Apple Watch’s ECG sensor is ‘Promising’ at predicting stress levels, says report

The Apple Watch series rules the watch market. While a large portion of this can be attributed to Apple's watchOS software, the company's watches are also among the most precise in terms of gathering health-related data from their integrated sensors. According to a recent study, the Apple Watch is now also reliable for measuring stress levels.

Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada found a strong correlation between participants' reported levels of stress at the time the readings were taken and ECG data, including heart acceleration and deceleration capacity.

Machine learning algorithms were developed using this data to produce a prediction model. The report claims that the stress models have a "high level of precision" but a "lower recall."


The study concludes that the Apple Watch has "promising" potential for stress prediction and the hypothesis that even more data points could be integrated into stress models to increase predictive accuracy because the device collects additional health data, such as sleep and activity data.

Additionally, the report stated that the researchers believe the Apple Watch could be used to support mental health care by offering exercises like breathing exercises to counteract stress signals and responding quickly to changes in mental health. A recent study, meanwhile, found that the Apple Watch can aid in the early detection of silent heart disease.

According to reports, cardiac dysfunction frequently goes undiagnosed because it is asymptomatic, meaning that those who have it are not aware of it. The results demonstrated that patients with cardiac dysfunction can be recognised using consumer-watch ECGs collected in nonclinical settings.

FAQs

Q1. Who found the Apple Watch is ‘Promising’ at predicting stress levels?
Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada found Apple Watch has "promising" potential for stress prediction.

Q2. Can I use Apple Watch without an iPhone?
Your Apple Watch can send and receive data over a Wi-Fi network when your iPhone is turned off or out of reach.