This document analyzes user perspectives on 10 smartwatch applications for mental health. It identifies applications that offer multimodal interventions combining audio, images and vibration. Users found these apps effective for interventions and customizable features. However, the most common complaints were about costs and unstable implementations with crashes and bugs. The analysis identified benefits like customizable sounds and drawbacks like limited settings. There is still room for improving efficacy, privacy and mitigating risks as healthcare shifts to patient-centric solutions using digital technologies.

1. Methods
Analysis of the Users’ PerspecGves
Conclusion
Abstract
Smartwatch ApplicaGons for Mental Health:
An Exploratory Analysis on the Users’ PerspecGves
Vivian Moi
vmoi@gmu.edu
Department of InformaAon Sciences and Technology
George Mason University
We thank Niloofar Kalantari for her support with data collecAon and
analysis.
This material is also based upon work supported by the NaAonal
Science FoundaAon under Grant No.1314342. Any opinions,
findings, conclusions or recommendaAons expressed in this material
are those of the author(s) and don't necessarily reflect the views of
the NaAonal Science FoundaAon.
Acknowledgment
A growing number of smartwatch applica5ons have been
used to address mental health concerns. With an exploratory
analysis of users’ comments about ten Apple Watch
applica5ons, we iden5fied applica5ons that offer mul5modal
interven5ons for end users –combining audio, images and
vibra5on. Users benefit from these apps, considering them as
effec5ve for the interven5ons provided and enjoying the
customizable features. The most common complaints refer to
costs and unstable implementa5ons, with crashes, and bugs.
When allied to standard care prac5ces, wrist-worn applica5ons
have poten5al to support mental health, especially to assist
pa5ents with a con5nuous, low-cost, accessible and
personalized solu5on. Due to their poten5al to help in mental
health, smartwatch applica5ons have been used by a large
number of users as a coping mechanism to address mental
health concerns. There is s5ll room for inves5ga5on in this
domain, specially concerning how to ensure the efficacy of the
applica5ons, to warranty users’ privacy and to mi5gate risks
arising when healthcare shiJs to a pa5ent-centric solu5on.
References
1. Calvo, R. A., Dinakar, K., Picard, R., Christensen, H., & Torous, J.
(2018). Toward Impacrul CollaboraAons on CompuAng and Mental
Health. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 20(2), e49.
2. Calvo, R. A., & D'Mello, S. (2010). Affect detecAon: An
interdisciplinary review of models, methods, and their applicaAons.
IEEE TransacAons on affecAve compuAng, 1(1), 18-37.
Background
Lifestyle diseases con5nuously rise, with aging, epidemics,
and life stressors altogether contribu5ng to a growing need
for solu5ons in mental health. Despite the inherent challenges
to bring compu5ng and mental health communi5es together
(Calvo et al., 2018), digital technologies, as web, mobile and
wearable solu5ons have poten5al to promote mental health,
and to address problems related to anxiety, stress, and
insomnia. Mobile solu5ons aid stakeholders to understand
behavior paTerns and correla5ons (Calvo, 2010), besides also
informing and improving standard care prac5ces.
Calm Digipill Headspace Omvana
Guided medita5on, sleep
stories, breathing, music,
mindfulness, it aims at
improved clarity, joy, peace,
sleep, and reduced anxiety
(900k downloads)
Provides mindfulness,
hypnosis ‘pills’, narra5ve
medita5on, deep relaxa5on
to improve mo5va5on
(9k downloads)
Provides music, focus,
breathe, relaxa5on, guided
medita5on and mindfulness
features
(600k downloads)
Fo c u s e s o n te a c h i n g
personal medita5on and
mindfulness using music,
and personalized prac5ces
(7k downloads)
We selected 240 apps from iTunes categorized as ‘Health &
Fitness’. The search was conducted in January 2018, and 34
applica5ons related to mental health were retrieved. Among
those only 10 had a watch version. Ten reviews were
extracted for qualita5ve analysis of the text contents. A
sen5ment analysis was conducted, to code the users’ reviews
and to iden5fy the benefits and drawbacks of the apps. We
also extracted the users’ profiles and features used.
Relax
MeditaGon
Relax
Melodies
Relax Yoga
Music White Noise
Guides a medita5on session
to increase quality of life,
improve focus, produc5vity
and sleep
(60k downloads)
Offers relaxa5on for sleep
control, by combining and
playing a set of melodies,,
fan and white noise(200k
downloads)
Delivers ambient nature
sounds, combine sounds,
create mixes, medita5ons,
relaxa5on, breathe
(10k downloads)
Provides recorded sounds to
help sleep, create sound
mixes, favorite sounds,
nature images, 5mer, alarm
(50k downloads)
Results
The apps analyzed offer mul5ple features, including:
breathing, guided medita5on and mindfulness, relaxa5on for
sleep control, sounds, and white noise. Among 50 reviews
analyzed: 31 were nega5ve, 14 were posi5ve, and 6 were
neutral. The benefits were linked to customizable audio,
effec5veness, usefulness, and the main drawbacks were
related to cost, unstable implementa5ons, and baTery drain.
Users
Symptoms and
CondiGons
• Insomnia, stress,
anxiety, depression,
ac5ve mind
• Tinnitus, ADHD
• ‘I have ADHD,
depression and
anxiety, and I am a
full-:me working
single mom’
SituaGonal
Impairments
• To recovery from a
surgery, sore muscles,
• To mask external
noise
• ‘I work in a noisy
office that I’ve not
been able to block out
and this app has
saved my sanity.’)
Features
ConcentraGon
• ‘I use it mainly to
concentrate’
RelaxaGon
• ‘App is great for
relaxing’
Sleep
• ‘This app has been the
greatest giF to help
me SLEEP!’
MeditaGon
• ‘It helps me meditate
and calm my mind of
it's worried before I
rest’
Benefits
Sound CustomizaGon
• ‘ I can individually
adjust the sounds and
the volume of each.
I’m hard of hearing so
this is actually a big
deal to me’
Ease of use and
IntuiGve
• Simple naviga5on,
beau5ful design and
colors
Content Updates
• ‘There's an impressive
number of new
medita:ons’
Drawbacks
Unstable
ImplementaGons
• Bugs and crashes due
to incompa5bility and
upgrades in the apps
BaVery and Overheat
• ‘The app is draining
my phone of its
baNery’
Costs
• ‘I can't see paying 20
dollars (down from 35
dollars?!?!?) for
life:me access’
Limited SeXngs
• ‘but just have in
English ’
• ‘ I couldn't get it to
stop playing’