10 Best Apps for Your Overall Health
The best part? Most of them are free.
Maintaining a balanced lifestyle that includes working out, eating fruits and vegetables, and finding time to meditate is harder than it seems. That's why there are hundreds of apps that claim to make all this easy—and sifting through the load can be overwhelming. To make it easier, first decide what your personal goals are—for instance, are you looking for an app to support your fitness, your mental health, or your eating? Then look through this list.
We've sorted the top health apps to find the best options to track your diet, work out, and feel happier overall.
MyFitnessPal
MyFitnessPal is one of the best food tracking apps available. The food diary includes an easy-to-use database that offers nutrition information for millions of different foods, including restaurant meals. Users are able to set their personal goals and the app will take that and break down the amount of calories to take in each day and how much water to drink. Whether your aim is to lose weight or gain muscle, MyFitnessPal offers a detailed view of what you're eating. Not only are you getting a better understanding of the types of foods you’re putting in your body, but there’s a little accountability to keep you committed to your goals. Turn the reminder setting on to get notified throughout the day and ensure you’re tracking your meals. Users can also read the community forum for a little more encouragement.
Headspace
Health is more than just what you eat or how often you hit the gym. Research shows that meditation may help reduce stress and improve overall happiness, and Headspace gives you a simple and fun way of doing just that. The app allows you to choose mini guided meditation sessions specific to your mood and lifestyle. The library is curated with a wide variety of programs aimed to help you sleep, relieve anxiety, and manage stress. Session lengths can vary, but users can de-stress for even just a few minutes at a time.
Fitplan
Are you interested in working out with a personal trainer, but not willing to pay the price? Get the experience of having your own coach for a fraction of the cost with Fitplan. The app offers step-by-step video training sessions, ranging from 20 to 90 minutes, from professional trainers and athletes. Users can choose from dozens of programs designed by some of their favorites like A-Rod, Ryan Lochte and Rob Gronkowski. Choose your plan based on goals, like weight loss, or by trainer.
Available on iOS and Android.SleepCycle
Sleep plays a crucial role in good health throughout life. If you don’t get enough sleep every night, your body will have a hard time healing and repairing heart and blood vessels, balancing your hormones, and maintaining your blood sugar levels (among many other issues). And the best way to get a good night’s rest is to understand the reason you weren’t getting any in the first place. Sleep Cycle tracks your quality of sleep, as well as your sleeping heart rate. Throughout the night, the app monitors your sleep patterns, making note of any disruptions like snoring or sleep talking. But its most unique feature is that it wakes you up during your lightest sleep phase in the morning, making you feel well-rested and ready to tackle the day.
Available here for iOS and Android.
Aaptiv
Aaptiv offers 30 new classes each week, and more than 2,500 classes overall. They aim to give users the same experience of a boutique fitness class–from the comforts of your home, outdoors, or at the gym. The app plans your workouts based on your fitness level, workout preferences and the equipment you have access to. Users also have the ability to track their progress by keeping records of workout-related trends. Disciplines include stretching, running, strength training and yoga.
Charity Miles
Giving back and feeling like you’re contributing to a larger cause is good for your overall health. Charity Miles helps motivate you to get moving while simultaneously making an impact. The free app allows users to choose a charity to donate to. Using your phone’s GPS, the app tracks your exercise whether you walk, run or bike. For each mile completed, 10 cents will be donated to that charity, making your workout feel twice as effective. (The donated funds come from corporate sponsors.)
Available here on IOS and Android.
Fooducate
Fooducate makes it easy to eat a balanced and healthy diet. As the app's name suggests, its goal is to teach you about the products you buy at the grocery store. Just scan over 250,000 barcodes to see a personalized nutrition grade, learn about the pros and cons of the product, and choose the healthiest option. The app’s goal is to teach users what food manufacturers don’t always do by analyzing GMOs, additives, food colorings and more. Users can even connect with health professionals and other app users for advice and support.
Available here on iOS and Android.8Fit
You don’t need a gym with 8fit, which creates customizable exercise programs and meal plans. This app is for those who want a complete lifestyle change and need some assistance on where to start. The app creates nutritional guidelines to follow and a workout plan with more than 350 exercises with no equipment required. If you don’t want a gym membership or if you’re always on the go, these HIIT workouts will keep you in shape without taking up too much of your time.
Available here on IOS and Android.
Happify
Stress has been linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. Happify builds on a huge body of research about mental health to help users overcome stress and negative thoughts and build better emotional health and resilience. The app includes a variety of science-backed games and activities paired with guided meditation and relaxation audios that aim to give your emotions and mental health a quick boost. Creators say using the app on a daily basis should train you to think more positively.
Download here for free.HealthTap
Instead of turning to Google when you have a strange ache or pain, pose your question to a database of real doctors using HealthTap. This app enables patients to take action by connecting them with a physician to answer any health-related query. The doctors will give real and actionable advice to help you feel better as soon as possible without necessitating a trip to the doctor's office. Users are also able to share and read personal stories from others prior to a consultation with a doctor in order to feel more at ease with health conditions and other information.
Download here for free.
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