tECH fOR HEALTH

58% of smartphone users have downloaded a fitness or health app

Health and fitness app usage grew 330% in just 3 years

fitlife RunKeepeR RunKeeper is your personal trainer in your pocket. It tracks your workout so that you can improve your fitness. This mobile app is available on Android and iOS both platforms. With this app, you can track your running, walking, cycling, hiking, biking and more using the GPS in your Android phone. You will be able to see detailed stats around your pace, distance, time, and calories burned.Create targets and goals, then measure your performance over time. It also comes with Twitter and Facebook integration, so, you can also share your fitness progress with friends. HealtHtap HealthTap is another nice mobile app that is full health care solution. Users can write their health related questions here and get answers from real doctors. Doctors are verified and they need to show the proof while registering on the service. So, you do not need to worry. You are always getting right solution from qualified persons. You can also see questions asked by other people in the community and expert advises. The app boasts to have over 108,000 top docs available to help you live healthier life. My Fitness pal My Fitness Pal app is basically a calorie counter app. This health app also allows users to keep track their calories and their exercises. With this app, users can connect with other people to get motivation and stay focused on their goal. After installing this app, you will get access to more than 1 million food database and a large community of people. The service is free with no hidden costs. liFesuM Lifesum is an interesting app that combines diet and exercise. You can put your diet details and follow the guidelines. It asks you several questions like weight, height, gender, and your fitness goals to give you better personalized recommendations from that info. After few basic features, you need to buy subscript for better service. 96% users are loyal to only one health and fitness app. Over 75% of active users open their app at least twice a week, and more than 25% access their apps more than 10 times a week Workout and weight loss apps account for nearly 75% of all health and fitness app sessions. This can be attributed to wearables which encourage users to track their weight or exercises daily

Tech For Health Apps that Help

Wearable Tech

Boltt Men's Smart Grey Running Shoes www.flipkart.com Rs 1099/-

SAFER Smart JewelleryPendant with White Safer V1.0 • SAFER is a safety device for women in form a pendant • Send SOS Alerts to guardians with a double press of the button on back side of the pendant • Share live location with friends when feeling unsafe while travelling. www.amazon.in $ 40

MyTrainer Dasi MyTrainer Dasi is also a health app similar to Lifesum. It also asks for your age, height, and weight. Then it recommends your diet and exercise routines. It doesn’t do much more but offers good features considering it doesn’t ask any subscription of in-app purchase. It automatically adjusts the difficulty and volume of the workout depending on the body type and body fat percentage. This app is only available for Android. niix Niix is the fitness app designed for women approaching 40 and beyond. It has 8 week targeted programmes for all levels of fitness. You choose your program, learn the moves and workout. The app is free to download but with membership fees. HeaDspace Headspace is a meditation app that helps you in keeping your mind calm. The app teaches you how to meditate There are exercises on everything from managing anxiety and stress to breathing, sleep, happiness, calm and focus. Happify Happify helps you overcome stress and negative thoughts. It offers evidence-based solutions for better emotional health and wellbeing. It has effective tools and programs to help you control your feelings and thoughts. If negativity is keeping you in depression, you should not miss this app. pockeT yoga Pocket Yoga is a free app to learn yoga without going to a dedicated center. It comes with 27 different sessions of varying durations and difficulties. It features over 200 beautifully illustrated images with correct posture and alignment along with detailed voice and visual instruction guides. argus Argus is a fitness app that monitors your sleep, heart rate, calories, & more. You can create your custom workout plan and follow it to maintain your health. You can even track how much calories you consume in a day and how much you have burnt.

eat SlowlY This gives your brain the chance to get the signal that you’re full, so you’re less likely to overeat.

Manage Your StreSS Do something that calms you.

SocialiZe It’s not about how many people you know or how often you see them. What matters is a real connection with others. It can make you happier, more productive, and less likely to have health problems.

DitcH tHe Juice, eat tHe fruit If you like orange juice, have an orange instead.

taKe tiMe off It’s a time when you can bond with family and friends, which is good for your mental & physical health.

get Your ZZZS

A lack of sleep can lead to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and depression.

Be active Exercise is a proven way to improve your health, your mental wellbeing, and even your libido. You don’t have to sign up for the Mumbai Marathon - just get your heart rate up for 30 minutes or so a few times a week.

Have a DrinK A little alcohol can be good for your heart health, your stress level, and even your sex life.

Keep Moving If you work in an office, get up and walk around every hour or so, or try a standing desk for part of the day.

Have Sex It’s linked to heart health, brain health, a long life, a strong relationship, and even happiness.

Just keep it safe.

Dance

It keeps your mind sharp because it’s a skill that involves body movement

Do This For A Healthy You

Why Your Heart Needs A Good Night's Sleep Six hours: That's the minimum amount of sleep per night you need to help your heart stay healthy, new research suggests.

The study found that chronic lack of sleep and poor sleep quality raise the odds of fatty plaque accumulation in arteries - a condition known as atherosclerosis, which increases the odds of heart attack and stroke. There are many ways to fight heart disease, including "pharmaceuticals, physical activity and diet," said lead researcher Jose Ordovas, at the National Center for Cardiovascular Research in Madrid, Spain. "But this study emphasizes we have to include sleep as one of the weapons we use to fight heart disease - a factor we are compromising every day." In the new research, his team used coronary ultrasound and CT scans to track the artery health of nearly 4,000 Spanish adults. The study participants, average age 46, did not have heart disease at the beginning of the study. The study couldn't prove cause and effect, but people who slept less than six hours a night were 27 percent more likely to have body-wide atherosclerosis than those who slept seven to eight hours a night, Ordovas and his colleagues reported. Participants with "poor-quality" sleep - frequent awakenings or difficulty getting to sleep - were also 34 percent more likely to have atherosclerosis, compared to those with good-quality sleep.

Stem Cell Transplant May Help Some Aggressive MS A stem cell transplant may help some people with multiple sclerosis (MS) when standard drugs fail.

The study focused on 110 patients with aggressive cases of MS: Their symptoms had flared up at least twice in the past year despite taking standard medication, and they'd already tried an average of three of those drugs. Researchers randomly assigned the patients to either keep trying other medications or have a stem cell transplant - using cells taken from their own blood. Over an average of three years, MS progressed in 34 of 55 patients on medication. That compared with only three of 55 patients given a stem cell transplant. "Any treatment that is powerful can also be dangerous," said Burt, who is chief of immunotherapy and autoimmune diseases at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. "You don't want to use it too soon, or too late. And you don't want to overuse it." Those precautions were echoed by Bruce Bebo, executive director of research for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. "This study should be celebrated," said Bebo. But, he stressed, the treatment is still experimental and can only be done safely at a handful of centers around the world. Stem cell transplants are done at many hospitals to treat cancer. But, Bebo said, there's an "art and science" to using them for MS.

MS is a neurological disorder caused by a misguided immune system attack on the body's own myelin - the protective sheath around nerve fibers in the spine and brain. Depending on where the damage occurs, symptoms include vision problems, muscle weakness, numbness and difficulty with balance and coordination.