5 FREE Self-Care Apps You Must Have on Your Phone

Catherine Choy

​Self-care is a goal we should all have for ourselves. With so many things going on in our everyday lives and social media in the way, we typically forget the importance of keeping ourselves healthy, physically and mentally. Thankfully, there are amazing FREE self-care apps created to help you stay healthy and balanced. These apps include daily motivational texts, meditation practices, and brain training programs.

Here are five FREE self-care apps that may be helpful in your road towards a better quality of life:

1. Shine

Shine’s main goal is to make you feel better about yourself and does so by sending motivational and relatable texts to your phone daily. These texts include quotes or sayings that provide affirmation and reassurance to get you through the day. You may use this app to track what you are grateful for and update your mood throughout the day. They also offer a variety of options such as read up on advice, meditate, or exercise based on how you are feeling. The daily motivational messages are free; however, you must buy a subscription to use the premium features. The subscription costs $11.99 per month or $53.99 per year. Shine made it on Apple’s Best of 2018! 
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2. Headspace
Headspace is one of the most popular self-care apps. The main focus of this app is to help you learn how to clear your mind and get a better night’s rest. This will eventually lead you to be happier and healthier. The free Basics course offers lessons on how to practice their techniques on meditation and mindfulness to relax. You have the option to choose a male or female voice, both of which are very soothing. Headspace is a great app to manage stress and anxiety. For more features and access to the full meditation library, you must subscribe for $12.99 per month or $94.99 per year.

3. Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds
If you have trouble sleeping and want to fix that, Relax Melodies is the app for you! Relax Melodies has a variety of melodies and sounds that you can select from based on your preference to help you sleep. You can also adjust the volume of any sound or melody you choose and have the option to combine them to create a mix you feel comfortable listening to. For example, you can listen to the sound of rainfall while a beautiful piano melody plays simultaneously. These sounds are soothing and can also be used to simply relax. There are dozens of free sleep sounds; however, similar to the other apps mentioned, you have to buy a subscription for more features for $9.99 a month or $59.99 for a lifetime.

4. Lumosity
With over 90 million users, Lumosity was the 2018 Appstore App of the Day! Lumosity is a free brain training program that is full of fun-filled games. These games test your memory, attention, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. The games are short so that it will not take too much of your time; however, they do require an immense amount of focus. The goal is to challenge your cognitive skills in a fun matter. So pause social media and play the free games Lumosity has to offer to challenge your problem-solving skills! If you would like for Lumosity to keep track of your scores and create games that would be carefully made to challenge you specifically, then you may buy a subscription for $11.99 a month and $59.99 a year.

5. Goodreads
Goodreads is one of the largest sites for readers and book recommendations. This app recommends new and popular books that you would love based on your previous readings. They also provide a barcode you may use at the bookstore to easily find the book you’ve been wanting to read. With Goodreads, you can see what your friends are reading, recommend books, write book reviews, and discuss with others about the plot or ask any questions you may have. This makes reading much more fun than it already is. In other words, Goodreads created a community and social media for readers!  

Sources: 
https://www.bustle.com/p/7-self-care-apps-to-help-you-stay-balanced-in-2019-15643553
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/shine-self-care-meditation/id1293721589
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/goodreads-book-reviews/id355833469
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/headspace-meditation-sleep/id493145008
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/relax-melodies-sleep-sounds/id314498713
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lumosity-daily-brain-games/id577232024