Most of us want to be fitter, faster and, let’s be honest, a little less stressed. But for the majority of us, life simply gets in the way: especially when that life involves running after the professional patience-testers we like to call our children.
So with April being Bubble’s de-stress month, we’ve put together a list of our favourite health and fitness apps; some to get relaxation into your hectic life; others for healthier and happier children.
1. Calm
The very moment you open Calm, soothing sounds of ocean waves fill the air. Why? Because Calm is all about feeling, you guessed it, calm.
Named as Apple’s Best App of 2017, as well being the App Store’s #1 app for mindfulness, Calm has taken the health app market by storm. Lose yourself in Calm’s guided meditation sessions, ranging from 3 to 30 minutes. That means you can take a break at work, ‘feel’ the warm embrace of a crackling fire and, dare we say it, relax.
Calm has programmes for general wellbeing, getting better sleep (although the kids may have something to say about that), as well as sessions for commuting. It’s seriously relaxing.
2. Buddhify
Aimed for those with a hectic lifestyle – which is every parent, right? – Buddhify works around you. A mindfulness app designed for mediation on-the-go, Buddhify has a category for every time of the day. So whether you’re on a busy train and can’t move, at the gym, or on a work break, plug into Buddhify and eliminate some stress from your life.
Buddhify also has a huge kids section, with over 60 meditations, made by some of the very best teachers working in mindfulness for young people today.
3. Remente
“Small actions everyday create life changing behaviours.” This is the philosophy underpinning Remente; the goal-setting app favoured by many busy parents.
Don’t be fooled, there is nothing revolutionary about Remente: for it is a Life Coach app, not a doctor. However, if used properly, Remente acts as a central home to your thoughts, goals, and personal progress. Remente helps you set personal goals, teaches you ways to achieve them, and aims to get, and keep(!), you motivated.
So if you think now is the time to start setting goals and sticking to them, Remente could very well be the app for you.
4. Strava
Ask any doctor on the best way to reduce stress, and exercise will always be one of their first suggestions.
So we say it’s time we get our running boots on, our cycling cleats locked in, and our competitive mindsets ready. Agree? Then Strava is going to revolutionise the way you exercise.
Open Strava before your run/cycle, head out, and let Strava work its magic. Strava logs your route, time, and provides an in-depth summary of your session, including a detailed comparison against previous efforts. But the best part of Strava lies in its social element, splitting your route into mini-segments, and logging your efforts against friends and others – it’s seriously motivating, it’ll get you exercising more intensely, and it will, without doubt, aid in alleviating stress.
5. Change4life sugar smart
So we’ve focused on healthy parents, but what about healthy kids? With increasing concerns about the level of childhood-obesity, Change4Life released their food scanner app last year, aiming to help parents make more informed decisions about what food to buy and give their kids.
Scan the barcodes of more than 140,000 products to get their nutritional value, as well as useful hints and tips along the way.
Search ‘Change4Life’ in your app store.
Feel stressed? Then perhaps some time off to sit back, relax, and do the things you love is in order. Download Bubble here and book a trusted sitter – you deserve it.
