This helps you establish a meditation practice by taking short mindful breaks during the day. This article dives into all the details and explains how you can unwind your mind with Mindfulness in watchOS 8 and later.
How the Mindfulness app works on Apple WatchHow to start a Reflect session in the Mindfulness appStart and manage a Breathe session in the Mindfulness appHow to set Mindfulness reminders in watchOS 8 and iOS 15Turn off Mindfulness notifications on Apple Watch and iPhoneAdjust Mindfulness settings in watchOS 8 and iOS 15How to use the Breathe watch face on Apple Watch
How the Mindfulness app works on Apple Watch
Wondering what Mindfulness is on Apple Watch? It’s a reimagined version of the Breathe app with the addition of a new feature, Reflect. You can do quick Breathe or Reflect sessions throughout the day for between one and five minutes at a time. Here’s a brief description of both Mindfulness features on watchOS 8:
When you start a Reflect session, the app gives you a thought-provoking question to reflect on, while a beautiful animation on your watch screen helps you visualize. When you start a Breathe session, the app guides you with animations and haptics to inhale and exhale mindfully according to the breath rate you’ve set.
How to start a Reflect session in the Mindfulness app
Begin a Reflect session in watchOS 8 and later:
Note: To end a session before the time is up, swipe right and tap the X icon.
Change the duration of a Reflect session:
Start and manage a Breathe session in the Mindfulness app
Begin a Breathe session in watchOS 8 and later:
Note: To end a session before the time is up, swipe right and tap the X icon.
Change the duration of a Breathe session:
How to see your heart rate during Breathe sessions
Breathe sessions should ideally calm you down and regularize your heart rate to a steady beat. But this can vary depending on your health conditions. To view your heart rate during Breathe sessions: Apple has also added a Mindfulness section to the Summary tab of the Fitness app in iOS 15. Unfortunately, there’s currently no way to hide this section if you don’t want it there.
How to set Mindfulness reminders in Apple watch and iPhone
If you want to use your Apple Watch to breathe mindfully throughout the day, it’s a good idea to set reminders for the Mindfulness app. By default, you will get reminders at the start and end of your day. But this can be customized on your watch or the Watch app on your iPhone running iOS 15. Here’s how:
Set Mindfulness reminders on Apple Watch:
Set Mindfulness reminders on iPhone:
Note:
To edit a reminder, tap the time and select a new one as explained above. If you want to mute reminders on a specific day, scroll down and toggle on Mute for Today on Apple Watch and iPhone.
Turn off Mindfulness notifications on Apple Watch and iPhone
Turn off Weekly Summary
Every Monday, the Mindfulness app will notify you with a recap of your Mindfulness sessions from the previous week. If you prefer not to see this: Go to Apple Watch Settings → Mindfulness → toggle off Weekly Summary. Or, open the Watch app on your iPhone running iOS 15 → tap Mindfulness in the My Watch tab → toggle off Weekly Summary.
Turn off Mindfulness notifications
If you don’t want to get any notifications from the Mindfulness app on your Apple Watch, here’s how to disable them: When you want to receive notifications again, tap Allow Notifications.
Adjust Mindfulness settings
Apart from reminders, here are a few other Mindfulness app settings you can adjust on your Apple Watch or iPhone.
1. Change Breath Rate
The Breath Rate is the number of breaths you take per minute during a Breathe session. You can set this between 4 to 10. On Apple Watch, go to Settings → Mindfulness → tap Breath Rate → select your preferred number of breaths per minute. On iPhone, open the Watch app → go to My Watch → tap Mindfulness → Breathe Rate → select the number of breaths per minute.
2. Change Haptics
Haptics refers to the vibrations you feel on your wrist that help guide you for inhales and exhales during a Breathe session. You can set haptics to be prominent, minimal, or none at all. On Apple Watch, go to Settings → Mindfulness → Haptics → select from the three options. On iPhone, open the Watch app → go to the My Watch tab → tap Mindfulness → Haptics → select from the three options.
How to use the Breathe watch face on Apple Watch
If you want quick access to the Mindfulness app, you can add the Breathe watch face to your Apple Watch. Then, whenever you tap it, the Mindfulness app will open, and you can start a session right away. That wraps up this guide on everything you need to know about Apple’s watchOS 8 Mindfulness app. Here’re a few answers to the queries you might have. Let me know in the comments below if there’s anything else you’d like to know related to the Mindfulness app on Apple Watch. Read more:
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