It Might Seem Counterintuitive, but the Devices that Drive You Crazy Can also Help You Get Centered via Apps(2020):10 Best Stress Relief Apps to Transform Your Life

It Might Seem Counterintuitive, but the Devices that Drive You Crazy Can also Help You Get Centered via Apps(2020):10 Best Stress Relief Apps to Transform Your Life

Source www.pcmag.com

Managing stress is a skill that everyone needs to develop. Fortunately, new tools can bring stress management within easy reach. But searching for new tools to manage stress can be tedious. It's vital that you know what you're looking for and that you can separate out the helpful from the overhyped. To get started on managing your stress, check out our top apps for 2021:

Related articles

Why Stress Builds Up in Our Life

Financial Problems

As you might know, one of the major causes of stress is your financial condition. So, the obvious reason would be that the less financially stable you are, the more tension you will face. Another way this can impact is the more financial stability you have, the better healthcare you can afford.

Family Problems

If you are facing problems related to your wife, children, girlfriend, or parents, you can again face severe levels of stress. Some of these problems can include how your children might not be doing too well in college, or divorce with your wife, or simply your parents being too hard on you.

Workplace Problems

This can be related to financial problems but isn't limited to just that. Another way this can cause stress is if your colleagues or employer is not treating you right and bullying you. Another way your workplace can cause stress is if your workplace is not so clean with a lot of dirt and noise and all.

School-Related Problems

In case you are a child, you can also get high levels of stress because of your school-related problems. Here, again, there are various factors. For instance, the most obvious one would be if you aren't doing so well in the tests. Another way this can affect you is if the school mates or the teachers are not treating you right.

Things to Consider When Choosing a Stress Relief App

Source techviral.net

When choosing your preferred stress relief app, there are many different factors to take into consideration. For instance, you will have to check if the app is paid or free and, if it is paid, can you afford the amount that it will cost you. Here, you will also have to check if it is a one-time buy or if you will have to subscribe monthly or yearly. The prices of some apps also vary from device to device so you will also have to check that.

Another factor to consider is your exact purpose. So, yeah, your main purpose is to reduce stress but do you even know what it is caused by? If not, the SAM app will help you do just that. If you do, think of how you want to cope with it; do you want to try meditation? Do you want some workouts? Or, do you simply want to read stories and all?

You will also have to check if the app is even available for you. Meaning, if you have an iPhone or MacBook, can it even be downloaded on it? The same goes for Android devices. So, now that you know some of the causes of stress and how to choose the best stress relief app for yourself, below are some of the best ones out there.

Best Stress Relief Apps to Give a Try

Calm

Costing around 70 USD per year, the Calm App is among the very best stress relief apps out there. So, the basic purpose of the app is to provide you with nearly all the meditational techniques that can help with stress and anxiety. Now, although it does have a free version, the paid one is highly suggested as, unlike the free one, it doesn't just include a handful of exercises but a large variety.

Also, it doesn't stop just there. The app is also known to include sleep stories and is very easy to use. Also, new sessions are added every day with the narrator's voice being really calming and the sessions being guided as well as unguided to provide an array of choices. Other than that, you will also be glad to know that it is available on both, Android and iOS.

Headspace

Source www.cnet.com

Being another great guided meditation app for stress relief, Headspace is also available for Android as well as iOS. It, just like the first, has hundreds of meditations that range in level, starting from the very basic for the beginners. Also, it will provide techniques that require no equipment at all and can be carried out anywhere as well as the ones that require professional-grade accessories.

It also has various sessions and courses each one of which focuses on a particular thing and is led by experts. The app can be used for free but the subscription, which costs 95 USD a year, will simply up all the benefits, including a lot of courses and even effective workouts from well-known experts. A small selection of their programs is available under a free plan.

Personal Zen

Built by leading scientist and mobile developers, Personal Zen is an app designed for relaxation that includes methods which are backed by over twenty years of clinical research by the founders. In addition to that, this app is completely free and includes brief sessions that can be carried out at any time of the day, depending on your schedule.

To be precise, the app includes sessions of five to ten minutes to over forty minutes at a time to provide more options. For how it will actually help, the app will let you focus on the positives of life and stay away from the negative while also presenting to you the exercises that can help relieve the tension within muscles.

Self-Help for Anxiety Management (SAM)

Being the best app if you haven't even yet figured out what is causing you to stress up too much, the SAM App will help you to monitor the anxious thoughts and then figure out what is causing them. Once this part is over, it will introduce to you 25 different self-help methods to fight stress.

Through these, it will help you to build your own anti-stress toolkit to be used whenever you get stressed up and will also help you to stay happy and relax more often. Also, the app is very user-friendly and is free to use. It can also be downloaded on the App Store as well as Google Play.

Buddify

Source buddhify.com

With over two hundred meditations, Buddify is another great app to help fight challenges like anxiety, pain, stress, and difficult emotions, etc. It will help with these by making you practice mindfulness and includes sessions ranging from about three minutes for beginners to nearly forty minutes for the ones with more experience.

Also, all these have been divided in numerous ways including for different purposes like reducing tension or for where you are like at work or travelling, etc. The app also has many experienced teachers to choose from the many styles and voices and get the one that suits you best. The app can be bought on Apple Store for about 4.99 USD and from the Google Play Store for 2.99 USD.

iSleep Easy

Source apkpure.com

Being free, this next iSleep Easy App by Meditation Oasis is a great choice if you are not facing major stress problems. So, it contains just nine guided meditations along with three music choices to help relax your mind as well as the body. Also, it has five different nature sound choices that increase the impact even further.

In addition to all that, it has three different preset playlists with different combinations of meditations and also various tips to improve your sleep. You also have the choice to make your own playlist that can include up to six different meditations and can be downloaded on both, Android devices as well as Apple devices.

Fit Mind

Designed particularly for Apple devices like iPhones and iPad, the FitMind app has a free version, but the paid subscription is also available and costs 69.99 USD per year. It has a thirty-day advanced meditation training program to systematically train your mind and you can also track your progress to check the fitness of your mind whenever you want.

You can also ask questions about your progress and scientific explanations of the techniques are also available. It also has guided pieces of training and regular lessons are added daily. It also integrates with the Apple Health app, letting you control your progress even better while also being able to access various related books, retreats, and researches, etc.

Moodnotes

Source www.ustwo.com

Made particularly to track your mood, the Moodnotes App will help check your mood in different conditions and times of the day, helping you to find effective solutions to them. So, this app will scan your face using the camera of the Apple device that you are using as this is available on  App Store only and not Google Play and will help figure out your exact mood.

Once done, it will help develop healthier thinking habits and know the 'traps' in your way of thinking, helping you to avoid them later. Through this, it will help enhance your well-being and reduce anxiety as well as stress while also bringing more perspectives to situations and increasing self-awareness. The premium version costs 39.99 USD but a free version is also available.

Fitbit

Even though it has not been particular made for stress control, the Fit Bit App can help with it. So, it is available on Apple Store and Google Playstore as well as Microsoft Store. It can help control not just your every day steps and exercises but can also record your sleep conditions.

By being able to control this and even set goals, you will be able to keep your body fit and mind healthy, reducing the stress levels to an extent. Once you have set the goals, the app will set up reminders to help achieve the weekly goals and contains over 240 video workouts as well.

The Mindfulness App

In case you are looking to reduce your stress levels by becoming more involved, rather present, in your everyday life, we would suggest that you give The Mindfulness App a try. So, it is great whether you are a beginner or an experienced person and can be used in various different aspects of life.

For instance, you can use it to improve your sleep or simply use one of the over 250 meditational techniques. Also, with this, you can set up reminders or choose for timed sessions, depending on however much time you have and whenever you have it. So, this one is also available on both, the App Store and Google Play Store, and the annual subscription costs 59.99 USD.

Additional Tips to Help You to Get Rid of Stress

Eat Right

In case you tried the above websites and didn't like any one of those or simply didn't like their way, you can also try some other ways, or reducing stress. For instance, one great way, that is very simple, and easily applicable is to eat certain foods.

So, what we would suggest is that you try foods like matcha powder, swiss chard, or sweet potatoes. Some other great foods that can help with stress and anxiety include foods like kimchi, artichokes, or acerola cherries. In case you want to go on the dairy side, you can try eggs while organ meats and fatty fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel, and herring, etc, would also be very great choices.

Exercise More

One of the most well-known ways to help reduce stress is to simply exercise more as this would relax your muscle, releasing the tension while also calming your mind and body. Also, these will reduce the stress hormones and improve stress as well as confidence. So, here, exercising does not just include the arduous workouts but also other forms of exercises like dancing, jogging, or even simply walking.

You can also try yoga as that can also be very beneficial. However, as you might not know, even chewing gums as a way of exercising can be very good at reducing stress levels and making yourself healthier.

Talk to Someone

Among the most effective ways to improve your stress levels would be to talk to someone. So, by letting out your feelings and talking to someone you trust, you will be able to calm your nerves and improve your overall health, hence reducing the stress levels greatly.

By doing this, if you are facing some problems, the other person might simply be able to help you solve them. Or, if it isn't much of a problem but rather a misunderstanding, the other person might be able to help you understand the whole situation, having similar effects.

Listen to Music

Another great way to reduce your stress and anxiety levels would be through the various types of music. Now, the type of music really depends on you but we would suggest a couple of things that you should keep in mind when forming your playlist.

So, firstly, you should try and choose the songs that are quite cheerful rather than sad ones. However, these should also not be too loud as that could affect your mind badly rather than calming it. Other than that, we would also suggest that you don't just lay down and listen to music as that can make you lethargic, increasing your anxiety further. Instead, try and do it while walking or doing chores of the day.

Related articles
From our editorial team

Conclusion!

Having an app with all the right tools is great. Make sure you follow the right content app. Check your needs and budget. There is always an option for your needs. You can read reviews before considering any app for yourself. Take advice from people who have been already used the app before can guide you in the right way.