5 Self-Care Apps That You Need in Your Life
It’s still the beginning of the year, which is the perfect time and opportunity to really get your life on track. The first step towards a better you, is making sure your mental health, physical health, and overall happiness are all in order.
There are numerous ways to do this and go about self-care. Since most of us are already on our phones a good portion of the day, why not combine the time being on our phone with a little extra self-care? There are so many self-care apps available right at our fingertips. We should be taking advantage of them!
Here are 5 of our favorite self-care apps that you need in your life (and you’ll wish you knew about sooner).
Our Favorite Self-Care Apps
Calm
The Calm app is pretty self-explanatory just from the title. Calm is described as “the #1 app for meditation and sleep”. The app has 6 different categories including Sleep, Meditate, Music, Body, Masterclass, and Scenes. You’re able to choose from the categories to deliver guided meditations and breathing exercises ranging in length, calming sceneries with relaxing sounds, and music to help you sleep, focus, and relax. You can also choose Body to give you lessons on mindful moves and different stretches. And you can also take a Masterclass which are audio programs taught by real experts.
The meditation app isn’t free, though you can try it for free for 7 days. Calm costs $12.99/month, $59.99 a year, or $299.99 for a lifetime subscription. Although not free, it is cheaper than other methods of self-care, plus it can be used at any time of the day!
Shine
Sometimes the best way to start your morning is to read a daily motivational quote and meditate. This app does just that, and it also has stories for when you’re trying to sleep, self-care programs, and a digital community. The app aims to release the negativity from your life, help you get better a sleep cycle, reduce anxiety, and offer support. Through the app, you are able to track your gratitudes each day and even join in on challenges.
Shine costs $7.99 a month. You can also get it for an entire year for just $59.99. With the reviews and awards, the app has won – this is an investment you’ll be excited to make.
Sanvello
If you are looking to help cope with your anxiety, depression, and/or stress – this app is for you. Sanvello is an “evidence-based solution created by psychologists” and offers techniques such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. You will learn CBT through immersive videos, audio exercises, and activities. The app also offers a way to track your mood and health habits.
The app is $8.99 a month or $53.99 a year. With your purchase, you will get daily mood tracking, guided journeys, tools to calm your mind, assessments, a digital community, and Apple health integration.
Aloe Bud
Aloe Bud is a great app for daily reminders and “check ins”. The app is described as a “self-care pocket companion” and that’s exactly what it is. Throughout the day, Aloe Bud will make sure you are doing things to take care of yourself. These little reminders are everything from reminding you to eat and drink water to reminders to check in with friends. Along with your “gentle reminders” and check-ins, the app also has self-care activities, and a micro-journal. The journal offers a number of reflections and prompts to help you manage your stress and even look back at your progress.
Aloe Bud is a free app that offers add-ons and a premium version. For $1.99 you can add an expansion pack of daily reminders. For $3.99 you are able to write your own personal reminders. And for $4.99 you can unlock everything the app has to offer currently.
Grateful
Giving yourself each day to reflect and journal is a great way to de-stress and rid yourself of any anxiety. The Grateful app is a gratitude journal that allows you to reflect on what you are grateful for each day. There are daily prompts to help get you started where you can write a whole paragraph, just a word, or insert a picture. With the app, you can browse your past entries and reflect on other times, as well.
The free version of Grateful allows you 15 journal entries, reminders and prompts for each session. If you decide to purchase the app you will have unlimited entries, data backup, Face ID passcode, ability to create your own prompts, and you can download your entries into a PDF or CSV format. For a one-time upgrade it is $4.99, a month bundle is $3.99, and a year is $18.99.
There are many ways to treat yourself and relieve stress. But we hope that these self-care apps make it a little easier for you.
Have you ever used any of these apps? Let us know in the comments section below.
Alyson Pittman is a contributing writer for WBD and a JR marketing associate for Excite Creative Studios, an Atlanta-based creative agency.
Alyson graduated from Kennesaw State University with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a concentration in Marketing. She was in multiple organizations at KSU where she held leadership positions. As a part of the Delta Phi Epsilon Sorority, Alyson held the Social Coordinator position and planned/promoted large events.
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