World Mental Health Day offers us a chance to sit back and reflect. We all need tools to help us with an overload of stress in our busy modern lives.
While many of us use time away from our screens as a way to decompress and unwind from the day, there are a host of expert-led apps that can enhance yourwellness routines, or can even be kept in your back pocket for when you feel overwhelmed.
From those that help you track your sleep to others that can be used as meditation tools, HELLO! breaks down the best in the app biz which won't have you feeling guilty for extra screen time.
1. Headspace
Meditation and mindfulness is made simple with Headspace, the app that counts Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma Watson and Queer Eye's Antoni Porowski as fans.
Literally giving users a workout for the brain - led by former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe - the premise is to take ten minutes a day to listen in and clear your mind. So what are the benefits? Users report better attention spans, alertness and instant calm.
2. Clue
Swot up on your cycle with period-tracking app Clue, and learn more about how your period affects you.
With the options to input symptoms such as cramps and headaches throughout the month, as well as lifestyle factors such as alcohol, sleep and sex, you'll quickly build up a picture of how your cycle not only affects your physical health, but your mental health too. An essential tool for any woman looking to get to know her body better.
3. Exhale
Exhale is the first emotional wellbeing app for and by black, indigenous women of colour (BIPOC).
The app inspires self-care, mindfulness and rest through content curated by BIWOC - including meditations, coaching talks, affirmations, guided visualisations and breath work.
4. Meditopia
Meditopia’s library offers over 1000+ guided meditations on topics including stress, anxiety, acceptance, happiness, motivation, focus and breath.
With over 7 million members worldwide, they offer each of these members deep-dive meditations. Even if you don't have your iPhone with you, you can access all of the content from Apple Watch, and start your day off with a daily meditation or one of your favourite practices.
5. Fitness+ for Time To Walk
Apple Watch users, this is especially for you. Fitness+ will do wonders for your wellness and the service is only getting better and better. For those of you who haven't tried Time To Walk yet, the episodes feature some of the world’s most interesting and influential people who share stories, photos, and music with Fitness+ subscribers. Each Time to Walk episode is shaped by stories about the guest’s personal, life-shaping moments and includes lessons learned — all recorded while the guest is on an intimate walk in a location that is meaningful to them.
6. Results Wellness Lifestyle
Lucy Mecklenburgh's fitness app Results Wellness Lifestyle prides itself on the ability to house all your health apps in one place with 1000+ workouts, 600+ recipes, four mindset courses, 11 structured programmes, and weekly live workout classes. We love the 'pain clinic' section, too, which focuses on managing back pain.
7. My Possible Self
If your mental health is a concern, My Possible Self may be the app for you.
Use the 'moments' function to monitor your feelings and recognise any patterns or triggers in your behaviour, and the self-help 'modules' to tackle issues such as stress, anxiety, loss or major life changes.
8. Feel Better
A recipe book in your pocket, cult lifestyle blogger Deliciously Ella's popular app brings her delicious plant-based recipes straight to your phone, with nearly 300 nutritious dishes to choose from - and with 2021's update, there's plenty more to enjoy, too.
Feel Better now includes a personalised wellness plan and an intuitive daily tracking tool to monitor your plant-based diet, exercise, sleep, mindfulness and water consumption.
9. The Flo App
Another menstrual cycle app but one with a pin code lock which makes those worried about privacy feel much more secure. This app is particularly good for those looking to be able to plan around their periods, perhaps if they're booking a holiday and would prefer not to be on, or for those looking to get pregnant.
Flo tracks periods, ovulation and fertility and gives great insights throughout the month about how your body is working at specific times.
10. Smoke Free
Looking to give up smoking in 2024? Download Smoke Free. This app is genius because not only can you track cravings and progress, which will help deter you from lighting up, it will tell you every single penny you've saved by packing it in and the hours of life you've saved too. If that's not motivational, we don't know what is.
11. Sleep Cycle
Are you wanting to get more sleep and stop the endless scrolling through Instagram before bed? Sleep Cycle is an intelligent alarm clock that tracks your sleep patterns and wakes you up in light sleep, helping you to feel more rested and energised.
12. Viber
Leading messaging app Viber connects over 900 million users around the globe - it's a digital platform that provides users with access to supportive online communities and groups.
Online communities are a great way for people to hold themselves accountable and seek motivation from like-minded individuals. Group chats can offer support for fitness, cooking, and book recommendations.
13. Streaks
Streaks is a to-do list that helps you form good habits, and an essential app to hold you accountable to all your goals. The app allows you to track up to twelve tasks you want to complete each day and the goal is to build a streak of consecutive days.
Whether it is going for a run, reading a chapter of a book, or quitting smoking – Streaks can help you keep track of these tasks.
14. Drinkaware
Nowadays there is always an excuse for drinking. From a celebration to a commiseration and even a quick catchup, a glass of fizz is never far away, right? That's why the free Drinkaware app is a way to make sure you stay on top of your wellness when it comes to drinking.
The app comes with trackers and tools such as the unit & calorie calculator and the alcohol self-assessment tool so you can review your drinking patterns, set goals, and become more aware of the units you are consuming. The app can also record the money spent on alcohol.
15. The ECG App
The Apple Watch is capable of generating an ECG similar to a single-lead electrocardiogram. This informative data will be automatically stored in the Health app on your iPhone and can be shared as a PDF with your doctor.
16. Wakeout!
Exercise is just as good for the mind as it is the body, but sometimes finding the time to workout can seem next to impossible. Luckily, Wakeout has you covered with a library of over 300 free exercises which can be done in 30-second chunks in the places where you spend most of your time.
Whether you're kicking back on the sofa, working 9 to 5 in front of a laptop or, travelling from point A to B, you'll be able to work out on the go. It's so important to find the time to look after yourself, and with Wakeout you can finally put yourself first!
17. Yoga Studio: Mind & Body
There really is something for everyone on this app. Making yoga far more accessible, you'll find general classes for beginners, prenatal classes for expectant mums, as well as classes to combat mental health and back pain. There's even a Desk Series you can do during a much-needed break from all those Zoom meetings and conference calls.
18. TRUCONNECT by TV.FIT
TRUCONNECT by TV.FIT is a wellness and fitness community app that encourages a holistic approach, with a focus on behavioural change.
Not only can you tap into hundreds of workout programmes, some led by your favourite celebrities (from Gemma Atkinson to Helen Flanagan and Jessica Wright), but you’ll have access to mental health and lifestyle e-books created by Dr Chris Williams, one of just a few whose work is prescribed by the NHS, as well as behavioural change content from leading doctors.
All the apps’ programs are fully adaptable, with the idea being to provide something for everyone.
19. Calm
Calm is a tool designed to help with your sleep, meditation, and relaxation. Recommended by top psychologists and mental health experts, the app vows to reduce stress by offering guided meditations, breathing programs, stretching exercises, and relaxing music.
The highlight is undoubtedly the celeb-fronted Sleep Stories, a collection of bedtime stories read by A-list celebrities including Harry Styles and Stephen Fry, guaranteed to lull you into a deep and restful slumber.
20. Daylio
Whether you want to track your fitness goals or create a mood diary, Daylio Journal is a micro-diary app that has it all. Simply pick mood and activities to create a daily entry, and create daily, weekly or monthly goals and motivate yourself. The app will crunch data and display them in stats and charts.
By staying on top of your overall health and seeing patterns in your life, the self-care bullet journal can help reduce anxiety and promote mindfulness.
21. Able
Have your own pocket personal trainer by using Able. This wellness app is the perfect way to coach you through your health goals whether it’s weight loss or just building healthier food habits.
Designed with in-app trackers to help you manage your diet and exercise routines and access to one-to-one conversations with wellness coaches, Able makes sure you stay motivated to achieve your health and fitness goals.
22. Jennis
Former British Olympian Jessica Ennis-Hill created Jennis using hormonal health science to help women to better understand their hormones and their link to their mental health. The app offers training, nutrition, and wellness advice which has been curated with the help of health physiologist Dr Emma Ross.
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23. Birda
For many of us, getting out in nature instantly helps us to feel calmer and more connected to the world around us. For city dwellers, Birda is a welcomed solution to not having woodland on your doorstep. It is a bird-watching app that allows you to not only get up and close with nature, but to learn more through the app's bird identifier and can log what you have seen.
If you feel that you are seriously struggling, seek help via your GP or a mental health professional. For more information visit: https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/
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