Step 1: make sure the watch is recording
On your iPhone, open the Watch app, go to Privacy and check that Heart Rate is on. Wear the watch snugly, a finger's width above the wrist bone. A loose watch misses readings.
Step 2: find your baseline
In the Health app, look at your resting heart rate for the past month. That is your reference. Stress readings only mean something compared with your own normal, not with anyone else's.
Step 3: add context
This is where most people get stuck: the Health app shows heart rate against the clock, and you have to remember what you were doing. Two ways to fix it:
- Manual: log stressful moments with State of Mind in the Mindfulness app, then compare.
- Automatic: use 70 BPM, which reads your calendar and shows heart rate inside each event. Nothing to log.
Step 4: look for repeats, not spikes
A single spike tells you very little. Look for events that are high every time: the same weekly meeting, the same commute, the same Sunday evening. Those are the stresses worth doing something about.
What to do with what you find
| Finding | Try |
|---|---|
| One recurring meeting always high | Prepare earlier, shorten it, or move it |
| Heart rate never settles between calls | Add 5 to 10 minute gaps |
| Evenings high on work nights | A hard stop time and a walk |
| Rises before events, not during | The waiting is the stress: prepare, then distract |
Using HRV too
Apple Watch also records heart rate variability a few times a day. Lower-than-usual HRV over several days can point to accumulated strain. It is a slower signal than heart rate, so use it for weekly trends rather than individual meetings. See the best HRV apps for iPhone.
Not medical advice. 70 BPM shows heart-rate data your watch has already written to Apple Health. It is not a medical device and cannot diagnose anything. If your heart rate is often high at rest, or you have chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness, talk to a doctor.