5 apps to help kickstart your physical and mental wellness journey

Working and studying from home might have inadvertently resulted in us spending longer hours staring at our screens. Having little time to rest and unwind, especially if prolonged, can cause one to suffer a deterioration of their mental and physical well-being.

Here are five wellness and lifestyle apps that can help you maintain your mental and physical wellness amid your busy schedule.

Calm is an app that guides users to meditate and relax. The app provides various meditation guides ranging from three to 25 minutes long.

On top of the meditation guides, there is also a wide selection of relaxing music, stories and sounds such as gentle rain to listen to when you go to sleep at night.

Once you set up your profile, you can set daily reminders on the app for meditation sessions. 

Calm also lets you track your mood and sleep, list down what you’re grateful for and complete reflections daily.

Although these features are free to use, users can still opt to pay for a premium membership. For $67.99 per year, users can unlock more content including guided meditations, access to the entire Stories for Sleeping collection, and masterclasses taught by experts.

Calm is available to download for free on iOS and Android.

Strava is a one-stop app that allows users to track their fitness journey and goals. You can track your distance and record your timing for any type of cardio training such as running, cycling, swimming, and hiking.

Strava also allows you to map out and share your routes with other users and compete in various training challenges organised by other users. Once a challenge is completed, you can earn rewards such as a digital finisher’s badge.  

Strava’s premium subscription lets users set their fitness challenges, provide customised training plans, and set personal goals for each session. Live feedback is also included in the package to aid in a safer and more effective training session. Users can activate a free 30-day premium trial before deciding if they want to pay the yearly subscription cost of $78.98. 

Strava is available for free on iOS and Android.

Freeletics uses AI technology to provide personalised physical training for individuals of different skill levels. Specialising in gym-free training, the app curates a plethora of different exercises that require either basic home exercise equipment or no equipment at all. 

The AI personal trainers will teach you how to execute each exercise safely and properly and provide feedback.

The free version includes 25 exercises, 20 High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) bodyweight workouts, and 20 audio sessions. 

By paying $138.98 per year, users can have a much more personalised workout experience using the AI trainers and are provided with a curated workout plan for their needs and circumstances.

Freeletics is available to download on iOS and Android.

Forest is an app that encourages you to stay away from your phone and eliminate distractions. By setting a timer or a stopwatch, your phone will stay locked and you will not be able to access social media apps. 

This will help you focus on other activities such as working out or starting therapeutic hobbies such as painting or knitting.

The longer the timer runs on Forest, more virtual trees will grow and multiply. The app will then record the number of virtual trees that you have planted and grown over the week, month, and even year. 

The app also allows you to earn rewards and unlock different types of trees and plants for you to plant whenever you are carrying out a task. 

The premium version of the app costs $5.99 and allows users to set up a customised list of apps on their phone that they can access when they use the timer. You can also categorise different tasks with tags to monitor how you use your time throughout the day. 

You can also contribute to planting real trees through the app’s partner, Trees for the Future, a Maryland-based non-profit organisation. Funds will be raised for real trees to be planted whenever you spend virtual coins on the app. 

The app is available for download at $5.98 on iOS and for free on Android.

Finch is a cute self-care pet app that allows you to monitor your moods and take time to complete reflections daily. 

With the incentive to grow and earn rewards for your digital pet, the app encourages you to complete self-care exercises such as breathing exercises, goal tracking, mood journaling, and listing what you’re grateful for.

The app also has quizzes that you can answer to learn and understand more about your mental health such as anxiety, depression, body image positivity, and self-love. 

Its premium version unlocks more content for exercises, quizzes, reflections, and soundscapes as well as customises the app to your liking. This version costs $57.98 per year along with a seven-day free trial. 

The app is free to download on iOS and Android. 

With the world moving faster by the day, it is important to remember to take a break and do something that stimulates your mind and body. These apps help you to find balance and remind you to take care of yourself and your well-being. It is time to take charge of yourself and heal. 

For more resources such as self-assessment and tips for coping with challenging seasons in life, check out Youthopia’s mental well-being resource page.