6 Apps to Help You Stay Healthy

6 apps to help you stay healthy

Apps for a healthy lifestyle

Confession time: It took me about four months to ever buy my first app. Part of it was laziness, part of it was indifference, but it was all washed away once I caved and downloaded that first one. Since then, I’ve realised how amazing apps can be for getting organised, staying motivated and making life a whole lot easier. And when it comes to your health, nothing’s better than having the tools you need right in the palm of your hand.

1. Sleep Cycle alarm clock

For everyone who’s ever woken up groggy and half-asleep, hitting the snooze button over and over until the last possible moment—this app is for you. Sleep Cycle aims to wake you up during your lightest sleep phase so you can avoid that extremely tired feeling in the morning. You simply place your phone near you while you sleep and the app tracks your body movement, finding the best moment to wake you up during a thirty minute window that ends at your preferred alarm time.

2. Glow

Start taking control of your health with Glow, the app that helps track your period, identify your ovulation day, and assist you through all parts of your reproductive health. By providing recommendations and insights, Glow can help you in whatever stage you’re in, whether you’re trying to conceive or just want to stay more organised.

3. Lumosity

Once you’re out of school and without daily assignments and exams, it can be hard to actively exercise your mind. Lumosity helps by working with you to train your memory, attention, flexibility, speed, and problem solving. The app creates a personalised training program for you, using fun games to help challenge your brain and keep track of your progress.

4. C25K 

We all hear about the importance of cardio, but if you’ve never done it before, how do you know where to begin? C25K (Couch Potato to 5K Runner) is perfect for beginners, as it’s designed specifically for people who have just started to take up running. The app sets you up with three 30-40 minute workouts a week, including warm ups and cool downs, and it’s compatible with Spotify, Pandora, Nike+, and other pedometers. In just eight weeks you should be ready to finish a 5K and maybe even move onto a half marathon?

5. Food Tripping

Whether you’re at home or on the road, Food Tripping helps you find the best local, healthy eating options. Using GPS, Food Tripping locates the closest juice places, farmers’ markets, organic coffee joints, and more, so no matter where you are you can avoid resorting to gas station hot dogs and vending machine snacks.

6. Pocket Yoga

Don’t let your busy schedule stop you from keeping up with your yoga practice. Pocket Yoga has all types of yoga poses, spanning various levels of difficulty and duration, and will guide you through a yoga session whenever it’s convenient for you. Just set up in your favourite spot, open the app, and start your practice. You can even play music from your personal library while Pocket Yoga is running, making your practice even more customisable.

Do you have any other great apps that help you stay healthy? Let us know!

Madison Feller

Madison is a student at the University of Missouri, where she studies magazine journalism, business and computer science. She is a freelance journalist and has previously written for the Columbia Missourian, Levo League, and her work has appeared in Business Insider. Follow her at @_madisonline where she regularly tweets about teen magazines and her love of red velvet cupcakes.