There are countless ways to support our daily wellbeing. Yet, as busy lives get in the way, we often let them fall to the bottom of our priority list.
So, these 10 apps are our choice of the most effective, easily-accessible forms of support, which you can download straight onto your phone.
These apps can help users support their daily wellbeing in multiple ways, including via mental health support, screen time reduction, healthy recipes, exercise and meditation classes, positive habit trackers, and period tracking.
10. One Sec
On average, an online user spends 17 hours per week on social media. Studies show that heavy social media use is associated with an increase of psychological distress, depression, and anxiety. One Sec aims to decrease daily ‘doom scrolling’ by making you pause a second before you open certain apps and telling you how many times you’ve clicked on that app that day, giving you the power to break habits and actively choose, without putting up time limits or scheduled blockers.
Website: https://one-sec.app/
9. Shmoody
Shmoody offers action plans, a supportive community, and fun challenges in a less clinical approach to mental health.
With more than 100,000 users, it reports a 38% mood improvement and nearly 200,000 positive real-world actions, citing that “real mental health work happens once the phone is put down”.
Its challenges and access to the community provide accountability and support, using daily interaction to facilitate long-term growth and fun, bright graphics to reach the people on the other side of the screen.
Website: https://www.shmoodyapp.com/
8. Sleep Cycle
Sleep Cycle aims to improve general health and wellbeing through daily sleep tracking; it believes that great, consistent sleep lays the foundations for nutrition, exercise and mindfulness - all things that contribute to good mental health and wellbeing.
The app tracks the user’s sleep cycle through sound analysis, facilitating a deeper understanding of sleep patterns, before giving routine advice to aid better sleep. Launched in 2009, Sleep Cycle now has over two million active users in more than 150 countries worldwide and has analysed over two billion nights of sleep.
Website: https://www.sleepcycle.com/
7. Productive
Habit-tracking app Productive is used by over 9 million people to build healthy routines, track progress, and achieve goals faster.
The app, which was developed by Apalon and voted Best Mobile App in 2018 and 2020, offers daily guided tasks and challenges alongside articles using expert insights to grow user awareness of routine building and personal improvement. The statistics and progress analysers work alongside the scheduled notifications to improve daily wellbeing in the fully customisable motivational app.
Website: https://www.apalon.com/productive.html
6. Clue
Clue is a daily period tracker app with over 11 million monthly users. It allows users to track their periods, ovulation and PMS, enabling them to see patterns and how their cycle affects things like mood, skin, energy levels, and much more. It also offers sleep, alcohol, contraceptive use, emotion, sex, and exercise tracking, providing users with insights into how their cycle interacts with their wider wellbeing, with a wide range of articles available to enhance understanding of all-things-periods!
Website: https://helloclue.com/
5. Streaks
Streaks is the Apple Design Award Winning to-do list that helps you form good habits.
The app allows users to set up to 24 daily tasks and motivates completion through the development of streaks; if the task isn’t completed, the streak is broken and resets to 0 days. For some tasks, the app can connect to Apple Health and automatically track them, for example, if you wanted to walk at least 7000 steps a day.
Website: https://streaksapp.com/
4. Feel Better by Deliciously Ella
Founded in 2014 by British vegan food blogger Eleanor Mills (known as Deliciously Ella), Feel Better is a one-stop shop for wellbeing, offering 800+ healthy plant-based recipes, meal plans & accompanying shopping lists, 300+ at-home exercise classes run by experts (including yoga, barre, strength and cardio, meditation), a podcast, articles, and more.
The daily tracker allows users to stay on top of the multiple features, alongside other key metrics like water intake and sleep. What’s more, it can also link to Apple Health to include steps and movement monitoring.
3. Vos
Vos is a self reflection tool - created by mental health experts, psychologists and tech enthusiasts - that takes small, personalised, daily steps to improve user wellbeing.
Through questions, meaningful activities and affirmations that are personalised daily, users can track their moods and habits to continuously work on their mental health.
The app, which also offers a live chat with professional advisors, has over 1.2 million users worldwide and reports that 85% of these feel positive results within a week.
Website: https://vos.health/
2. My Possible Self
Featured on the NHS Apps Library, My Possible Self is an app created in partnership with world leaders in mental health and assessed by the NHS as clinically safe and secure to use. It contains clinically-certified content from Priory Healthcare, using cognitive behavioural therapy to help users manage anxiety, tackle depression, ease stress. and improve sleep.
It was founded in 2009, after Joanne Wilkinson was inspired by her own experience with therapy to create a platform that made mental health support accessible. Since then, it has gone on to win multiple awards, including Best Mental Health App GLAMOUR Wellness Power List 2022 and 2023, Highly Commended - Technology Solution of the Year. Leading Healthcare Awards 2022 and Personal Wellbeing App of the Year - Corporate LiveWire Global Awards 2022/2023. The platform also offers a wide range of supporting articles and workplace support.
Website: https://www.mypossibleself.com/
1. Headspace
Our number one choice for well-rounded, accessible daily wellbeing support, Headspace promotes users taking 10 minutes a day to check in with themselves, meditate, and clear their minds.
Founded in 2010 and led by former Buddhist monk and meditation expert Andy Puddicombe, the app has over 70 million downloads, is used in 190 countries globally.
With fans including Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma Watson, and Antoni Porowski, Headspace reports its app users feeling 14% less stressed in 10 days. It offers a wide range of articles and sessions on topics, including meditation, sleep, movement, stress, focus, and alertness, all aiming to take a small part of the user’s day for them to focus on themselves and their wellbeing, allowing that to improve the wider part of their lives.
Sleep sounds, focus music, yoga, mental health resources and workouts all contribute to Headspace’s well-rounded approach to personal wellbeing, and the platform also offers Headspace for Work to be used in teams.
Website: https://www.headspace.com/
