Apple WatchOS 8: The New Mindfulness App and Sleep Respiratory Rate
Apple Watch has had a few upgrades since it was first released. The latest, watchOS 8, offers new features that are designed to help you live a healthier life. One of these features is the mindfulness app, which helps you to focus on your breath and stay present in the moment. The sleep respiratory rate feature is also new in watchOS 8. This tracks your sleeping patterns and monitors your breathing to make sure you’re getting enough restorative sleep.
My first impression of these features is that it aligns with people’s day to day life. In my previous article I wrote about the WatchOS new updates to the workout modes. The new smart algorithms to track each motion and heart rate variability for Yoga, Pilates and cycling modes to track accurate heart rate variability when riding a E-bike. Again I have to say these new features are very good, and very helpful in our every day lives.
1. The Breathe App is Now the Mindfulness App
The Breathe app is now the Mindfulness app, with a focus on enhancing your Breathing experience. This is a great feature for those who want to focus on their breath and stay present in the moment. The app will guide you through a series of deep breaths, and you can choose from a variety of different breathing exercises.
Each breathing exercise has a specific purpose , such as reducing stress, improving focus, improve sleep and improve recovery from a injury.
The mindfulness app is a great way to stay present and focused throughout the day. It can be used for a quick break from work, or for a longer session to help you wind down before bed. The app is also great for those who suffer from anxiety or stress, as it can help to reduce symptoms.
2. New Session : Reflect, Practise Mind Management for Better Mental Health
There is also a new session type, Reflect. Reflect offers a mindful intention to focus on for as little as a minute that can be done anywhere and at any time, and each session welcomes the user with a unique, thoughtful notion to consider that invites a positive frame of mind.
This is a great feature as it allows you to develop a new healthy habit, mind management. Mind management is often known as a productivity tool. Its a skill often practised by business owners and high level management. In its simplest definition mind management is the skill and coordination to manage activities in your mind to meet objectives and make better decisions. If I was to re write this definition it terms of reflect health. The skill and coordination to manage stress for a more healthier life.
When you are taking a moment to reflect on your day or in a specific moment, it can help you to reset and refocus your thoughts. And this kind of stuff happens to many peoples lives all around the world. We have just gone through a Covid-19 pandemic and how that affect peoples lives mentally.
I would have to say it is a nice touch by Apple to develop a tool like this. The benefits of reflection can go a long way to helping your mental health. Especially for people who are to proud to ask for help.
3. New Guided Mediations Added Every Week
A new feature in the WatchOS 8 is guided mediations. This will be uploaded in audio form every week into the mindfulness app. This is for Apple Watch fitness plus subscribers only. Also Guided mediations are now available in video format where you can playback on a iPad, iPhone and Apple TV. Also the video experience can be played back onto your watch.
Im not sure if the video experience is worth while on the Apple Watch. Especially when your in deep mediation. You are focused on the voice and not about the visual. I prefer the Audio version, I get a better focus that way, but I guess everyone is different. It’s purely my own opinion.
The new watchOS 8 now has a new algorithm in place to track your activity during guided mediations.
Guided mediations is such a great healing practise. If you are not familiar on what this is then, Guided mediations is where you are lead by a voice to relax and focus on your breath. It can be for different purposes such as reducing stress, improving sleep or just to have some me time.
I love the idea of having new guided mediations every week. This means there is always something new to try out and keep things fresh. It also means that you are never bored with the same old mediations. The only drawback I see with this is that it requires a fitness plus subscription. Which if your not interested in other features of fitness plus, then its an extra monthly bill to pay.
4. New Sleep Respiratory Rate for Better Sleep Health Insights
The watchOS 8 provides users even more insight into their overall wellness by tracking sleeping respiratory rate, the number of breaths per minute. This information can be viewed, along with trends over time, in the Health app on iPhone.
Sleep Respiratory is a vital health insight that is often overlooked. Its so important to get a good nights sleep and respiratory plays a big part in that. By tracking your sleep respiratory rate, you can identify any potential health concerns and make necessary changes to improve your sleep quality.
Sleep Respiratory can change depending on the stage of sleep we are in . The average respiratory rate is between 12-20 breaths per minute. But during REM sleep it can be as high as 35 breaths per minute. So by tracking this data, you can get a better idea of how well you are sleeping and what changes you need to make to improve your sleep quality.
The watchOS update will also provide users with more detailed information on their sleep patterns, including how long it took to fall asleep and how many times they woke up during the night. This information will be available in the Health app on iPhone.
The new sleep respiratory rate is a fantastic new feature in watchOS. It provides users with more detailed information about their sleep patterns and helps them to identify any potential health concerns.
5. Final Conclusion
I have to say the new updates in Apples new operating systems for Apple Watch is really good. The watch OS 8 is bringing a lot of great new features to the table. Such as the new mindfulness app, workout modes and sleep respiratory rate. All these new features are fantastic additions that will help improve your overall health and wellness.
I think the most important update is the sleep respiratory rate. This is such a vital health insight that is often overlooked. By tracking your sleep respiratory rate, you can identify any potential health concerns and make necessary changes to improve your sleep quality.
So if you are looking for a smart watch that will provide you with more detailed information about your health and fitness, then I would highly recommend the Apple Watch with watchOS 8 update.
What do you think of the new updates in watchOS? Have you tried any of the new features yet? Let us know in the comments below! Thanks for reading!
