Do You Use Any Cool Wellness Apps?
And I’m not talking about the glorified calorie counters out there!
I’ve used one of those so-called nutritional apps before, thinking it would be fun to see exactly how “healthy” I was. It wasn’t. All it did was make me feel obsessive about food, nutrient numbers that don’t matter, calories, and hours logged at the gym. No thanks!
But I do think that there are apps out there actually helping people create better habits, whether they’re reminding you to drink water, floss, meditate, or call your mother. In fact, some people have suggested that we create a NMDL app for folks to use while shopping for products—which would be awesome.
I currently use a total of two wellness apps, one that tracks my period and another that tracks my sleep cycles. Here’s a quick review of each!
The iPeriod App
What it does: Pretty self-explanatory: This app tracks, and then eventually predicts your menstrual cycles. As such, it also knows when you’re ovulating, which is useful for anyone trying to get pregnant—or not to. You have the option to add notes about cramps, flow, and all that other fun period stuff.
What I love: I really feel like it connects me to my cycle and takes some of the mystery out of what’s going on with it.
What I don’t love: The design is not amazing or totally intuitive. I always forget where to go to do things. It also kind of yells at me every time my period is late (which is almost every month) with these pop-up alerts. I could live without that since being late makes me anxious enough as it is.
What it’s taught me: I have an insanely long cycle, but I’m pretty regular—which is comforting. Travel and stress can and will delay the onset of my period; I always suspected as much, but this little tracker makes it clear.
Will I continue to use it? Absolutely.
The Sleep Cycle App
What it does: Through movement sensors, it tracks what stages of sleep you’re in throughout the night. It tells you what kind of sleep you’re getting, then creates all kinds of averages and charts around the quality, length, and time you go to bed. You can also add in notes about food, stress, alcohol… and it will show you how they affect your sleep. Lastly, and most notably, you can set an alarm for a certain time frame (say, 6:45 to 7:15) and the app will gently wake you during the lightest part of that sleep cycle. No more being ripped from sleep in the middle of a dream only to feel like you’ve been run over by a truck upon waking. Kinda genius.
What I love: This app feels really innovative in the way that it uses technology to help improve upon one of the greatest predictors of health: quality of sleep. The alarm is so gentle, I love it. The design is also intuitive, and in general this app delivers on what it promises.
What I don’t love: You need to place the phone on your bed, which does not feel healthy, per se. I put mine on airplane mode, but nonetheless I’m a bit at odds with the idea of sleeping with my mobile device. Also, I could imagine that if you were a troubled sleeper to begin with, the way this app makes bedtime feel like a performance to be rated and judged nightly, could possibly make matters worse.
What it’s taught me: I get my best and longest sleeps on Saturday night. And, no surprises here, drinking dramatically affects my sleep cycles—and not for the better!
Will I continue to use it? Not sure. It might be the kind of thing that I learn my lessons from and then move on, but the alarm is the major draw to stick with it.
In other news, happy Friday and happy winter solstice! Here’s hoping that today is a beginning and not an end—at the very least the beginning to your holiday!
yeah! been waiting for this post!
love the sleep cycle app– although I forget to use it often.
I’m also really in love with Kindara! http://kindara.com/blog/
I use it to track my period but instead of predicting when you’ll have your period based on your past history you really learn how to track your own body using fertility awareness. It is leaps and bounds ahead of other fertility apps because the chart shows you everything (temp and cervical mucus) all at once. I can also use the notes to write down when I eat certain foods (dairy, gluten etc) to see how those effect my cycle. Seriously one of the best things I did in 2012 was to start tracking my cycles this way! If my period is “late” I already know it will be because I know exactly when I ovulated. Since then I’ve discovered I’m highly sensitive to gluten thanks to this app, and I also know when I can have some good old fashioned un protected sex without worrying about getting pregnant. Couldn’t recommend it enough!
I have a bunch that I use as needed, and a couple I use regularly. Many are food related, like the EWG’s dirty dozen guide, Is That Gluten Free and iVegan. I use some meditation/music/nature sound apps, like Relax M.P., Naturespace and Chakra Tuner. Using these even a few minutes a day, like when I’m on the mat or I get a chance to relax in the tub, really is nice. I also often set a sound on a timer to go to sleep with. I even have a few apps I haven’t tried yet, like Binaural Beethoven and Brain Wave. I became a little obsessed after I found I could do something resembling meditation if I have a sound to meditate with. This is what technology should be, I think – useful, convenient, and help me enjoy life more.
I swear by Fertility Friend: http://www.fertilityfriend.com/ for charting my cycle. The chart graphics make it really easy to see how your temperature is tracking. The calendar shows you where you are in your cycle and predicts next monthly cycles (without annoying pop-up alerts, Alexandra!). The app also captures a ton of specific information like cervical mucus, daily mood, energy level, cervical position, meds, notes, etc. and compares your stats month over month. It can be a bit slow and clunky but it’s amazingly helpful!
Lift! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lift/id530911645?mt=8
It’s an easy way to give yourself credit for things that you’re trying to do daily/more using only positive reinforcement! No more putting “Drink 2 liters water” on your calendar only to ignore it or on a to-do list only to feel bad about yourself because the days you don’t do it follow you around.
I use it for habits I’m trying to build or tasks that just aren’t critical enough to go on my calendar or to-do list app:
- “Take vitamins”
- “Floss”
- “Water Christmas tree”
- “Eat 20 g protein for breakfast”
I’m going to go with an emotional wellness app!
Super cool new project on Kickstarter (for those of unfamiliar it’s a popular “crowdfunding” website) called “1 Second Everyday”. I thought of our community when I saw it, and that so many of you would love this concept. The basic idea is that too many of us let our days fly past us and they all meld together. What better way to remember them than by recording 1 second of everyday and piecing them all together!
From his site…
“On the day I turned 30 years old, I started recording 1 second every day for the rest of my life… and I think you should too. When I turn 40, I’ll have a 1-hour video that encapsulates my 30s. If I live to see 80 years of age, I’ll have a 5-hour video that summarizes 50 years of my life.
Each second has a story. ”
You can check out his videos on the Kickstarter page here. I’m really looking forward to starting mine!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cesarkuriyama/1-second-everyday-app
(I am not affiliated with this project in any way other than I love the idea. I think it goes hand in hand with what this site represents. Living our lives to the fullest!)
Will these apps work on an android device?
Oh I use many apps too!
I use Period Plus to track my cycles and I quite like it. Since I am pretty regular, it basically only taught me that I get a headache on day 7, some cramps on day 15 (ovulation).
I have also been using Sleep Cycle, but sometimes it only confirms what I already know: I don’t get enough sleep when I have a lot of work to do. Plus I’m not sure that it’s good for my iPhone to plug it in every night…
I also like an app called Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson. It’s a relaxation recording that really works when I can’t fall asleep. He has the most soothing Scottish accent.
And finally I have the Whole Foods app for food inspiration, as well as SeaChoice (it’s Canadian I think), which helps me make sustainable choices when eating fish or seafood.
I will definitely try some of the suggestions in the comments, and I would absolutely buy a NMDL app!
SuperBetter , learned about from TED Talks http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html
I use the Period Tracker app. It’s really cute and easy to use. There’s tons of features on the free version as well. I’d suggest it to ANYONE! If my girl-friends do not have any app to track their period, I am so totally on their case! I also use Relax Melodies to help me fall asleep. It’s really cool because you can mix sounds and volumes as well as frequencies to help you relax! Two great apps to try :)
I use endomondo, which is a GPS tracker of sports such as running and cycling. I’ve been using it for hiking, which is a little tricky sometimes when I’m out of range of the GPS, but I still love it.
F.lux! Not actually an app, but can be used on iPad and iPhone and of course Windows based PCs. Not Android friendly yet, sadly, but it tracks the time of day and changes the actual color temperature of your screen to sync up better with the ambient light.
This way when you’re pounding the keys late into the night, you aren’t viewing as much blue spectrum light that messes with your circadian rhythms. I LOVE it.
http://stereopsis.com/flux/