19/06/2025
Tracking Health and Wellness with the iPhone: Tools and Tips
*For those who use iPhone partially or fully without the Apple Watch
I’ve been using the iPhone Health app to track data on my personal health journey. While it doesn’t offer as many metrics as the Apple Watch, it includes valuable features supporting a wide range of health goals. These tools can be especially helpful for individuals managing different health conditions.
In this post, I’ll highlight a few key features of the Health app and how they assist with general wellness. I’ll also mention a few third-party apps I use that integrate well with the iPhone, though app choice comes down to individual preference.
The Walking Steadiness feature helps track gait and balance using step length, speed, and symmetry—useful for anyone working on mobility or recovery.
Symptoms and Vitals – This category often requires third-party apps and devices, primarily Bluetooth-enabled. Symptoms can be added manually, as with most other categories.
I use a Bluetooth-enabled blood pressure monitor, useful for individuals at risk of heart disease or high blood pressure. It’s also helpful for those taking medications that might affect blood pressure, allowing regular, convenient tracking.
As a nutritionist promoting general health, I track my own data for both calorie intake and expenditure, along with overall nutriton and diet. Calorie intake can be added manually, while the iPhone Fitness app records calories burned through steps and resting energy. Workouts usually need manual entry.
I use an app called Vizio for nutrition tracking, which records and syncs nutrition data directly into the Health app. It also estimates calorie burn based on various exercises, and I manually add those calories to the built-in Fitness app, which supports goal setting and tracks calories burned and movement. While helpful, the Fitness app features are more limited without the Apple Watch.
Sleep Tracking – The iPhone tracks time spent in bed, but detailed sleep data—like sleep stages or heart rate during sleep—requires an Apple Watch or third-party app.
Note: The iPhone has a built-in Sleep app for tracking rest and recovery.
*A special note on Pokémon Sleep: After testing, I’ve found this app/game helpful for parents and children working on establishing more consistent bedtime routines. Its playful approach makes sleep tracking engaging, especially for younger users.
The Health app includes a Mental Wellbeing category fully available on iPhone, and I’d like to highlight some benefits.
The Mental Wellbeing section focuses on mood logging and anxiety tracking, providing a quick and easy way to monitor emotions and feelings.
The Medications category complements this well—you can enter your medications and set reminders to stay on track.
Most data in these categories is displayed as charts over weeks, months, and years, offering excellent visual insight into trends over time.
Thanks for reading! Leave a comment about how you use the health / fitness apps!
