Updated September 2026: my 2021 post listed stress monitoring and stand reminders as the features that made me want a smartwatch. I have rewritten it with what these features actually do, which watches offer them, and how useful they turn out to be.
In 2021, working from home, I noticed I could sit for three hours without standing up and end the day wound tight without realising it. Two smartwatch features appealed to me for exactly that reason: stress tracking and reminders to move. This is what each one actually does, and how much it helps.
How does a smartwatch measure stress?
Indirectly. Most watches estimate stress from heart rate and heart rate variability, the small changes in time between heartbeats, which tend to fall when your body is under strain. Garmin shows a stress score and a "Body Battery" energy estimate. Fitbit offers a stress management score, and some of its models add a skin sensor for a spot check. Samsung's Galaxy Watch shows a stress reading too. Apple Watch has leaned on the Mindfulness app and breathing sessions rather than a stress score.
These are estimates, not medical measurements. Exercise, caffeine and poor sleep move the same numbers, so a single reading means little.
Are stress readings useful for desk workers?
The trend is useful; the individual number is not. If readings are consistently higher on days with back-to-back evening calls, that is a pattern you can act on, for example by protecting one evening a week. If a watch's stress alerts make you more anxious rather than less, turn them off and look at the weekly view instead.
Do reminders to stand and move actually help?
Yes, and for most desk workers they are the more useful of the two features. Apple Watch's stand reminder, and similar move alerts on Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung watches, nudge you after long periods of sitting. The value is simply the interruption. Most people know they should get up every hour; almost nobody notices the hour passing during focused work.
Pair the reminder with something small to do: refill water, walk to a window, stretch for a minute. The reminder alone is easy to dismiss.
Which watch should you pick for this?
- iPhone users: Apple Watch, for the reminders and fitness tracking, accepting the lack of a stress score.
- Android users who want stress data: Garmin, Fitbit or Samsung, all of which show stress trends.
- On a budget: a basic fitness band with move reminders covers most of the benefit for a fraction of the price.
Which feature matters more?
In 2021 I expected stress monitoring to be the headline feature. For desk work, the humble reminder to get up is the one that changes the day, and it is available on almost every watch at every price.
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