The Best Wellness Apps of 2020

Let’s face it, we can all use some help when it comes to mindfulness and wellness. And since our mobile devices have become integral, virtual appendages, it makes sense that we can also rely on them to help us lead healthier lives. Lately, I’ve been using a number of apps to help me focus, relax, exercise and sleep better. Some are free but I find that the ones with a subscription often are more enriching because you’re presented with an abundance of content. And that’s really the point of using it, right? So here are some that I’ve recently latched onto as I’ve found them very helpful. Maybe you will too!

Endel

This is currently my favourite app that I’ve purchased to date. I’m one of those people who constantly needs to be surrounded by music; I don’t like silence. Music is integral in helping me focus or set my mood. And my mood shifts and changes day to day; most of the time I’m not even aware of it. The team behind the app Endel, however, was well aware of this. Endel is a cross-platform, audio ecosystem. It provides adaptive sound environments personalized to the time of day, weather, your heartbeat, activity and other inputs. It’s cross-platform because it operates as an app off your phone, Apple Watch, Alexa, and other platforms that draw in data from your environment and creates these incredible sound scapes, tailored specifically for you. You can listen to the sound scapes off any Apple, Alexa, or Google device and it’s also accessible on the web and on Twitch. So depending on whether you want to read, relax, meditate, create, do chores, commute, or whatever, the app will generate a sound environment specific to that task, for that day, at that precise time. It uses a combination of algorithms from your current state together with your circadian rhythm (your internal biological clock that governs when you are awake and asleep) to deliver sound layers, modulations, and effects — all created in line with psychoacoustic studies. This all happens on the fly, and reacts to changes in real time.

Cost: Trial is free for 1 week. After that, it’s $7.99/mo or $34.99/year

Bonus - First five with code HGUO9Q3 will get a one month trial free.

Me Meditation App

As you know, anyone can meditate but even the best of us can use some help once in a while. While there are a number of different meditation apps out there, I do like using the Me. app for quick 2 to 5 minute hits of breathing, depending on my situation. I could be trying to overcome anxiety, anger, irritation, sadness, fear, worry or envy and each feeling comes with a 2, 3 or 4 minute breathing exercise. Note that the instructions (like when to inhale and exhale) are written and not guided by voice. Sometimes I actually prefer that which is why I find this app super helpful. The app also provides multi-day, guided meditation courses, whether to help with anxiety, improve your sleep, reduce stress, focus on weight loss, boost sexuality, plus a host of other goals. These are guided by a rather robotic, yet calm voice. The free version of the app allows you to access the Anxiety course plus one of the single ‘Work Break’ guided sessions.

Cost: Limited Trial is free indefinitely. Or you can unlock for US$9.99/mo, US$3.99/mo for 6 months, or US$199.99/lifetime access.

Calm

This particular app has been advertising heavily on TV, but I started using it over 2 years ago. There’s a fair amount of free content on there so whenever I need a meditation quickie, I often hop on here. What I appreciate is their daily Mood Check-In that doesn’t necessarily do much but keeps a running record of how you’re feeling. While it’s not an input that affects the content being delivered, it is a good, regular mindfulness exercise. It even helps you set reminders as to when you should check in with yourself again. Reflecting on your moods consistently is key to tracking and understanding changes over time, they claim, and I agree. After all, observing how you are, without judgement, is the first step to understanding yourself. The app also has a daily Gratitude Check-in as well, for the same reason. As far as free content goes, you can do timed meditations or open meditations where you can select how often the app will ring a bell (every 1, 2, 5, 10, 15 mins….up to 8 hours). In the timed and open meditations, they’re not guided but simply the sounds of rainfall, which I find incredibly soothing. In the paid version, this app is jam-packed with Sleep Stories (imagine being lulled to sleep by Harry Styles!), multi-day guided meditation journeys, to a plethora of music, nature melodies, and soundscapes to calm the mind.

Cost: Limited Trial is free indefinitely. Or you can unlock Calm Premium for $19.99/mo, $59.99/year or $549.99/lifetime access.

Walking for Weight Loss

These days I’m mixing up my workout routine - from boxing, badminton and tennis, to yoga, pilates and now, walking. You read that right. I had no idea that walking was actually a legit activity that could lead to weight management and a much healthier lifestyle in general. In my mind, going for walks meant a leisurely stroll along the seawall. Evidently there are people all over the world losing and maintaining their weight by eating healthy and simply walking every day, using apps like this one. I recently discovered Walking for Weight Loss and have been using fairly consistently. Based on the health information you feed it, along with what your goals are, it recommends a walking plan for you. It comes with a voice guide that keeps you motivated and tells you specifically the amount of time to walk, whether to do a regular or brisk walk, and when to cool down. It maps where you walk, and gives you important data like the duration, calories burned, your pace (min/km). 

Cost: Premium Monthly (1 month) is $8.99/mo or Premium Yearly (1 Year) is $38.99/year

YYoga at Home

With the COVID-19 pandemic making in-person yoga classes less desirable, many people are turning to online yoga workouts. My favourite yoga studio, YYoga, luckily offers these virtual classes so you can do your downward dogs in isolation (and hopefully, peace - unless you have young kids). What I love is that I can find my favourite local instructors on this service as well. There are classes for all levels and all types, from yin and power, to flow and hatha. You can also find a number of pilates classes and even meditation. And at $7.99/mo, it’s a bargain.

Cost: $7.99/mo

Clue

This is my go-to app to track my period. I can never remember the name of this app (not sure what ‘Clue’ has to do with periods…) but whenever I type in ‘period’ in the search bar, it magically pops up. Clue is one of those apps that gets smarter the more you use it. Its usefulness is only as good as the data you input - so info about when you are feeling crampy, when your period actually begins, how light or heavy the flow is, when it stops, etc. will determine when you ovulate as well. The coolest thing about it is once you’ve entered in about a year’s worth of data, it gets pretty darn accurate as to predicting when your period will start, stop and your most fertile period. It calculates your cycle length, period length and cycle variation too. Because while I’d like to think I’m super regular, the app will set you straight.

Cost: FREE