Health and wellbeing are subjective topics. For some, it means springing out of bed in the early hours, shimmying into gym gear and downing a quick lemon-infused water on route to a Pilates class, and for others, it simply means working towards hitting a daily step count goal, or incorporating more fruit and veg into your diet. One thing we can agree on is that health is our greatest asset – it has a huge impact on our quality of life and is something we’ve got to keep working out to maintain. The World Health Organisation defines overall health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” And while there are many roads to living a healthy life, uptake in technology and the prevalence of health and wellness apps mean it’s now easier than ever before to keep goals, workouts, calorie counts and guided meditation in your back pocket.
We’ve scoured the web, and here, we showcase 10 of the very best health and wellness apps available.
1. Headspace: Meditate and relax
One of the highest-rated meditation apps in the game, Headspace promises to ‘make meditation simple’ with the ultimate goal of helping make mindfulness an everyday habit. Founded by former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe who wanted to share his learnings with the world, Headspace features guided meditations, courses, and mindfulness exercises on stress and general anxiety. The app provides you with all the tools you need to learn how to relax, manage stress, find your focus, and release tension.
2. Noom: Healthy eating without a diet in sight
Noom is a psychology-based program that focusses on changing your behaviours around food rather than cutting out foods or following a restrictive diet or intense fitness regime. It aims to help transform your habits through a series of 10 personalised mini-courses (that you complete at your own pace). A team of nutritionists, personal trainers and behavioural psychologists are behind the scenes to help you reach your goals, and you can even access one-on-one guidance from a designated health coach. The app has a database of over 1 million food items, over 1,000 interactive lessons, and plenty of healthy recipes to keep you on track.
3. Apple Fitness+: The no-excuses wellness app
Whether you’ve got 5 or 45 minutes, equipment or no equipment, want to focus on meditation, going for a walk, or your core, the Fitness+ for iPhone or Apple Watch means you’ve got no excuse to inject some wellness into your day. With over 3,000 workouts and meditations to choose from, on-screen instructors keep the motivation high, and additional trainers in each class mean plenty of modifications are available for all fitness levels. Apple Watch users get a comprehensive view of their performance with real-time metrics to help you monitor your progress.
4. KIC (Keep It Cleaner): Your ticket to holistic health
Co-founded by best friends Steph Claire Smith and Laura Henshaw right here in our backyard, KIC is a hugely successful and fast-growing health and wellness app that focusses on four key areas – movement, mindfulness, nutrition, and community. With over 300 expertly delivered workouts – across Pilates, boxing, yoga, HIIT and dance cardio – the offering is rounded out with guided meditations and meal plans (catering to plenty of different dietary requirements), meaning the holistic health box is well and truly ticked!
5. Sweat: Fit and female
This one’s for the ladies! Sweat is a workout app designed by women for women with a crew of the world’s best female trainers to take you through your paces. The app’s co-founder Kalya Itsines (a fellow Australian), is recognised as one of the most influential trainers in the world and has been helping women reach their health and fitness goals through her programs since 2015. Kayla has taken her community along on her own personal journey, introducing highly regarded prenatal and post-pregnancy programs to cater to mums like herself.
6. Sleep Cycle: The best in rest
Sleep provides a crucial foundation for overall wellbeing, and the Sleep Cycle app can help you get the rest you need. This sleep-tracking app helps you track your sleep cycles to gain thorough insights into your sleep patterns and phases (heavy and light). It also records noises like sleep talking – which can make for hilarious listening the morning after! Within the app, you can set yourself a Sleep Goal – which incorporates set bedtime and wake-up alarms to help you achieve consistent sleep patterns and quality sleep.
7. MyFitnessPal: Nutrition and fitness for free
One of the best free fitness and nutrition tracking apps, the MyFitnessPal app helps you track your nutrition, water intake, and fitness progress in one spot. Its main objective is to help you become more mindful about your consumption – getting specific with carb, protein, and fat indicators – and understanding portion sizes and nutrients. Overall, it’s a great way to stay accountable and develop healthy eating habits.
8. Nike Training Club: Work out for free
With a range of classes for people of all skill levels, the Nike Training Club app is a winner for helping to maintain great health – and all it will cost you is a bit of space to download onto your smartphone! Touted as an app that outperforms even the most expensive fitness apps with 5-star reviews for as far as the eye can see, it’s easy to use, learns what you like, offers you nutrition and wellness tips and even lets you know if organised activities are running locally – so you can connect with a like-minded community. And all at no cost!
9. Strava: Track and share your tracks
Founded in 2009, Strava is not new on the scene, but this fitness-tracking app is a stand-out for runners, cyclists, swimmers, and avid walkers who want to, well, track their tracks. It saves the routes you have taken via live GPS, lets you add photos along the way, and doubles as a social networking app for fellow fitspo friends. You can share your statistics, give virtual high fives and even post your accomplishments on other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
10. Streaks: Your virtual to-do list
If you’re prone to having a few to-do lists on the go, this app might help you get through them a little easier. Streaks is an Apple Design award-winning app that tracks up to 24 tasks you want to complete each day. The app syncs up with your other devices using iCloud and keeps you motivated with helpful reminders throughout the day. Relying on the feel-good factor (serotonin release) that we experience when we tick things off our list, Streaks makes it easy to prioritise everything from cooking a healthy dinner to fitting a lunchtime walk into your day.
Embrace tech for healthy habits
From sleep to fitness goals and everything in between, plenty of great apps are available to help you prioritise health and wellbeing. But for some of us, our environment plays a big part in our overall wellbeing. If part of your health and wellbeing goals mean leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the city in favour of laid-back country or coastal lifestyle, get in touch with your local First National Real Estate office about making your next move.
DISCLAIMER
The following advice is of a general nature only and intended as a broad guide. The advice should not be regarded as legal, financial or real estate advice. You should make your own inquiries and obtain independent professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances before making any legal, financial or real estate decisions. Click here for full Terms of Use.