How to use the Health app on iPhone in iOS 18

Apple’s Health app on iPhones is like a personal health dashboard right in your pocket. While it has been serving its purpose well, the iOS 18 update takes the Health app to the next level with smarter tracking, deeper insights, and more personalized health management tools.

Although the app doesn’t do much other than display your health data, it can help you exercise caution if any vital goes out of its normal range. Keep reading to learn everything you can do in the Health app on your iPhone.

Set up your Health profile

A Health profile is an integral part of the Health app. Once you set it up, the Health app will then be able to provide you with detailed personal insights. Follow these steps to set up your Health profile:

1. Open the Health app, tap your profile photo in the top-right corner, and select Health Details.
   
   
2. Tap Edit.
3. Next, populate the fields for details like Date of Birth, Sex, Height, Weight, and more. Tap Done to save the details.
   
   

You can revisit the Health Details page any time to make changes to your Health profile.

Set up Medical ID

The Medical ID on your iPhone allows the first responders, medical professionals, or anyone assisting you to view your critical health information during an emergency without needing to unlock your iPhone. Hence, it’s important to set it up, and here’s how you do it:

1. In the Health app, tap your profile icon and select Medical ID.
2. Hit Get Started, enter your basic information, and hit Done.
3. Under Photo and Information, tap Add next to details like Medications, Allergies, Conditions, and more, and enter the relevant information.
   
   

Understanding the Health app interface

Before you begin to use the Health app to record and track your health vitals, it’s essential to understand the app’s basic interface to navigate it easily. While the app used to be divided into four main tabs earlier, iOS 18 has reduced the number to just three. These include:

• Summary: It offers an overview of your pinned health metrics, such as steps, sleep, and more, and highlights trends, like your activity and sleep patterns.
• Sharing: As the name suggests, the Share tab lets you share your health data with your friends and family or healthcare providers so they can also track your health and offer help in case of an emergency.
• Browse: This tab allows you to explore and dive deeper into specific health categories, such as Heart, Sleep, Nutrition, and more.

How to customize your Health app dashboard on iPhone

Your dashboard is essentially the Summary tab in the Health app. Earlier, the health metrics in the Summary tab were termed Favorites. However, with iOS 18, your prioritized health metrics are under the Pinned section.

With that out of the way, here’s how you can customize your Health app dashboard in iOS 18:

1. Open the Health app and make sure you are on the Summary tab.
2. Here, tap Edit in the top-right corner.
3. Next, select the health metrics you want to view in your dashboard from the options under the Activity section.
4. Once a health metric is selected, it will move to the Pinned section.
5. Alternatively, tap any metric under the Pinned section to remove it from there.
6. Tap Done in the top-right corner to save the list.
   
   
7. Now, each health metric you selected will appear as a different card in your dashboard. Each card gives you quick information about a particular metric, and tapping on it will reveal detailed data about the metric.
   
   
8. You can also change the position of each health metric in the dashboard by simply dragging and dropping them to the desired position.

Health categories you can monitor in the Health app on your iPhone

While the Health app already used to offer an extensive range of health categories to track, the arrival of iOS 18 takes things up a notch, making it easier than ever to monitor various aspects of your well-being. Let’s see how.

How to track your activity

With activity tracking in the Health app, you can monitor your daily movement, exercise, and overall physical fitness, as shown below:

1. Open Health and go to the Browse tab.
2. Select the Activity option under Health Categories.
3. Here, you can view Steps, Walking + Running Distance, Flights Climbed, and more. The current day’s data of each of the available metrics can be compared to the data of the past week, month, six months, or even a year. Just tap on a metric to view detailed graphs and trends over time.
   
   

When you scroll to the bottom of the Activity page, you will notice some third-party apps that Apple itself recommends for tracking walking and running distance.

Monitor your sleep in the Health app

The Health app integrates with your Apple Watch and other third-party sleep-tracking apps and devices to track your sleep habits and quality, then stores and displays the sleep data in an easy-to-understand manner. However, to monitor your sleep in the Health app, you must set up a sleep schedule, which you can do like this:

1. Open Health, go to Browse, and select Sleep.
2. Tap Full Schedule & Options.
   
   
3. Next, tap Set Your First Schedule.
4. Finally, set the active days and your bedtime and wake-up time, then tap Add to add the schedule.
   
   

Now, all you need to do is wear your Apple Watch to bed, and it will automatically track your data. After waking up, you can check your sleep data in the Health app.

Manage your Medications in the Health app

With the Health app on your iPhone, you can stay on top of your medication schedule. All you need to do is log in your medicine name, add the required dosage and frequency, and set the reminder, and you’re good to go. Here’s how:

1. Open Health and go to Browse > Medications.
2. Tap on Add a Medication.
   
   
3. Here, enter the name of the medicine, its type, and its strength.
   
   
4. Set the medication schedule, then follow the on-screen instructions.
   
   

Once done, your iPhone will automatically remind you about taking the medicine.

Log and view nutrition and water intake in the Health app

For your body to function properly, you must fulfill its nutrition and water intake. While you may already be doing that, it’s important to regularly check and modify your nutritional supplement and fluid intake depending on your vitals and activity. This is how you do it:

1. Go to the Health app > Browse > Nutrition.
2. Select the nutrition you want to add data for.
   
   
3. Next, tap on Add Data in the top-right corner.
4. Set the intake’s Date, Time, and Strength, then tap Add.
   
   

Similarly, you can add details about your water intake. However, if manual logging isn’t something you prefer, you can install one of the Apple-recommended third-party apps to track nutrition or water intake and integrate it with the Health app.

Monitor heart rate and ECG

In conjunction with an Apple Watch Series 4 or later model, the Health app provides deep insights into your heart health, including real-time heart rate and ECG recordings. Let’s see how to use it.

To monitor your heart rate:

1. Make sure you wear your Apple Watch regularly.
2. In the Health app, go to Browse > Heart.
3. Here, tap Heart Rate to view your current, resting, and walking heart rate.
   
   
4. Next, scroll down to see heart rate data over days, weeks, and months.
   
   

Key metrics to track:

• Resting Heart Rate: Indicates overall heart health and fitness level.
• Walking Heart Rate Average: Useful for tracking activity intensity.
• Heart Rate Variability (HRV): Measures stress and recovery.

Cycle Tracking in the Health app

For female users, the Cycle tracking in the Health app provides valuable insights into their reproductive health. The feature allows you to monitor your menstrual cycle, predict periods, and track fertility windows. Using it is easy:

1. In the Health app, head to Browse > Cycle Tracking.
2. Here, tap on Add Period, then select the period days.
   
   
3. Next, tap on Period under Bleeding, then select the Flow Level.
   
   
4. If you’re tracking fertility, log your sexual activity, cervical mucus changes, and basal body temperature.

Once you become regular at logging your period data, the Health app can then show you important data like past cycles and upcoming predictions, along with the complete history, including missed periods or irregular cycles.

Monitor your Mental Wellbeing

With so many things going around you, keeping checks on your mental wellbeing is paramount. While you may already meditate often to keep your mind sane, logging in to the mental wellbeing data and comparing it to previous data will help positively change your life. Here’s how you can do this:

1. Open Health and go to Browse > Mental Wellbeing.
2. Scroll down and tap on Mindful Minutes.
   
   
3. Next, tap on Add Data in the top-right corner.
4. Choose the time period spent on meditation for the particular day, then hit Add.
   
   
5. Now, head back, tap State of Mind, and hit Get Started.
   
   
6. Tap the Begin button.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to log an emotion or mood.
   
   

Alternatively, you can take a Mental Health Questionnaire available within the Health app, which can help assess your current mental health against the current risk of common mental conditions. All you need to do is tap the Take Questionnaire button and answer the questions asked.

Add and monitor symptoms

With iOS 18, Apple lets you log and monitor symptoms directly within the Health app. This way, you can keep a detailed record of symptoms related to various conditions like allergies, migraines, or chronic illnesses. You can then use the created record for more accurate health monitoring and easier communication with healthcare providers. Follow these steps to add symptoms:

1. In Health, head to Browse > Symptoms.
2. Choose the relevant symptoms you might be experiencing from the list of options, such as Headache, Fatigue, Bloating or Nausea.
   
   
3. Next, tap on Add Data in the top-right corner.
4. Now, choose the symptom’s intensity and start and end time, then hit Add.
   
   

Once the data is logged, you can select the specific symptom to view historical data, including dates and severity levels. This way, you can better understand how often and intensely the symptoms occur and share the detailed symptom history with your healthcare providers during checkups to fast-pace the process.

How do you share your health data from the Health app

The Health app lets you share your health data with your loved ones and medical professionals to keep them informed about your health conditions so they can assist you better in case of an emergency. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open the Health app and go to the Sharing tab.
2. Tap the Share with Someone button.
3. Next, search for and select the contact with whom you want to share your Health app data, then follow the on-screen instructions.
   
   
4. Alternatively, you can tap the Ask Someone to Share button to ask your loved ones to share their health data with you.

Stay informed about your health…

That’s pretty much all you need to know about the Health app on your iPhone. With the knowledge served, you can easily monitor and improve your health to avoid future health emergencies. Start using the app today to be in control of your physical as well as mental health.

Feel free to reach out to us via comments if you need further help.

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