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5 mindfulness apps to help you keep calm during crisis

The past few years have brought a huge surge in the popularity of mindfulness. But for something that’s supposed to mellow you out and leave you feeling calm, meditation can be kind of stressful sometimes. Before long, you’ve given up on meditating and put on another episode of the latest Netflix show. Still, the practice is undoubtedly good for you. Research shows that paying more attention to the present moment, and to your thoughts and feelings, helps to improve your mental well-being (think: reducing stress) and enables us to enjoy life more and understand ourselves better.

So, how do you finally buckle down and do it? Thanks to this surge, there are now dozens of apps on the market to help you get started – or continue – your path to mindfulness.

Here you’ll find some top choices, as well as why each one might be beneficial for you:

1. Headspace

Headspace is one of the most well-known meditation apps out there. Branded “your gym membership for the mind”, the app offers guided courses to give your brain muscles some love. The app boasts hundreds of meditations of varying lengths and timely animations to help you better understand meditation and mindfulness overall.

2. Calm

Like the name suggests, Calm is a portal to peace of mind. Calm provides guided sessions also varying in length, and the option to truly tailor the focus of your meditation, whether it be calming anxiety or gratitude for example, you have the choice of tons of topics. As well, the app includes sleep sounds, nature sounds and breathing exercises to really bring calm into your day or night.

3. Insight Timer

Experts agree that Insight Timer is a great choice when it comes to choosing a meditation app. Not only does the app have some of the most experienced mindfulness teachers on it, it allows you the freedom to pick and choose depending on how much time you have. It also has a tracker that allows you to chart your progress and earn badges that keep you coming back for more.

4. 10% Happier

This app is based on the book by ABC news correspondent Dan Harris and perfect for “the skeptic who is not sure that they want to meditate”. New content is added each week with meditations aimed to help users with anxiety and sleep. The app is great for beginners who want connection with expert teachers that can coach you through the basics of meditation.

5. Aura

Fans of Aura love this app for its daily meditations, life coaching, sounds, stories and music which can all be personalized based on the mood you select when you open the app. The app also provides the option to track your moods, review patterns in how you feel, can set reminders to breathe and take breaks for mindfulness throughout the day. Aura is for the hustlers who barely have enough time to read this article, its collection of three-minute sessions and 30-second anxiety busters are designed to save you from the intense situations of everyday life.