Apple introduced the new mindfulness-based app called Breathe during the WatchOS 3 segment at the Worldwide Developer's Conference last week.
Breathe will help owners of Apple Watch to manage stress and will prompt its users to take a little break and just merely focus on breathing. It will serve a one-minute session by default, guiding the user to seven breaths but this can be extended to five minutes by rotating the Digital Crown. It can also be slowed to four breaths per minute and could be increased to ten breaths per minute, Mac Rumors reported.
At the beginning, the user is told to "be still" and bring his attention to his breath. With that, a mandala-like series of concentric circles will start to expand and contract on the watch screen, which serves as a visual guide for the user in to adjust the rate of their breath.
One can also use Apple Watch's haptic feedback which will create a delicate tapping rhythm on your wrist that will cue you to exhale. Because of this, you can close your eyes even when using the app.
After one session, the heart-rate of the user is recorded showing the total number of minutes spent using the app. One can also retake the session by tapping the "Breathe again" option on the screen.
By default, the app will prompt the user to do breathing every four hours but this can be snoozed and the frequency can also be changed. The Breathe complication can also be added to watch faces that allow users to start one session merely with a simple tap.
Although, Apple did not mention any scientific evidence linked to the app and to back up their claims about how breathing can decrease stress and alleviate anxiety, there are already existing studies that can support that.
Studies revealed that breath-based meditation can reduce activity in the brain's "default mode network" (DMN), NCBI wrote. This area is usually involved in mind-wandering and the sense of self, wherein increased activity in the area during the "resting state" could be associated with conditions like depression and anxiety.
With that, health-conscious Apple users will benefit from the Breathe app which is part of watchOS 3, set to release a free upgrade this fall.