‘It changed my life’: Whole foods founder claims Apple Watch helped him quit drinking

Apple watch

The Apple Watch has saved lives of people on many occasions. It has alerted users to irregular heartbeats, detected falls, and notified emergency contacts. More recently, it was credited with helping Whole Foods founder John Mackey quit drinking, thanks to its sleep tracking features.

Mackey shared his experience in a podcast with PLANTSTRONG, explaining how he used the Apple Watch to track his sleep patterns and noticed that alcohol disrupted his rest. “It changed my life. It got me off alcohol over two years ago,” Mackey said. Using the AutoSleep app, which tracks sleep duration and quality, he discovered that even one beer or glass of wine would prevent him from getting deep sleep. “My deep sleep went to zero, and my total sleep dropped by about an hour,” he added.

After several experiments, Mackey realized that the pattern remained consistent. Everytime he consumed alcohol, it negatively impacted his sleep. That’s when he decided to quit drinking and prioritise his sleep over alcohol. “The question became, do I want to sleep well, or do I want to have a drink? So far, sleep has won,” he explained.

If you’d like to try a similar experiment, the latest Apple Watches—such as the Apple Watch 9, Watch 10, and Watch Ultra 2—offer built-in sleep tracking, with some models even detecting conditions like Sleep Apnea. Perhaps, like Mackey, you’ll discover something life-changing about your own habits.