In our blog How to Start Meditating, we explained the benefits of meditation and provided tips for getting started. Meditation can help to reduce stress, improve memory, increase your energy, and help to manage pain. One of the easiest ways to start meditating is by using a mobile device. There are many apps available today that can help you reduce stress and find inner peace (even if for just a few minutes). According to Psychology Today, the top five meditation apps are Sattva, Calm, Headspace, the Mindfulness App, and Buddhify.
Top 5 Meditation Apps
Sattva
Sattva provides the following tools: free guided meditations and sounds, heart rate monitoring, insights engine, meditation timer, mood tracker, challenges and trophies. Sattva allows users to measure, manage, and track their progress towards a meditative state. It also offers challenges that will help motivate the user to stay focused. Sattva is available for free.
Calm
Like Sattva, Calm is a mindfulness meditation app. In addition to a variety of different guided meditation programs, the app features music and nature scenes and sounds to help the user focus, get centered, and relax. The initial download of the app is free but there is a fee associated with premium content. It costs $9.99 for a monthly subscription fee or pay an annual fee of $39.99. The premium content includes various guided sessions and sleeping programs.
Headspace
Headspace categorizes its resources into various series such as: health, relationships, performance, etc. Users can connect with friends and view progress reports. The initial download of the app is free but there is a fee associated with premium content. It costs $12.95 per month or $7.99/month if you pay an annual lump sump. The premium content includes access to the courses and series beyond the standard offering of the ‘Take 10’ course. The Take 10 course provides basic meditation guidance for 10 minute exercises designed for beginners.
Mindfulness App
The Mindfulness App has 16-guided meditations from sitting and doing breathing exercises, to remaining still in silence, or doing some yoga. The app also allows the user to chart their day-to-day meditation activities by following the guided meditations (from 3 to 30 minutes or more each). The app does come with a fee ($1.99) to download and there is premium content that is either billed for one month ($9.99), 3 months ($23.99) or 12 months ($59.99). The app will provide guided exercises reminders, and statistics for tracking purposes. The premium content includes unlimited access to the courses, games, and other on-the-go sessions and resources.
Buddhify
Buddify has more than 80+ guided meditations custom-made for every situation – traveling, at work, at home, going to sleep, and much more. There are more than 11 hours of custom meditations. The app does come with a fee ($4.99) to download but has no additional associated fees at this time. The app does include 80+ custom guided audio meditation tracks, a solo meditation timer, a reminder system, and stats to track your progress.
Download a meditation app that fits your style and needs. You will be surprised at how impactful just a few minutes of meditation a day will improve your overall health and well-being. As a caregiver you encounter stressful situations constantly so using an app to help you manage that stress is a very smart idea.
Thanks for sharing these apps. I’ll make sure to buy all of these in the app stores for my grandma. Kudos!