Apple encourages global fitness push with ‘Close Your Rings Day’ on April 24; see awards and gifts you can earn

Apple is calling on its Watch users worldwide to break a sweat on April 24 as part of a one-day push to “Close Your Rings”, a challenge that rewards wearers who complete all three of their daily fitness goals. The campaign, dubbed Global Close Your Rings Day, offers limited-edition virtual badges, animated stickers for Messages, and even physical pins available at Apple Stores.

This marks a rare calendar-style fitness push from Apple, blending health science with digital incentives to keep users engaged. Closing the Move, Exercise, and Stand rings has been a core part of Apple Watch’s health ecosystem since its launch a decade ago. But this time, the initiative comes with fresh research underscoring its benefits.

According to Apple, new findings from the Heart and Movement Study, conducted with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the American Heart Association, show that users who frequently close their rings are:

    •    48% less likely to report poor sleep quality,
    •    73% less likely to have elevated resting heart rates,
    •    57% less likely to experience high stress levels, based on Perceived Stress Scale responses.

“Apple Watch has changed the way people think about, monitor, and engage with their fitness and health. A decade ago, we introduced Activity rings — and since then, Apple Watch has grown to offer an extensive set of features designed to empower every user,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s chief operating officer. “People write to us almost every day sharing how Apple Watch has made a difference in their life, from motivating them to move more throughout the day, to changing the trajectory of their health.”

On April 24, anyone who closes all three Activity rings will earn a commemorative award and a new set of 10 animated fitness-themed stickers, from a running figure to a yoga pose and even someone doing sit-ups. A matching enamel pin inspired by the digital badge will also be available while supplies last at Apple Store locations worldwide.

Apple is also using the event to highlight the evolution of the Apple Watch as a health tool. The Activity app, Workout metrics, sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, and more are built using validated data and machine learning models trained on thousands of participants from diverse backgrounds.

Despite its gamified feel, the underlying technology is serious. Apple emphasises privacy, too: all health and activity data is encrypted and secured, even from Apple itself, provided users have two-factor authentication and recent software versions.

What’s next? According to Apple, users are encouraged to get moving in a way that suits them, whether that’s a run, a yoga session, or even just standing up more consistently during the day and share their progress on social media using the hashtag #CloseYourRings.