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If you want to make a change in your life, chances are there’s an app that can help. Want to see better? Wake up feeling rested? Meet other pickleball players? Pull out your phone and get started.
1. You want to get moving
Walking can boost your mood, help you maintain a healthy body weight, build strength in your muscles and bones, and lower your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. And being outside in nature can reduce stress and make you happier.
The app: MapMyWalk (free). Use it to measure your distance, pace, and calories and to find new walking routes.
2. You need community
Social isolation can lead to stress, and is linked with heart disease, diabetes, and migraine.
The app: Insight Timer (free, $5 per month for premium version) gives you free access to more than 15,000 guided meditations, including the popular timer, which you can customize with your favorite length, bell tones (to help channel you back to mindfulness), ambient sound, and ending bell.
There’s a strong community focus, with thousands of groups that offer members space to share their thoughts on topics like daily gratitude or lucid dreaming.
3. You want to read without your glasses
If you’ve reached the age where reading glasses come in handy sometimes, you’ve no doubt discovered the benefit of your phone’s flashlight app. When you need more than a bright light, an app can help clear things up.
The app: Magnifying Glass + Flashlight (Android, Apple, free) lets you zoom in and out to read text on menus, labels, and owners’ manuals.
4. You want to be more flexible
Yoga can build flexibility and strength, improve your heart health and overall fitness, help control your weight, and improve your mindfulness, and it’s never too late to start.
The app: Pocket Yoga ($2.99). If the scheduling or cost makes it tough for you to get to a yoga studio, try Pocket Yoga and practice according to your skill level and the time you have available.
5. You want to be stronger
A full-body workout can build strength and cardiovascular fitness, and if you don’t have time to hit the gym, a short, high-intensity workout might be just what you need.
The app: 7-Minute Workout (free). It packs a full workout into—you guessed it—seven minutes. You can also mix up your exercise routine with 22 additional workouts.
6. You want to lose weight
Setting goals, tracking what you eat, and connecting with a community of people facing the same challenges can help you drop the extra pounds.
The apps: A range of apps can help you reach your weight-loss goals. Three of the most popular are MyFitnessPal, LoseIt, and SparkPeople. All are free to start with premium versions available.
7. You want to hear better in noisy places
You may struggle to hear in loud places, or need to turn up the volume on your TV. Consider having your hearing tested. In the meantime, these apps can help filter out the sounds you don’t want to hear and amplify the ones you do.
The apps: Sound Amplifier (Android, free) can help you understand conversations in challenging listening situations.
7. You want to meditate
Meditation can help you fight off depression, chronic pain, and anxiety, and it may also help your brain stave off some of the effects of aging.
The apps: There are a range of apps that can guide you in meditation, even if you’re a skeptic.
Calm, Headspace, and Ten Percent Happier are three popular options. All offer free trials.
8. You want to sleep better
Getting enough sleep is the linchpin of a healthy lifestyle. It’s crucial for keeping illnesses at bay, maintaining a healthy weight, reducing stress, improving your mood, and helping you think.
The app: Sleep Cycle (free, premium version available) tracks your sleep, calculates your sleep quality, and wakes you up in your lightest sleep state.
9. You want to improve your mood
You can build habits and skills that boost your positivity, reframe negative thoughts, and promote gratitude.
The app: Happify (free, premium version available) offers activities and games designed to increase your happiness and track your progress.
