Staying mindful

5APPS TO HELP soo e e soul

Take some tech time to wind down, rest your mind and reduce the stress in your life

WORDS BIANCA CARMONA

1INSIGHT TIMER

Fancy meditating with Russell Brand, Gisele Bundchen or Goldie Hawn? There’s a reason this free, awardwinning app is one of the world’s most downloaded for sleep, anxiety and stress. It features everything from celebrities to the world’s largest library of free meditations, live yoga events, sleepenhancing music tracks and bedtime stories. Meditations range from one minute to two hours. 2 SMILING

MIND

This is one of Australia’s top mindfulness apps designed for children and adults, with more than 5.5 million downloads worldwide. The free app is a non-profi t initiative developed by psychologists and educators to help bring balance to your life — at home, work or in the classroom. It features a personalised dashboard, is easy to navigate, and meditation sessions start at just one minute. 3 CALM Having Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles or Idris Elba read a bedtime story to you is reason enough to get this app. Aimed at helping improve sleep quality, better focus and reduce stress, it can be personalised to suit your needs. It also features relaxing music tracks, including remixes from Sam Smith and Ellie Goulding. Download it for free with some content or sign up for $14.99 a month for unlimited access. 4 HEADSPACE Created by meditation teacher Andy Puddicombe, this is marketed as “a gym membership for the mind”. With about 350 hours of guided meditation lessons, it also includes short meditations for people on the go and even SOS meditations for times of crisis. Users can start with a free 10day mindfulness meditation program, or pay $12.99 a month for full access. 5 MINDFULNESS

DAILY

If you are pressed for time, this mindfulness app is for you. It involves a couple of minutes in the morning, a short pause during the day and mindful refl ection at night to help reduce stress and improve performance and sleep. You get 21 days of free mindfulness audio lessons, with themes such as breathing, body awareness and kindness.