How Can I Use My iPhone to Improve My Health?

Oftentimes phones are seen as harmful, but in fact they can be the opposite. Phones today give you many opportunities to improve not only your physical health, but your mental and intellectual health as well. There are apps you can download to use your phone to improve your health, even if it’s just bit by bit. 

Physical Health

iPhones have the Apple Health app, which tracks your steps, walking, and running distances even if you don’t have an Apple Watch. It can also help you keep track of your nutrition, sleep schedule, body measurements, and even your hearing. You can have different reminders set up to ensure you’re always up to date.

Here’s how to set up your Apple Health app:

1. Open the Health app and tap the Summary tab. 
2. Tap your profile picture  in the upper-right corner. 
3. Tap Health Profile, then tap Edit. 
4. Add your information, like height, weight, and age. 
5. Tap Done.  
6. You can also set up your Medical ID or register to be an organ donor from your profile.

Once you’ve set up your app, you can choose which categories you’d like your device to track. Your iPhone can also sync with many fitness trackers, like Strava and Fitbit to keep even more detailed notes on your activity levels. 

Mental Health

Health isn’t just about your food and exercise. Your mental health is equally as important for a healthy and balanced lifestyle. In addition to the mindfulness section on the Apple Health app, which encourages “mindful minutes” throughout the day, you can access lots of apps that can aid your mental health. 

Whether it’s an app like Calm to help with sleep and meditation, or an app that shares resources surrounding anxiety, depression, or other mental health struggles, your phone can help you tend to your mental health with a tap of the screen. Without apps, you can help your mental health by setting up screen time limitations, allowing you to disconnect for a bit and unwind before bed.

Intellectual Health

Keeping your brain active is also important for a healthy life. Thanks to your iPhone, you can download different apps to help keep your mind sharp. You can download an app like Peak, which challenges your brain using puzzles and games, or you could download something like Duolingo, which helps you learn a second language. 

Even though we all grew up hearing that phones are bad for our health, that’s not really true anymore. When you leverage your technology the right way, it's a powerful tool that can help you grow a strong body and mind. With both built-in and downloaded apps, our phones can help us live a well-balanced, healthy life.