‘Appy and healthy: 7 great apps to boost your wellbeing
Want to focus on improving your health, but not sure where to start? These handy wellbeing apps can help set you up for success.
From measuring your steps to getting a better night’s sleep, there are a whole host of wellbeing apps out there that can help you level-up your health.
It’s a trend backed by evidence, with research showing that smartphone wellbeing apps can help promote physical activity, reduce stress and depression, and improve our diet and nutrition.
Here’s our guide to some of the best wellbeing apps to help you on your health journey.
Tracking your health
Apple Health
This app comes automatically installed on most iPhones and can be a game changer for people who use it.
First, you can track your daily steps to help you reach the recommended 10,000 steps per day.
You can also compare your daily tally to previous weeks and years.
Other great features of the app include letting you monitor your vitals, set up a sleep schedule, track your medication intake, and record your body measurements.
It can even alert you when you are walking unsteadily, which makes it a suitable option for people with balance problems.
Daily workouts
Fitness by 7M
Short, intense bursts of physical activity every day have been scientifically proven to benefit our health, so this app with its various 7-minute exercise routines is a great option.
The workouts are planned by professionals and vary by level of fitness, as well as muscle groups.
You can even customise your workout and set a daily reminder to exercise, and the app can integrate with Apple Health to track your progress.
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Nutrition
Noom
What we eat is one of the key lifestyle factors that make a big difference to our overall health, and Noom seeks to educate people on what we should be eating as part of a healthy and well-balanced diet.
Taking a psychology-based approach, it uses a unique colour system to help you track your daily eating, and even tells you when it’s okay to have a treat.
It also offers mini-courses on cognitive behaviour to help you understand why you have certain eating habits.
Sleep
SleepScore
It’s widely acknowledged that good sleep is essential for good health, so anyone who is struggling to get the recommended eight hours of shut-eye will want to give this app a try.
It analyses your sleep patterns, allows you to set sleep goals, and advises on how to reach them.
The wake alarm is another great app feature, smartly designed to rouse you slowly while you are in a light sleep phase, thereby reducing the likelihood of grogginess.
Yoga
Yoga Time
If you are looking for more Zen in your life, or simply want to stretch out and free your body from aches and pains in the comfort of your own home, then this is the app for you.
It’s designed for beginners, with hundreds of free, guided sessions in different yoga styles – but it also has plenty of classes on offer that will appeal to more advanced yoga lovers.
The routine options include cardio, strength, balance, deep stretch and detox sessions, all presented by superchill instructors.
Mindfulness
Headspace
Set up specifically to help quiet our busy minds, Headspace makes mindfulness easy and accessible.
The app offers hundreds of guided meditations, mindfulness courses and even exercises to promote relaxation.
It can also be used by everyone, with programs carefully crafted for both adults and children as young as four years old.
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Reducing anxiety
WorryTime
Feeling overwhelmed by anxious thoughts?
This impressive app, designed in conjunction with the Australian Government, could be really useful for people who struggle to control their mind.
Easy to use, it lets you record your worries and focus on them then, after a set period of time, it interrupts your cycle of rumination, which helps you leave your concerns behind and get on with your day.
