6 Mindfulness & Health Apps for Digital Wellness
Modern lifestyles are tough on the mind, body, and soul. We feel pressure to always be online and connected to our phones, stare at computer screens, and live far away from loved ones. Because of that, we often have a desire to capture all of our experiences, ideas and encounters. It takes a toll to the point that sometimes we feel overwhelmed and sore.
The Myrth team is no stranger to that dilemma. We’re focused on mental health and building good habits, but we struggle with the siren song of the digital world, too. Every beep, buzz, and flash from a phone or computer is an invitation to distraction. Luckily, we’ve found some tools to help.
Here’s our list of six useful mindfulness and health apps, tried and tested!
1. Sleep Cycle: Keep your sleep habits on track so you get the rest you need
Lots of jobs nowadays require travel, and if you’re a freelancer, you might be living that digital nomad life, traveling the world with a backpack and your laptop. Working through different time zones can lead to messy sleep schedules, though. Sleep Cycle keeps track of your sleep patterns to regulate your sleep cycle and helps you wake up naturally at the right time.
Available for Android & iOS. Download Here.
2. F.lux: Manage your artificial lighting to protect your health
Blue light from the computer screen hurts our eyes and reduces our sleep quality. F.lux changes the colour of your display according to the time of day, automatically making it warmer at night. The blue light filter is much easier on your eyes and helps you sleep better. For those of you who love to scroll down your social media feed late at night in bed, iPhone now also has a similar built-in function to protect your eyes.
Available for Windows & Mac OS X. Download Here.
3. Eye Pro: Keep yourself blinking regularly to protect your eyes
Eye Pro is an app that is perfectly built for the digital age: it reminds you to blink. Not blinking enough is the main cause of eyestrain. We blink at a lower frequency per minute when we focus on our computer screen, which dries out our eyes and causes strain at the end of the day.
Available for Windows & Mac OS X. Download Here.
4. Headspace/Calm: Give yourself space to slow down and breathe
Taking time to breathe is especially hard in our information-overloaded daily lives. Studies have found that breathing and meditation improve mental health and focus, but we often don’t find the time to practice. Slowing down seems impossible with so much to do every day, but what if you only need to spare 10 minutes a day?
Headspace offers a free introductory session for 10 days. Each session only takes 10 minutes. You can pay to unlock more sessions afterward if you like the app.
Available for Android & iOS. Download Here.
There are other free apps to guide your meditation, like the Stop, Breathe & Think, Calm and Breathe apps.
5. Evernote: Clear out the clutter in your head
The mind is made for creating ideas, not necessarily for storing them. One of the greatest ways to remain stress-free is to write down your spontaneous ideas and reminders. Evernote allows you to capture your ideas in many ways besides simply typing a note: drawing, snap a picture, voice recording, etc. You can easily record your ideas, to-dos, and inspirations with Evernote and come back to them at a later time.
Available on mobile and desktop devices. Download Here.
6. Screen Time/Quality Time: Set limits for yourself so you use screens the way you want to
Ever heard the saying that if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it? We’re firm believers in that one, especially when it comes to trying to reduce our cell phone use. Screen Time and Quality Time are apps that track how much you use your phone throughout the day and give you useful breakdowns so you can see if you’re meeting your phone use goals.
Screen Time comes standard on iPhones. Quality Time is an Android app that can be downloaded here.
Do you have any personal favorite apps that have helped you feel healthier as you live the crazy nomad life? Please share with us in the comments below!