Mental health is one of the biggest issues to be addressed this decade. Depression is a common and serious illness that affects all daily activities, whether it is working, eating, resting… We often feel It is difficult to know if you are entering a depressive period without the help of a professional. And for us, it can be “having a bad day” or “a bad streak” and, basically, we can go into depression without realizing it. To do this, the Apple Watch can help us just as it does for the health of our hearts.
Higher body temperature can be a sign of depression.
A study carried out during much of 2020, involving more than 20,000 patients, reached conclusions on depression and body temperature. More precisely, the relationship was proportional: The more severe the symptoms of depression, the higher the body temperature.
With depression, there is also a strong link to inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the immune system’s response to protect the body from pathogens, injury and toxins. Depression is identified in the same way and that is why it is triggered increased inflammation and therefore increased body temperature. However, the study states that factors are being sought and that it is still early to draw a categorical conclusion on depression, inflammation and body temperature. The important thing is that Another factor has been found that can help us to premature diagnosis.
Paradoxically, the study corroborated that exposure to heat helps reduce levels of depression. Researchers have shown that the short-term exposure to heat (saunas, hot deckchairs, hot springs, etc.) can improve the body’s thermoregulation. Addition ally, there is also evidence that short-term heat exposure can increase the effectiveness of antidepressant medications.
How to check your body temperature with Apple Watch
Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Series 9, and all Apple Watch Ultra models feature a body temperature sensor. Apple designed it in a different way than you might think. In other words, there is no specific application to know our body temperature, but rather it measures the temperature of our wrist over the days, months and years to find trends and variations.
Temperature recording in the iPhone Health app
It is precisely these trends that can help us to know ourselves better, and after this study, help us realize that something is wrong. For example, from the Health app you can search for the body temperature category and see how it has changed over the past weeks or months.
Another Apple Watch tool to help us fight depression
With the watchOS 10 version, Apple launched a very important feature for mental health. This is the possibility of making very simple check-in at the end of the day or at a specific moment that will help us understand ourselves better. This mental health notebook can be found in the Mindfulness application on the Apple Watch or in the Health application on the iPhone.
Mental health tracking on Apple Watch
All you have to do is set how do you feel at that moment: good, very good, average, bad… then associate it with something specific: work, partner, nausea, dizziness, etc. So, as you fill it out over the days and months, you can draw a conclusion yourself. For example, if more than half of the days in the month you marked as average or poor, there is something wrong. At this point, it would be best to consult a psychological professional or start by consulting your family doctor. You already have data to be able to provide itand of course, your own situation and feeling that you can share.
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