Apple Watch: Sleep Tracking can help prevent health problems as we age
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On The Watch ⌚
Everything Apple Watch: Tips, News, Deep Dives, Apps & Gear

Editor's Note

In this edition: 💤 Good sleep is harder to get as you age, but it doesn’t have to be 💤

Hey, Reader! It’s Sarah here. A lack of sleep can have serious health consequences, but a good night’s sleep can be increasingly hard to achieve as we get older. Read along as I dive into how to take advantage of the Apple Watch’s sleep-tracking capabilities and find out which apps can help you put that sleep data to use.

We’ve also got more great Apple Watch trivia, tips on how to keep your watch from interfering with your sleep, and fun and interesting tidbits from around the web.

And finally, I wanted to share some exciting news! Going forward, Feature Writer and Apple Watch expert Olena Kagui, will be taking the lead on writing and editing On the Watch, while I will take more of a background role. Olena is incredibly knowledgeable about everything to do with the Apple Watch, so I know she’s going to do a fantastic job putting out a fun and informative newsletter.

Happy Reading!

Sarah Kingsbury's picture
Sarah Kingsbury,
Editorial Director at iPhone Life

PS. Missed the October 18 edition? Read it here!

🔥 APPLE WATCH TIPS: Don’t lose sleep over your watch

😴 Intrigued by the Apple Watch’s new sleep apnea detection? Here’s everything you need to know to set up and use it.

🔵 Blue light is the enemy of sleep! Banish it from your Apple Watch with Night Shift.

🔒 Sleep Lock is great until you need to use your Apple Watch. Fortunately, it’s easy to quickly unlock your watch.

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🤓 IT’S TRIVIA TIME!

We love the Apple Watch, but there are many other smartwatches to choose from. What percentage of smartwatch owners worldwide own an Apple Watch?

  1. 🍎15.1%
  2. 🍎🍎22.5%
  3. 🍎🍎🍎 55.3%

🏆 Did you get it right? Click the answer to find out! 🏆

🌊🤿 DEEP DIVE: Sleep tracking is an essential health tool as we age!

Lack of sleep hurts our health as we age

If, like me, you are among the one in three adults in America who don’t get enough sleep (according to the CDC), then you’re at risk for a whole host of health problems, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. As we get older, the problems are even more severe and include greater risk of stroke, memory loss, and injury.

Fortunately, Apple makes it really easy to track your sleep with the Apple Watch. You can then use what you learn to make the lifestyle changes necessary to avoid worsening sleep as you age.

Get Started with Sleep Tracking

First, you will need to set up Sleep Tracking. You can do this on your Apple Watch, but I find it’s much easier to do in the Health app because of the iPhone’s bigger screen. Make sure you enable charging reminders so you have enough battery life at bedtime to accurately track your sleep overnight. Soon, you will start to learn how much sleep you are averaging and what quality of sleep you are getting.

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What do you do with all that data?

How do you use the sleep-tracking information your Apple Watch gives you to improve your sleep? While you could look over the data every day and try to correlate how you slept with what you did the day before, there are plenty of third-party apps that can do that for you, so you can discover trends over time. Olena has several great sleep apps that she recommends. For my part, I really like the app SleepWatch because of how well it connects my activities during the day with how well I sleep at night. For example, I’ve learned from the app that when I have a glass of wine with dinner, my heart rate tends to be higher while I sleep. When I exercise, my sleep quality is usually higher. Neither of these things is surprising, but seeing it laid out in a graph really motivates me to make healthier choices.

Do you track your sleep? What changes have you made in your life based on what you’ve learned? Email OntheWatch@iphonelife.com and let us know!

🤔❓ READER QUESTIONS

You asked and we answered: Battery life pain and Side button problems

I have an Apple Watch that works well except for the battery. Seems like I can only get a day out of each charge. Is there an option to replace the battery or is there an option to trade in this watch towards a new one? Thanks for any advice you may offer. - Jim M

Hi Jim, replacing a watch battery will usually cost about $99, while trading in your Apple Watch will get you anywhere from $50 to $365 off the cost of a new watch. But keep in mind that one day of battery life per charge is actually pretty good for most Apple Watch models. According to Apple, a typical user can expect 18 hours of battery life per charge for the new Series 10 and 36 hours for the Ultra 2. So if your watch is otherwise working well, I recommend trying the tips in our article on how to extend Apple Watch battery life before shelling out for a new battery or watch. If you only try one thing from that article, consider turning off the Always On Display, which is a notorious battery hog. Just go to Settings, tap Display & Brightness, tap Always On, and toggle off Always On. Going forward, you will need to tap your watch screen in order to wake it. I hope that helps! - Sarah

Discover Your Apple Watch’s Full Potential

Apple’s update to the Apple Watch reorganized its controls and menus as well as adding cool new features. Join us and get 30% off as we master the new setup.

The Apple Watch feature I love the most is Ping your iPhone in the Control Center. I use it a lot and was really disappointed when they decided to switch from swiping up on the watch face to using the Side Button to open the Control Center. It can be difficult to press the Side Button with old hands. I still love the feature. I just wish they would consider seniors when making changes. - Linda W

Hi Linda, I also was not initially a fan of the new way of opening the Apple Watch Control Center, so I can see how struggling to press the Side button would make the change even less welcome. I recommend that you try asking Siri, either with “Hey Siri” or Raise to Wake, to ping your iPhone in order to avoid the hassle of pressing buttons. For the best results, make sure you don’t have Find My notifications silenced on your iPhoneas well. I hope this helps! - Sarah

✉️ Email your questions to OnTheWatch@iPhoneLife.com and we might answer them in a future edition! Questions may be edited for clarity and length.

🕺 OTHER FUN AND USEFUL TIDBITS

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