Health and wellness apps are becoming more and more popular -- especially during COVID-19, while most of us aren’t visiting gyms, therapist's offices, or yoga studios in-person! When what’s healthiest is to stay home, apps are a great way to stay mentally and physically active. So, what exactly is a wellness app? We lay out the details of these mobile programs that are offering up health related services anytime, anywhere, on your tablet, PC, smartphone or other devices! What is a wellness app? -
With so many apps out there, it can be hard to decide which ones to actually download, or even pay for. And after you download, you may find yourself never using that wellness app, annoyed by notifications, or simply forgetting you have it at all. So what keeps you intrigued and using the app, rather than deleting it a week after you download it? Look for apps with these qualities:
- Keeps you playing: Rewards that keep you intrigued and wanting to win feature in many of the best apps! Challenges and games that you can play with other users help keep you interested in the best wellness apps.
- Accurate information: Great apps for meditation, anxiety apps, mental health apps, and fitness apps must have accurate information provided by certified wellness practitioners. Make sure that the app you’re using is supported by the knowledge of experts!
- Actionable advice: All the information in the world won’t always help you make the changes you want to make. Wellness apps that include advice with concrete details and steps to take laid out clearly are most likely to help you build new routines and habits.
- Only the notifications you need: Some health apps may start notifying you more often than you get messages from your best friend! While reminders are great, an app that keeps to only useful notifications are preferable. You’re also likely to enjoy an app more if it’s not over-run by ads or pop-ups.
- User friendly: If you have to search an app for 10 minutes just to find the info you wanted, you’re not likely to use it again. The best apps are easy to navigate and intuitive to use. Bonus points for being aesthetically pleasing!
- Builds on itself: A great health app will continue to grow with you. If you’re looking for a meditation app, make sure that it’s not just for beginners, but will continue to meet your needs as you progress. Will your nutrition app continue to support you after you’ve gotten a better idea of your weekly diet? Does your yoga app keep progressing with you? Search for an app that will!
- Customer support: No matter how user-friendly a health app is, there will come a day when you need to contact customer support for one thing or another. The best health apps have easy in-app communication with great customer support agents.
What are the best health apps?
There are so many different types of wellness apps -- from nutrition apps to help you eat healthier, to meditation apps that help you find peace and calm, and even digital health apps that track how often you use your phone! Some of these apps are really helpful, amazing tools to get you moving, drinking more water, supporting your mental health and more -- while other wellness apps are just one more notification to ignore on your cell phone! So what apps are the best? Read on for a few of our favorites.
Classpass:
Fitness apps abound in the virtual world! But we love this app for its ease-of-use and how many fitness, yoga, barre etc. studios are available to use through the app. This app does cost quite a bit of money, but payments give you credits that you can use to book discounted classes at wellness studios almost anywhere!
Alltrails:
This awesome fitness app helps you get outdoors on trails safely and happily. With easy-to-follow topographic maps of trails all over the world, you can download directions and follow the app (even when you lose Wi-Fi while you wander).
Calm:
Calm is a great meditation app that can also calm your anxiety, help you get to bed, and more. Meditations range from a daily short meditation to longer meditations that can help you go to sleep. This app can help you develop a meditation routine and is a great way to start your practice.
My Fitness Pal:
This simple app has been around for a long time, but it’s still a great nutrition and fitness app! It doesn’t have some of the complicated bells and whistles of newer nutrition apps, but it’s very easy to track your diet and calorie intake plus integrates easily with fitness trackers.
Nivati:
Okay we may be a little biased, but we can’t help but share our app with you! Our mobile wellness app connects employees with the mental and physical health support they need. Live and recorded sessions are available with talented practitioners -- at just the click of a button! Users can schedule and enjoy virtual yoga, guided meditations, massage instruction, personal training, life coaching, nutrition coaching, and mental health counseling all through one simple, easy-to-use app. That’s the best part -- it’s not JUST a fitness app, or a yoga app, or a meditation app, or a nutrition app, or an anxiety app. It’s all of the above!
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