Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

arkitect

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 5, 2005
7,376
16,224
Bath, United Kingdom
I spend a lot of time at my desk, sitting, and happy to let the Apple watch remind me to stand up and stretch for a minute or so…

Cool.

Earlier I got the hourly tap on the wrist to stand up.
I was just in the middle of an important document and wanted to get my thoughts down… So I didn't stand up or move anything beyond my fingers and hands…

And hey!

What's this?

"Well done!
You've added another minute to your stand goal for the day."


What? I didn't get up at all.

This puzzles me… how exactly are these goals being measured?
 
I spend a lot of time at my desk, sitting, and happy to let the Apple watch remind me to stand up and stretch for a minute or so…

Cool.

Earlier I got the hourly tap on the wrist to stand up.
I was just in the middle of an important document and wanted to get my thoughts down… So I didn't stand up or move anything beyond my fingers and hands…

And hey!

What's this?

"Well done!
You've added another minute to your stand goal for the day."


What? I didn't get up at all.

This puzzles me… how exactly are these goals being measured?
seems to explain it best
 
  • Like
Reactions: arkitect
I routinely start my day with my watch on my right wrist, crown on the right. Partway through the day I move my watch to the left wrist without changing any other setting. I have found that even if I do not stand or move my left arm around, my stand credit will still update. If I remember to change the orientation setting from right wrist to left wrist, it will update my stand credit normally.
 
  • Like
Reactions: arkitect
I spend a lot of time at my desk, sitting, and happy to let the Apple watch remind me to stand up and stretch for a minute or so…

Cool.

Earlier I got the hourly tap on the wrist to stand up.
I was just in the middle of an important document and wanted to get my thoughts down… So I didn't stand up or move anything beyond my fingers and hands…

And hey!

What's this?

"Well done!
You've added another minute to your stand goal for the day."


What? I didn't get up at all.

This puzzles me… how exactly are these goals being measured?
i like this thread, thanks.

i am one of those people who think that the Stand goal is probably a good goal to work towards.
ive noticed that some other people seem to not think so; either because they dont understand the goal and/or they dont think that apple's implementation of it is beneficial.

as a person whose daily work flow can easily lead to not getting up from my desk for hours, i also think that apple's implementation of this goal is basically sufficient to help me prevent from being even more sedentary than i would be, without it.

here are a couple of my subjective data points.

1 after i wake up in the morning, get out of bed and walk the 30 or 40 steps into the kitchen to make coffee, even if i am walking at a very very slow pace, without doing anything like swinging arms or anything, the Watch will ALWAYS register that as an hour i stood. without fail. even walking slowly with my arms not moving around.

but, as the day progresses, i need to move around in a more exaggerated way in order for movement to count as having stood.

2 i have also learned to tell for sure that, after having stood up from my desk and begun to move around, if i can sense that my heart is beating faster than the time when i was sitting, the Watch will always register that as stood minute.

this tells me that whatever way the watch is actually using in its Stand calculation/determination, is actually working for me the way that apple is probably intending (getting up, moving around, "getting the blood flowing a bit"). this is what prevention of a sedentary lifestyle is all about.

i have played around with different Stand goals, but the goal that works best for me is 14. anything less than that is too easy.
but the thing that is very useful to see is looking at the Activity app on the iPhone, and seeing the trend arrow and graph that indicates not Stand Hours, but Stand Minutes. which tells me my average number of standing minutes per hour. this is very useful.

lastly, the thing that i would like to see apple implement in this Stand calculation is for the user to set the number of minutes per hour that need to be reached for the goal of a Stand hour to be counted as reached. in other words, i want to be able to set, for example, 5 minutes of "standing" (as defined by apple) to need to be reached for the Acivity app to count as an hour that i stood. maybe another user could set only 2 minutes or 10 minutes.

thanks
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ukms and arkitect
Thanks for the replies.

It was just curious that I got credit with standing while sitting down and basically just moving my hands over my keyboard.

Apple moves in mysterious ways it seems. 🙂
 
i like this thread, thanks.

i am one of those people who think that the Stand goal is probably a good goal to work towards.
ive noticed that some other people seem to not think so; either because they dont understand the goal and/or they dont think that apple's implementation of it is beneficial.

as a person whose daily work flow can easily lead to not getting up from my desk for hours, i also think that apple's implementation of this goal is basically sufficient to help me prevent from being even more sedentary than i would be, without it.
I definitely agree with you. I find it a very useful reminder.

When I get the notification I take the time to do a few stretches and try to look at the horizon or distant objects for a while.

Every little helps, I guess!
 
  • Love
Reactions: arc of the universe
Thanks for the replies.

It was just curious that I got credit with standing while sitting down and basically just moving my hands over my keyboard.

Apple moves in mysterious ways it seems. 🙂

Nothing mysterious here. The watch detects motion. You can shake your hand and arm for a minute and you are good to go for another hour.
 
lastly, the thing that i would like to see apple implement in this Stand calculation is for the user to set the number of minutes per hour that need to be reached for the goal of a Stand hour to be counted as reached.

Agree!

Would also like an option to set the time interval. Optometrists recommend the 20-minute rule — every 20 minutes spend 20 seconds looking at least 20 feet away. Gives your eyes a much needed break from computer screens, reading, close focus. It reduces eye strain — and even reduces or vanquishes headaches for many.

Standing every 20 minutes and walk or shake it all about is good for the body, too.

We have problems with the Move and Stand rings in our household — giving people credit when playing a quiet game on the iPad or knitting or working on a jigsaw puzzle. You'd think Apple could figure out that knitting or keyboarding doesn’t deserve much credit, if any!
 
  • Like
Reactions: arc of the universe
Agree!

Would also like an option to set the time interval. Optometrists recommend the 20-minute rule — every 20 minutes spend 20 seconds looking at least 20 feet away. Gives your eyes a much needed break from computer screens, reading, close focus. It reduces eye strain — and even reduces or vanquishes headaches for many.

Standing every 20 minutes and walk or shake it all about is good for the body, too.

We have problems with the Move and Stand rings in our household — giving people credit when playing a quiet game on the iPad or knitting or working on a jigsaw puzzle. You'd think Apple could figure out that knitting or keyboarding doesn’t deserve much credit, if any!
hi

yes. it would be good to be able to set the interval as well, as, in every 30 minutes or whatever.

that would be cooking with gas.
really giving some power-up to the Stand ring's merit.

knitting of course could be added to count towards the Mindfulness app's minutes...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Saturn007
The knitter in my household would agree with you 100%!
when i watch knitters, they always have a very similar expression on their face.
its kind of an expression indicating that although they are aware of immediate surroundings, they are at the same time reaching some kind of deeper level where they are washing the mind by being detached from their surroundings.
tts kind of what yoga does for the mind.
but unfortunately knitters sitting in one position for a long time probably isn't so good for the body.
but great for the mind it appears.
 
  • Like
Reactions: snapplecrisp
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.