The Apple Watch may have future applications in mental health disorders

• In this literature review, heart rate variability measurements were able to detect mild mental stress, despite some gaps in data.

• Furthermore, accelerometer-based sleep monitoring had a high accuracy and sensitivity in detecting sleep.

Why this study matters

The Apple Watch has continually advanced the capabilities of smartwatches and are now able to gather various physiological parameters such as heart rate, respiration rate, and rhythm detection. Currently, their application to mental health monitoring and diagnosis is unknown. As a result, the objective of the present study was to identify current and potential physiological monitoring capabilities of the Apple Watch, relevant to mental health monitoring. Furthermore, this study...