The Best Wellness Apps in 2018
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Written By: Brianna Snyder
I have elaborate fantasies about outsourcing my health to robots one day. Cook for me. Exercise for me. Force-feed me eight glasses of water a day. Health is just a big management job, and when AI takes over, I hope they build “Making Sure Brianna Gets Regular Checkups” into their OS.
Thankfully, there are apps, of course, that somewhat approximate a robo health-nanny. Apps for yoga, diet tracking, and even period monitoring can help you keep tabs on what’s going on with your bod--which is super healthy.
So what are the best apps to get right now? We did a little searchy search and found the must-have apps for 2018. So far.
CLUE
It might seem like this one is just for the ladies--and it mostly is--but guys, it’s not the worst thing for you to be tuned in to what’s happening with your partner’s cycles. Clue keeps track of ovulation, PMS, and menstruation with a regularly updated graph and a series of questions and prompts that help you to anticipate and recognize your body’s hormonal shifts and signals. It’s really, honestly, comforting to feel unusual agitation or a specific craving and be able to see on your app that what you’re feeling is (or isn’t!) related to your cycle. Those hormones are seriously intense. Wrangle ’em.
HEADSPACE
At this point, even your conservative uncle Fred probably practices meditation. We’re in total meditation saturation in 2018, so if you’re late to this party you need Headspace.
Look, I get it. Sitting and thinking about nothing is a lot more fun in theory than in practice. If you’re like me, meditation is anxiety-inducing, sending you into a thought-loop about whether you’re doing it right, whether it’s working, whether it’s stupid, whether you’re actually thinking about nothing.
Headspace helps you push through all of that. Regardless of skill level or how much time you have, this app can hand-hold you through head-clearing meditation or prompt you to take the exact quality and quantity of space you need.
AAPTIV
If you don’t have the coin to drop on a personal trainer, Aaptiv is the next best thing to hiring a person IRL to yell at you to drop and give them 50.
For about $15 a month, Aaptiv’s certified trainers coach you through thousands of different workouts and programs. It’s all over audio (to minimize feeling self-conscious!), plus you’ll receive workouts tailored to your goals and needs.
MEND
Breaking up is hard to do. Stop staring at the phone waiting for them to text and instead get this app, which brings you through daily exercises, journaling, and audio trainings. You’ll track your progress to recovery in the app, too, which maybe wasn’t something you’d ever thought you want but it actually proves pretty useful.
MY POSSIBLE SELF
Mental health is (or can be) more complicated than just tracking your mood. But you’ll be surprised by how much tuning into your moods--and their triggers--helps you navigate your day-to-day life and feelings. With prompts, tracking, and journaling My Possible Self works with you and your goals to build the emotional internal life you need, want, and deserve.
DELICIOUSLY ELLA
Deliciously Ella is nothing if not gorgeous to look at, but it’s functional, too, with hundreds of vegan, gluten-free and sugar-free recipes to inspire your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Think: lemon cardamom pancakes. Think: sweet potato and black bean shepherd’s pie. Think: scones!
You might not have your sights set on veganism necessarily, but this is a good stepping stone into a plant-based diet, which, let’s face it, does make a person feel amazing.
UNROLL.ME
Seventy-five promo emails in your inbox can run that number up and give you major agita. You know that number. The one that sits right at the corner of your mail app, ticking up minute by minute, reminding you every second that you’re falling behind.
Unroll syncs up with your email (safely) and takes note of what subscriptions are dogging your inbox. Then--click!--unsubscribes en masse.
Seriously just think about how good that’ll feel.
SLEEP CYCLE
I know playing “just one more” on Netflix feels good in the moment, but remember when that alarm goes off in the morning you’re going to wish you’d made a better choice the night before.
Or maybe you’ll just wish you had a nice robot to gently rouse you right when you’re most wake-up-able.
Sleep Cycle uses sound analysis to track your sleep and wake you naturally. Mark a half-hour window you’d like to wake up in, and Sleep Cycle will gently lure you from sleep right when you were about to open your eyes anyway. Probably.