Apple’s ambitious health study will collect data on sleep, aging, periods, and more from iPhone and Apple Watch users. Here’s how to opt in

Apple is launching its first major holistic health study in five years to determine how Apple products, including iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods, can “play a role in advancing and improving physical health, mental health, and overall well-being.” It may be Apple’s most ambitious study yet.

Starting Tuesday, Apple customers in the United States can opt in to participate in the Apple Health Study by downloading Apple’s Research app, version 6.0 (more on that below).

The sweeping study, a collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital—a preeminent research hospital in Boston, affiliated with Harvard Medical School—takes a complete approach to understanding how data can predict, detect, and manage health and well-being.

“We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of how technology can improve our understanding of human health,” cardiologist Calum MacRae, the principal investigator of the Apple Health Study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said in a statement.

What makes this study groundbreaking? Unlike other medical studies, which rely on data from a limited number of participants over a finite period of time, the Apple Health Study’s continuing access to more than 350,000 U.S. participants’ data over time expands that possibility. That combined data comes from the Apple Women’s Health Study, the Apple Hearing Study, and the Apple Heart and Movement Study.

The Apple Health Study also aims to harness technology in a new way to see how data from Apple and third-party devices can not only predict and detect, but also “monitor and manage changes in participants’ health” to identify insights about our overall well-being.

For example, when a person’s health changes, their body emits a physical or emotional signal, flagging a secondary, related health issue. Apple devices can identify these changes earlier, helping users create a more proactive approach to health, so something like early detection of hearing loss could reduce the risk of cognitive decline later on.

The study focuses on a number of health markers, including: activity, aging, cardiovascular health, circulatory health, cognition, hearing, menstrual health, mental health, metabolic health, mobility, neurologic health, respiratory health, and sleep.

How can I opt in to the Apple Health Study?

Apple’s Research app, which launched in 2019, enables study participants to opt into sharing data (which they can choose to stop sharing, and leave the study, at any time).

To enroll, download the latest version (6.0) of the Apple Research app. The study is open to participants who live in the U.S., meet the minimum-age requirements, and complete the informed-consent process.

This app is currently available only in the App Store for iPhone and Apple Watch.

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