It’s winter, the dark nights are drawing in and morale can often drop to an all time low at this time of year, especially if you are working at home without much face-to-face communication with colleagues. Yes, freelancing has its perks, especially setting your own work hours on the run up to Christmas but downloading a wellness app can help you turn that frown upside-down on a cold winter’s day. But which are the best wellness apps to download? Let us give you a run-down of the five top Interim Digital approved wellness apps to boost your mood and improve your mental health.
The All Rounder: Feel Better by Deliciously Ella
There are so many factors that contribute to your overall mental health and these include the environment where you work, your sleep habits, what you fuel your body with and of course how often you move your body. Focusing on improving your diet, exercise regime and sleep habits by as little as 10% can have a huge impact on your mood and motivation levels and of course, the quality of your work. For this reason, an app that is a great all-rounder can be very beneficial. The Feel Better app was created by blogger and foodie Deliciously Ella and within it you will find nutritious and healthy recipes, exercise classes you can do at home as well as multiple mindfulness practices to enhance your mood.
Pro tip: There’s a free 7-day trial for you to decide if its for you before you subscribe.
Wellness for Beginners: Headspace
Burnout is one of the downsides to being your own boss and if you often experience anxiety and overwhelm when managing your daily workload, Headspace is the app for you. The health benefits of meditation are well documented these days and whether your aim is to improve health and wellbeing in general or you want to combat anxiety and depression, the Headspace app gives you access to hundreds of easy-to-follow guided meditations.
Pro tip: This is a superb app for those who are new to meditation as it’s easy to navigate and features short meditation sessions for those who are at a beginner level.
For Advanced Wellness: Calm
Another meditation focussed app, Calm is suited to both beginner and advanced users and is aimed at those who want to make meditation part of their daily routine. Often freelancing can come with funding worries, unpredictable hours and feast and famine cycles which unsurprisingly can cause a few sleepless nights. If your creative brain struggles to switch off, Calm is one of the best wellness apps out there for aiding sleep and relaxation, two things we could all do with a bit more of.
Pro tip: Their relaxing sleep stories narrated by Hollywood stars such as Matthew McConaughey and Harry Styles mean this app is anything but a generic wellness app.
For Purpose and Productivity: Streaks
Sometimes hitting those big goals relies on hitting a plethora of small goals but a long list of micro-goals is often tricky to keep track of. Well, there’s an app for that and it’s called Streaks. This app allows you keep note of these small goals and makes it easy to implement them and incorporate them into your day. Streaks basically keeps you accountable and motivates you to tick off that to do list.
Pro tip: Say your goal is to go for a run more or practice yoga three times per week, this app will keep tabs on your progress and encourage you not to break the positive streak.
For Focus: Endel
If you find it hard to focus on one task at a time or you find yourself being distracted and doom scrolling social media (we’ve all been there) Endel can help you hone in on the task at hand and achieve it in record time. This clever app uses soundscapes to help you fully immerse yourself in any task. Whether you want to give 100% to an exercise class, household chores, a work task or a deep restorative sleep, there’s a soundscape for that. Swap your tired soundtrack for a personalised soundscape from Endel and watch your productivity soar.
Pro tip: This innovative app uses your environment, your heart-rate and your location to create a soundscape that energises you, relaxes you or inspires you depending on your need.
Looking after your mental health and making your wellbeing a priority is essential for freelancers and creatives, use our top recommended wellness apps to ensure you’re thriving not just surviving this winter.