Forget the personal trainer and ditch the dietician. Today you only need a smartphone with the right apps to get healthy. Load these mind-blowing apps onto your personal device to start living a better life.
Seven: Work Out More Effectively
Studies show that training for a brief amount of time in short intervals is a much more effective way of losing weight, increasing your fitness, and toning your body than working through longer training sessions. Seven helps users train in this way with its high-intensity seven-minute workouts.
Each session consists of 12 exercises like jumping jacks and wall sits completed in 30-second bursts with a 10-second rest period in between. There’s no need for fancy gym equipment either. Seven uses only your own body weight, a wall, and a chair to get the job done. Digital rewards and the app’s personal trainer help you stay on track.
Seven is available for a free download on iOS, Android, and Windows devices.
My Diet Coach: Diet and Motivation App for Women
The cutesy images and generous use of purple leave no doubt that My Diet Coach is an app aimed at women. That makes sense, with a Gallup poll noting that ladies are more likely to want to shed pounds than men.
My Diet Coach has a calorie counter, as so many diet apps do, but it understands that losing weight is about more than the numbers. It also helps you identify the areas that derail your plans, like feeling too lazy to exercise or craving the wrong foods, and motivates you to overcome these challenges.
My Diet Coach is available for free download on iOS and Android devices. Some features like the calorie counter are only available to paying members.
Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock: Wake Up Refreshed
Do you wake up feeling groggy and irritable? Chances are your old alarm clock interrupts your sleep cycle. For a healthier, gentler wake-up, load Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock onto your device.
As you sleep, the app uses movement analysis to identify your sleep state. It will then gently wake you when you’re in the lightest possible sleep state around the time you request. Using an app like Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock should help you wake up feeling more alert and energetic, so you’ll be more likely to exercise and live your life to the fullest.
The Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock is available for free download on iOS and Android devices.
Amwell: Live Doctor Visit Now
Following your own fitness and well-being regimen is no substitute for speaking to a trained health professional. Thanks to Amwell, you can speak face-to-face with a doctor without ever leaving your home.
Rather than waiting weeks for an appointment, Amwell allows you to video-chat with a doctor of your choice, usually in two to three minutes. All Amwell doctors are U.S. board-certified and trained in telehealth. They can also access your health information, medical images, and preferred pharmacy for prescribing medications.
Amwell: Live Doctor Visit Now has been America’s most downloaded telehealth app for the last two years running, according to App Annie. It’s free to download on any iOS and Android device, and the cost of the actual video chats is covered by many health insurance plans. You’ll get the best results video-chatting on modern devices with large displays connected to fast and reliable networks like the Galaxy S7 from T-Mobile.
Lumosity Brain Training: Improve Mental Function
While getting physically fit is important, being mentally fit is just as significant. You can take care of that with Lumosity Brain Training, a unique app which trains your brain while you’re having fun. Games like Chalkboard Challenge, Ebb and Flow, and Lost in Migration each hone a different cognitive skill such as memory, attention, pattern recognition, and problem-solving.
Lumosity employs a team of scientists who work closely with designers to ensure each game effectively challenges the intended cognitive skill. In scientific tests, people who played Lumosity for 10 weeks improved their mental capacity more than people who completed crossword puzzles during the same period.
Lumosity Brain Training is available for free download on iOS and Android devices. Paid subscribers can access the complete range of Lumosity games and progress-monitoring tools.
Of course, simply loading the apps onto your device will change nothing. But if you use these apps’ tools regularly, you’re sure to see real health results.
Image: Kalen Emsley, Unsplash.com