Mental Health Day 2024 is Thursday October 10th. For one day only, Apple Watch users can win a limited award. It’s part of Apple’s desire to raise awareness about how we can take care of our mental health.

The Mental Health Day Challenge award is a blue-green calm badge that appears in the Activity app on the watch and can also be found in the Fitness app on the iPhone.

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To achieve this, you need to record 10 minutes of mindfulness on your Apple Watch, for example in the Mindfulness app. I just did it with a 10 minute Fitness+ app, Focus with Jessica Skye. It was an effective, calming and stimulating experience.

You can also get the badge through any app that adds Mindfulness Minutes to the Health app on iPhone. These mindful minute apps include Happier (formerly called Ten Per Cent Happier), Calm, Insight Timer, and – my personal favorite – Headspace. By the way, this brilliant app also offers a series of Mental Health Day sessions.

Apple’s focus on mental health has grown over the years. For example, you can now take a mental health assessment on iPhone or iPad by simply opening the Health app and clicking Mental Wellbeing. In the Get More from Your Health section, select Create Questionnaire.

It’s similar to depression and anxiety assessments commonly used in clinics, and you can share the results if you’d like.

Apple Watch can also track how much time you spend in daylight—studies have shown that spending 15 to 30 minutes outdoors can increase positive feelings—and the Health app can show the results.

There are other elements of the Apple experience that can be helpful, like the Journal app, which lets you capture everyday moments with photos, audio, and videos, for example. And of course, the iPhone has had a Focus feature for some time now, which can help you block out distractions when you’re busy or need time for a little quiet.

With the emphasis on physical health and fitness, it is easy to ignore mental health. Companies like this one from Apple on Mental Health Day can help restore balance.