New Health Improvement Updates Are Coming To Your Apple Watch

Apple is continuously improving its operating systems, and this fall, you can expect some exciting new changes that might improve your health, too. Earlier this week, Apple previewed the new watchOS 9, and with it comes some health-related upgrades you won't want to miss (via Healthline).

Apple is committed to helping users boost their health and fitness with the Apple Watch, and the upgrades coming in a few months add features that can help you stay connected, active, and healthy (via Apple). One of the most popular apps on the Apple Watch, the Workout app, will be updated to include better metrics for measuring performance, heart rate zones to monitor the intensity of a workout, custom workouts, and new alerts for pace, power, heart rate, and cadence. There will even be a Multisport workout type for triathletes, which uses motion sensors to switch between swimming, biking, and running workouts.

The Apple Watch's Sleep experience will also be improved (via Apple). WatchOS 9 will add the ability to track sleep using signals from the accelerometer and heart rate monitor, allowing you to detect how long you spend in REM, Core, or Deep sleep. Sleep stage data will sync to the iPhone, and graphs can be viewed on the iPhone's Health app.

Huge new health changes to watchOS 9 will benefit those living with atrial fibrillation (AFib) and those who take multiple medications, according to Healthline. The Food and Drug Administration has cleared Apple Watch's AFib History feature, which estimates how often your heart is in AFib. Since this irregular heart rhythm is one of the leading causes of stroke, this new feature will be groundbreaking (via Apple). Users can download a PDF for their medical providers, displaying history and lifestyle factors.

Those who struggle with taking multiple medications per day might enjoy the coming Medications experience (per Apple). This feature allows you to keep track of medications, vitamins, and supplements by creating lists, setting up schedules and reminders, and viewing details on medications. Users in the U.S. can even receive alerts for potentially harmful drug interactions for medications they've added to the app.

WatchOS 9 also comes with new watch faces, support for new keyboard languages, less distracting notifications, and redesigned apps (via Healthline).