Physical exercise is one of the best ways to combat stress and anxiety, and the Apple Watch a great device to help you strengthen yourself physically. There is no shortage of workout platforms for the Apple Watch, but one of the best is the Workout app that's built right into the peripheral. With a tap of the finger, you can choose from the many different physical activities the app is programmed to track using your heart rate, location, and other metrics. This is extremely useful for not only measuring your progress during a workout (like keeping tabs on burned calories or how many laps you've swam) but also tracking and gamifying your long-term progress. The end goal is to form a positive habit of physical activity.
The Apple Watch will also notify you if you've been less active on a particular day, pushing you to go out and get in a quick jog if you need to, for example. Not only is this great for your physical health, but sometimes a short run around the block will do wonders for your state of mind and help clear short-term stress — as well as help make long-term stress more manageable.
One very useful Workout feature is a prompt it sends you if you're in the middle of an activity — such as walking, running, or swimming — and you've forgotten to start tracking it on the app. It can then retroactively track the activity from when it thinks you started it (based on your metrics) and is surprisingly accurate at doing so. Unfortunately, to get the most out of the app, you'll need to subscribe to Fitness+, which costs extra (though it can be bundled with other Apple services). Regardless, the free version still has plenty to offer.
