Mental Health Day 2024 is Thursday, Oct. 10. For one day only, Apple Watch users can earn a limited-edition award. It’s part of Apple’s desire to bring awareness to ways we can take care of our mental health.
Apple Watch limited-edition award for World Mental Health Day.
AppleThe Mental Health Day Challenge award is a blue-and-green, quietly serene badge which appears in the Activity app on the Watch, and can also be found in the Fitness app on the iPhone.
To achieve it, you need to record 10 mindful minutes on your Apple Watch, for example in the Mindfulness app. I just did it with a 10-minute Fitness+ app, Focus with Jessica Skye. It was an effective, calming and energizing experience.
You can also earn the badge from any app that adds mindful minutes to the Health app on the iPhone. These mindful minutes apps nclude Happier (previously called Ten Per Cent Happier), Calm, Insight Timer and—my personal favorite—Headspace. This brilliant app also has a series of sessions for Mental Health Day, by the way.
Apple’s focus on mental health has grown over the years. For instance, you can now take a mental health assessment on the iPhone or iPad, just by opening the Health app and finding Mental Wellbeing. In the section Get More from Health, choose Take Questionnaire.
How the limited-edition badge appears on the iPhone.
AppleIt’s similar to the depression and anxiety assessments often used in clinics and you can share the results if you want to.
The Apple Watch can also track how much time you spend in daylight—studies have shown that spending 15 to 30 minutes outdoors can increase positive feelings—and the Health app can show the results.
There are other elements of the Apple experience that can be helpful, like the Journal app to let you capture everyday moments, including with photos, audio and videos, for instance. And, of course, the iPhone has had a Focus feature for a while, which can help you quell distractions when you’re busy or need time for a little silence.
It’s easy with the emphasis on physical health and fitness to put mental health to one side. Enterprises like this one from Apple on Mental Health Day can help restore the balance.
