A Check-In is more than data collection; it’s an intervention. In the moment, it interrupts your stress response by bringing attention to how you’re feeling, helping you recover and respond more calmly. Over time, it strengthens your emotional regulation, giving you greater control over how you react to challenging moments. By creating this pause, a Check-In gives you the choice to act intentionally, to be who you want to be, rather than letting your emotions control you.

Read more: The Power of Mindset: How You Can Learn to Control Your Nervous System

Developing emotional granularity

When you log how you feel, you're developing emotional granularity: the skill of identifying emotions with greater precision. Research shows that people who regularly notice and name their emotions are actually better at controlling them too. Instead of simply feeling ‘bad’, you can pinpoint exactly why you're feeling the way you’re feeling. A racing heart might not mean panic; it could just mean you care. Understanding exactly how your feeling helps you better decide what your body and mind needs in the moment, responding with choice rather than habit.

Awareness changes everything

Over time, your Check-In history becomes a valuable reflection tool, it’s almost like a diary you can look back at to spot how you were feeling each day. Looking at this alongside your stress, sleep and activity data, you can begin to spot patterns in which habits affect your mood in both a positive and negative way. This not only helps you recognise triggers but also improves how you communicate patterns to a doctor, therapist, or coach.

At NOWATCH we’re on a mission to reveal how mental and physical health are deeply linked and Check-In’s are a great way to visualise that. Seeing your mood alongside your metrics is the key to spotting what habits helps you to feel your best.

New to NOWATCH? Discover how the science behind our wearable works here.