![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/apple-watch-ultra-3-hero.webp\")
<\/p>\n\t<\/p>\n
My new favorite Apple Watch and Apple Health metric is one that has been quietly working in the background for years. Specifically, it\u2019s a bit of a hidden Apple Watch<\/a> feature for tracking a great healthy habit: Time in Daylight.<\/p>\n Apple Health automatically tracks Time in Daylight using your Apple Watch<\/p>\n Time in Daylight arrived as a metric in the Health app as part of iOS 17 in 2023. Since watchOS 10, Apple Watch has automatically tracked Time in Daylight just by wearing it.<\/p>\n The feature works by using the watch\u2019s ambient light sensor to measure your environmental brightness. There\u2019s no app to install or tracking mode to enable (though can you optionally<\/a> disable it).<\/p>\n \u201cTime in Daylight is an estimate of the amount of time spent in sunlight,\u201d Apple explains in the Health app. \u201cWhen unobstructed, Apple Watch can automatically record an estimated amount of Time in Daylight in Health.\u201d <\/p>\n How to find Time in Daylight data in Apple Health<\/p>\n Because the metric can go as far back as June 2023, you can have years of Time in Daylight data. Time in Daylight data is just populating in your Apple Health app if you\u2019ve been wearing an Apple Watch.<\/p>\n You can check in just a few steps:<\/p>\n Open the Health app on iPhone or iPad.<\/p>\n Tap the magnifying glass icon for search.<\/p>\n Type \u201cdaylight\u201d into the search field.<\/p>\n You can also find Time in Daylight from the Mental Wellbeing or Other Data sections from Health Categories on the search page. <\/p>\n Rediscovering this data after multiple years of tracking Time in Daylight minutes and hours has been interesting. <\/p>\n Reframing how Apple Watch tracks healthy habits<\/p>\n Because spending time in sunlight is a physical and mental health boost, the biggest insight has been quantifying healthy habits that aren\u2019t strictly around exercise. <\/p>\n For example, my highest Time in Daylight day over the last week wasn\u2019t spent walking to the beach or riding my bike over the weekend. Sunday\u2019s outdoor activities rank second.<\/p>\n However, the highest and third highest over the last week were days when I was able to take my MacBook Air outside and write for several hours that netted me more Time in Daylight.<\/p>\n For me, especially as I\u2019m trying to optimize for a consistently positive mood<\/a>, quantifying Time in Daylight with Apple Watch is a bit of an unlock that I really appreciate right now.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a way to give myself credit for healthy choices in ways that aren\u2019t just reflected in exercise minutes.<\/p>\n Further reading for Apple Watch and Apple Health:<\/p>\n You can find the new Apple Watch Series 11<\/a> for as low as $299 on Amazon today.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/apple-watch-ultra-pop-tart.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/time-in-daylight-health-iphone.webp\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Apple-Watch-SE-3-Series-11-Ultra-3-lineup.webp\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757113987_717_google-preferred-source-badge-dark.png\"){kind=icon}
![\"Add](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/1757113987_373_google-preferred-source-badge-light.png\"){kind=icon}