Apple Activity app is somewhat sparse on informative data. I have been told to download a Nike app but it seemed to be a workouts instructor sort of app for the most part.

 

[Combat squirrel]

I walk heaps on the way to work and back and have never seen my S4 even once record my long 20min walks to start my work journey etc.

ECG and Heart rate sensor being accurate on any of these wrist devices are somewhat debatable when compared to a chest straps. I've used a few Fitbits before and they were the closest to my old Polar H10 (think its that). My S4 is some 10bpm off give or take.

I am also on the lookout for a decent workouts app as the Apple Activity app is somewhat sparse on informative data. I have been told to download a Nike app but it seemed to be a workouts instructor sort of app for the most part.

You have to tell it to auto detect exercise in settings

 

[Trojan Horse]

I walk heaps on the way to work and back and have never seen my S4 even once record my long 20min walks to start my work journey etc.

ECG and Heart rate sensor being accurate on any of these wrist devices are somewhat debatable when compared to a chest straps. I've used a few Fitbits before and they were the closest to my old Polar H10 (think its that). My S4 is some 10bpm off give or take.

I am also on the lookout for a decent workouts app as the Apple Activity app is somewhat sparse on informative data. I have been told to download a Nike app but it seemed to be a workouts instructor sort of app for the most part.

I thought ECG meant it was super accurate?

You have to tell it to auto detect exercise in settings

Yes mine does auto detect

 

[Kainz]

I thought ECG meant it was super accurate?

Yes mine does auto detect

Pass with regards to accuracy and the ECG as I've done little research on how it works beyond the rear sensor - it should be fairly accurate imo. The heart rate app however is the one that is 'off' compared to my other devices. There's always going to be a bit of give and take regarding wrist devices imo and it isn't a major issue.

Any idea where to find this specific setting regarding autodetect? Can't seem to see it at all unless they've worded the setting oddly.

 

[jpaul]

more details than you want, but .. The sleep capabilities (there are) seem accurate .. had coincidentally just read this paper
versus a reference device.

Sleep monitoring with the Apple Watch: comparison to a clinically validated actigraph
....
TST is the total duration of epochs classified as sleep; WASO is the total duration of wake epochs. Number of awakenings is the number of wake events of at least 30 seconds duration
In the medium threshold setting, the sleep parameters of TST, WASO, and number of awakenings were comparable to that of the Actiwatch with no significant differences. The discrepancy between the two measurements appeared to be clinically acceptable as a difference of TST and WASO did not exceed 30 minutes6,18. The Apple Watch performs best in comparison to the Actiwatch at medium threshold, consistent with Quante’s recommendation19

I'd like to understand how those measure relate to rem sleep levels though ?



see earlier posts on objective analysis of watch hrm, running thread, which as commented, not so accurate, versus strap.


edit:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5263088/#B3

The use of wearable sleep tracking devices is rapidly expanding and provides an opportunity to engage individuals in monitoring of their sleep patterns. However, there are a growing number of patients who are seeking treatment for self-diagnosed sleep disturbances such as insufficient sleep duration and insomnia due to periods of light or restless sleep observed on their sleep tracker data. The patients' inferred correlation between sleep tracker data and daytime fatigue may become a perfectionistic quest for the ideal sleep in order to optimize daytime function. To the patients, sleep tracker data often feels more consistent with their experience of sleep than validated techniques, such as polysomnography or actigraphy. The challenge for clinicians is balancing educating patients on the validity of these devices with patients' enthusiasm for objective data. Incorporating the use of sleep trackers into cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia will be important as use of these devices is rapidly expanding among our patient population.
....
Despite multiple validation studies that have demonstrated consumer-wearable sleep tracking devices are unable to accurately discriminate stages of sleep and have poor accuracy in detecting wake after sleep onset, we found patients' perceptions difficult to alter