As a 25-year-old Mumbaikar, for me, stress is an everyday reality. I find it difficult to breathe because of the pollution in the air. I find it tough to find my calm because of the constant honking in the background, bumper-to-bumper traffic, forever ‘work in progress’ metro project and the scorching summer heat. At the end of the day, when I come home and jump on my bed, I feel drained and done with life. It took me a while to stop blaming the world around me. I realised that if a change had to happen, it had to begin from within. Since I’m always glued to my phone, I had a feeling that I would find an app that could heal me and help me get my life back on track. After all, today, we have an app for everything – ordering food, swiping right on the next hottie, booking a cab, and now thankfully, mental health. These apps have helped me calm down and get better sleep at night. Thus, I would like to recommend them to you. Let’s get started, shall we?
1. Headspace
I love the way this app is designed. The graphics are aesthetic and the interface is on point. They have a category for not just keeping your anxiety in check, but for managing stress, increasing work productivity, boosting self-esteem and building confidence as well. Based on your preferences, you can sign up for time-specific sessions and track your performance by the day. Since anxiety is my best friend, I’ve taken a 3-minute basic anxiety session. For 3 minutes, there’s an automated voice that instructs me how to breathe and relax. This app is my golden ticket to getting my beauty sleep at night.
Download for Apple and Android here.
2. Tide
If you find happiness in mother nature’s company, this app will grant that wish for you! Although some of the features need to be purchased, I still think that you can make the most out of the basic features. At any given time if you feel the need to take a break from reality, simply plug in your earphones, open this app and play your favourite tunes of the ocean, rain, thunderstorms and nature. Plus, each time that you unlock your phone, the app will greet you with an inspiring quote. It truly is an instant mood-enhancer.
Download for Apple and Android here.
3. Calm
Calm is an app that’s similar to Headspace, but if you enjoy visuals while you meditate, this app offers you that experience. It makes it easy to get around and is a quick and responsive app. Your mind feels at peace and your breathing comes back to normal after using this app. From this list, this app was one of the first to make me feel drowsy and calm.
Download for Apple and Android here.
4. Lake
Did you know that colouring is considered therapeutic? It’s not a child’s activity anymore, there’s more to it. You really don’t have to buy an adult colouring book when you have this baby by your side. Colouring in the app is designed to help you to relax just before you hit the sack. It offers its user a rich experience by allowing them to select designs from other illustrators and bring their sketches to life by adding colour filters.
Download for Apple.
5. Deep Relax
This one is my most favourite. It’s a very simple app, but it’s had the most impact on me. Since I’m sensitive to sounds, listening to a melody that’s soothing brings solace to my soul. Out of 20 sounds, you can mix and match with several sounds to create your own calming tune. The best part is that this app allows you to multitask between apps and still listen to your favourite tunes while you send out those late night texts to bae.
Download for Apple.
6. Atmosphere: Relaxing Sounds
Sleep, meditation, yoga, stress relief, this app will cater to all your needs. The binaural beats and isochronic tones will help you tap into a positive pool of energy, stimulate your mind and make you feel one with yourself and nature. You can also play DJ and create your own relaxing mix.
Download for Apple and Android here.
7. Sleepable Yoga: Easy Meditation
While you’re on the bed, this app will help you practice simple yoga poses that will help you get better sleep at night. One of the main reasons to love this free yoga app is that you don’t have to be a yoga pro to ace it, it’s designed to train, mentor and motivate beginners as well.
Download for Apple and Android here.
I hope these apps will help you to find your ‘zen’ moment. All the best!
