Time in Daylight on Apple Watch, Explained
Time in Daylight is a Health metric that Apple Watch estimates with its ambient light sensor, on Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and Series 6 or later. Motion Calibration & Distance must be on. You find it in the Health app under Browse, then Other Data. In an Apple study of 58,350 US participants, the average estimate was 30.8 minutes a day in January and 102.1 in June, so expect it to swing with the seasons.
What Time in Daylight measures
Apple introduced the metric with watchOS 10 in fall 2023. According to Apple, the ambient light sensor in your Apple Watch automatically estimates how much time you spend outdoors in daylight each day. The Apple Heart and Movement Study describes the method as using that sensor and an algorithm to estimate time in daylight, and the maximum light intensity in lux, in 5-minute increments. It is available on Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and Apple Watch Series 6 or later.
The number is an estimate. Apple does not publish how it treats shade, cloud or a watch covered by a sleeve, so use it to compare your own days against each other and not as a precise measurement of sunlight.
How to see your number, and how to turn it off
- Make sure Motion Calibration & Distance is on. Apple says this is required to track time in daylight.
- On your iPhone, open the Health app, tap Browse, then Other Data, then Time in Daylight.
- To stop it, open Settings on the watch, go to Privacy & Security > Health, tap Time in Daylight and turn it off. You can also use the Apple Watch app on iPhone: My Watch, then Privacy.
If the chart is empty, check that setting first, then that you wear the watch outdoors during the day. Without a compatible watch, Health has no Time in Daylight to show.
What counts as a normal day
The Apple pages cited here give no daily target for this metric, so there is no official "good" number. For context, the Apple Heart and Movement Study looked at 58,350 US participants who chose to share this data between January and July 2024. Their average estimate was 30.8 minutes a day in January and 102.1 minutes in June. The lowest day of the period was January 9 at 20.6 minutes on average, and the highest was July 4 at 138.0 minutes. Weekends were consistently higher than weekdays.
| Group of participants, May 2024 | Average daily daylight |
|---|---|
| Lowest quarter | under 40 min |
| Second quarter | 40 to 60 min |
| Third quarter | 60 to 90 min |
| Highest quarter | over 90 min |
Quartile cut points from one study's participants. They describe what people recorded, and they are not a recommendation.
Two takeaways follow. First, your winter numbers will look lower than your summer ones even if your habits are unchanged, because there is less daylight to spend. Second, where you live matters: the study found Hawaii leading the country in January and April, while some hot southern states dipped from April to July.
Turning the number into a daily habit
Health charts the metric but does not give it a goal or a deadline. Two small changes make it easier to act on:
- Choose a target you can repeat. Pick a figure from your own recent days, such as a number you reached on most of the last two weeks, and raise it slowly. Seasonal changes mean the same target is harder in December than in June.
- Work backward from sunset. Minutes in daylight can only be earned while the sun is up. If sunset is 4:48 pm and you still need 8 minutes, the latest you can start is 4:40 pm. Checking at 3 pm leaves time to act, and checking at 5 pm does not.
How Daylight helps
Daylight reads Time in Daylight from Apple Health and shows it against a daily target you choose. The starting target is 20 minutes, which is only a placeholder, so change it to whatever suits you. When you are short of the target, the app works out the latest time you could head out and still reach it before sunset, using sunrise and sunset calculated on your device. That deadline moves with the season. Widgets and Apple Watch complications show the same progress. The app reports what your watch recorded and what the sun offers. It makes no claims about mood, sleep, vitamin D or eyesight, and it is not medical advice.
Give the number a target and a deadline
For iPhone and Apple Watch. Reads Time in Daylight from Apple Health.
About DaylightFrequently asked questions
Which Apple Watch models track Time in Daylight?
Apple Watch SE (2nd generation) and Apple Watch Series 6 or later, running watchOS 10 or later. The metric relies on the watch's ambient light sensor.
Where do I find Time in Daylight on my iPhone?
Open the Health app, tap Browse, tap Other Data, then tap Time in Daylight. Apple says Motion Calibration & Distance must be turned on for the watch to track it.
How do I turn off Time in Daylight?
On your Apple Watch, open Settings, go to Privacy & Security > Health, tap Time in Daylight and turn it off. You can also use My Watch > Privacy in the Apple Watch app on iPhone.
How much Time in Daylight is normal?
The Apple sources cited here give no daily target. In a 2024 Apple Heart and Movement Study analysis of 58,350 participants, the average estimate was 30.8 minutes a day in January and 102.1 minutes in June.
Why is my Time in Daylight lower in winter?
Winter days are shorter, so there is less daylight to spend. In the study above, the average estimate was roughly a third as high in January as in June.
Sources
- Apple Support: See time spent in daylight on Apple Watch
- Apple Heart and Movement Study: Summer Glow, how much daylight are participants getting (August 2024)
This page is general information, not medical advice. Time in Daylight is an estimate from a wrist sensor, and Daylight does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition. Talk to a clinician about your health and about sun exposure.