With modern life stressing us all out, we rarely find ourselves taking time to look after our own health. Many people have turned to self-care and mindfulness apps for quick releases from these everyday tensions, taking a few minutes out of each day to breathe and let go of our mounting stresses. If you have never tried mindfulness, it is also not too late to learn, and including even 5 minutes into a busy workday or university schedule can hugely improve your mental health and overall happiness. But which app is best to use? There are so many competing ones available now, it can be difficult to find the right one for you (or even realise what the differences between them are). To complicate matters, paid subscriptions for premium versions push people away from apps which could really benefit them. So, here is a deep dive into four mindfulness and self-care apps that I have used on the market today, so you can find the perfect app for you.
Calm: A Perfect Meditation Companion for Those Who Find Nature Key to Peace
Nature themed, meditation, sleep stories, soundscapes
Calm has long been considered the “standard” mindfulness app that many people automatically think of when considering meditation. With its nature themed soundscapes even on first opening the app, there is (in no other words) a sense of calmness immediately! Users can also choose the background soundscape and these personalised feature help you tailor the app to what you find peaceful. For me, I love the nature theme Calm has running through it, which personally transports me to idyllic locations, even if I am just in my room. Calm offers many things: from meditations, “daily” sessions, sleep stories and soundscapes for relaxing or studying. The meditations include a breadth of needs to suit you, whether you are searching for happiness or needing an anxiety release. They also have 7-day series of meditations focused around one topic which is a great feature. And let’s not forget the sleep stories. Endorsed by countless celebrities, you can fall asleep with Harry Styles, Stephen Fry or Cillian Murphy; or alternatively search through nature themed sleep stories to drift off to. I think one of my favourite features of Calm are the personalised soundscapes that remain in the background during meditations, which helps me release any tension with the patter of rain whilst the narrator speaks, rather than just silence. What about the downsides? Calm is £39.99 a year, slightly cheaper than Headspace (at £49.99 a year), but more expensive than Finch (starting at £33.99) and Me+ (starting at £35.99 a year). In my experience, Calm is also potentially more beneficial for more experienced meditators, with less guidance offered during meditations than Headspace. However, it is still my go to app as I prefer the nature endowed themes, and the calming selection of various narrators.
Headspace: An Alternative Meditation App Offering Fun Visuals
Meditation, good for quick sessions and beginners, fun visuals
Headspace, as well as Calm, is more meditation oriented than the other two apps, revolving around mindfulness practices, sleep, and music for any mood. A good feature of Headspace is that it offers more guidance during the meditations, so perhaps is a good starting point if you have never practiced meditation before. At the same time, I can’t forget to mention the fun characters and visual aesthetic created in Headspace, very different from Calm’s nature backdrops. With the offer of various short meditations from simply 3-minute practices, Headspace may be the better option if you are squeezing in mindfulness quickly, with Calm offering less options shorter than 10 minutes. Also, the fun graphics may make Headspace the perfect option for younger audience (and even if you are in your twenties, the cute aminated characters make me smile!). Similar to Calm, Headspace also allows you to choose your narrator on some of their meditations, allowing you to tailor your experience of the app. However, for me, the lack of soundscapes behind the meditation guidance left me feeling a distracted by my own thoughts, whereas the peaceful river or thunderstorm of Calm let me focus on that even if I had a day where my brain couldn’t completely let go into the meditation.
However, a downside of both is that the free versions can be difficult to navigate- I often find myself scrolling over and over to find meditations that are included in the free app. As well, it is very frustrating to be able to access day 1 of the weekly series in Calm, to find that the later days are only for paid subscribers. Therefore, meditation with either using the free version can get kind of monotonous after a while since you have to re-listen to many of the practices.
Finch: A Virtual Pet for Your Self-Care Journey
Personalised self-care pet, interactive, good for goal setting, reflections and rounded self-care
Emerging onto the scene of self-care is Finch, a personalised virtual pet (almost like a Tamagotchi) for those working on their own health. The app essentially works under the premise that taking care of yourself takes care of your pet, a cute little bird who you can personalise, name and watch grow. Setting yourself daily goals, reflecting on your experience, and taking breathing exercises or stopping work to do some quick yoga or stretches earns you energy points that energise your pet and let them venture out the house and go on adventures. Also, as you take are of yourself, and your Finch goes wandering, you earn Rainbow Stones (the Finch currency), which you can then buy clothes, house décor and other fun items to personalise your pet. The cute, animated graphics are so endearing, and I love the sense of responsibility you have to self-care. On the more serious side, Finch has many features perfect for practicing self-love. For example, the app allows you to set personal goals, and get notifications to do these each day. A really notable feature however is under the first-aid section, which alongside all the breathing practices, has a link to helpline for those in sudden crisis. Not only this, but you can reflect on your self-care experiences, and take quizzes which are scientifically validated psychometric tests for mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Whilst Finch advises you not to take these scores in isolation, it recommends you seek professional advice if your score hints that you may be struggling. Once your Finch is back from their adventure, you can speak to them and see what they find out and encourage them to grow in confidence as you are. Personally, I love this app. I only recently found it, but I think it offers a well rounded self-care app and I feel more likely to stick to my goals with the motivation that my little friend will get stronger. My favourite feature though has to be the notifications that pop up on my lock screen every now and then, providing me with affirmations from my Finch. Whilst small, they are little pick me ups and the spontaneity of them (as you don’t have to be in the app at the time) gives you an unexpected boost of confidence.
Price wise, Finch free also offers a much wider breadth of features than Calm or Headspace, I can still access a variety of goals, reflections, quizzes, breathing practices, and movements that satisfy me. The biggest restrictions include the ability to buy clothes for your Finch and the breadth of options for each feature offered. I would say a few downsides are the lack of true meditations- whilst it has a meditation timer, this is just a stopcock for you to do your own meditations within. Also, although it does offer soundscapes, there are no narrated meditations.
Me+ : Daily Planner and Habit Tracker
Habit tracker and daily routine planner, more emphasis on healthy lifestyle than just self-care but does offer reflections and meditations too.
Whilst not as known as the others, I recently discovered Me+, a self-care and habit planning app that was developed with a particular focus on helping those with ADHD to track their habits. Differing from the rest, Me+ feels more like a daily planner and way of managing habits, that, whilst still retaining many self-care features, these feel potentially secondary to the focus on fostering healthy routines. Offering meditation, workouts, reflections, and nutrition advice, Me+ is potentially a more rounded app, merging “health” and “self-care” apps. The workouts are a bonus feature, but I felt they were quite repetitive with many exercises repeated throughout the video. Nevertheless, they offer a nice touch and are great for beginners. If you are looking for a more adult feeling user interface, Me+ is a good alternative to Finch, as it also allows you to set notified goals each day, but in a less interactive “game like” manner. One feature I did enjoy was the ability to choose an affirmation on your library, giving you a personalised reminder each time you enter the app. Similar to Finch, Me+ free still offers a huge variety of features and whilst I haven’t used this app long, I have not found too many barriers in place by needing a subscription. However, for those wanting a structured self-care plan, all the templates are only accessible if you pay, perhaps limiting the apps usefulness as a routine and habit planner.
Summary
There is so much choice nowadays in self-care apps. Having explored all these four, I have settled in using Calm for my daily meditation and when I want a longer sleep story in the evening. However, I use Finch as my daily self-care app. Finch gives me the motivation to take care of myself and set personalised goals. Moreover, I love the fun interface and interactive nature, feeling actually responsible for this little virtual pet! I think it makes taking care of your mental health fun and enjoyable. This, alongside the serenity that Calm provides, is perfect for my personal needs. However, everyone is different, so you may find a different app works better for you. I hope this article helps you pick that perfect self-care companion to help you on your own mindfulness journey.