Taking care of your mental health and wellbeing often takes a back-seat in the mad rush of the everyday-student- lifestyle. Sometimes we need a bit of a helping hand, and that’s where we come in – we’ve compiled a list of some super helpful apps to help you take care of your mental health, sleep, exercise and diet.
The information contained in this post represents the views and opinions of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views or the opinions of UCL.
Spotify is one of the most versatile apps for music and sound available. With music, podcasts, meditations and more, you can find almost anything to listen to on Spotify. This wouldn’t be Life Sciences blog if we didn’t nod towards the ‘Nature’, ‘BBC Earth’ and ‘RadioLab’ podcasts. Plus, Spotify Premium has a pretty excellent student discount – simply verify your student email and Spotify Premium is affordable on the student budget.
2. Headspace
Headspace is a great app for learning to meditate. With Spotify Premium for students, you can get a free Headspace subscription. If you’ve not got Spotify, the free version of the app still has several free meditations, soundscapes and stories.
2. Calm
Calm is another meditation app, but with more of a mindfulness focus. The free version of the app has a more flexibility than Headspace, with a couple more soundscapes, sleep stories and meditations. The app also has a breathing tool to help you time your breaths and relax.
3. BBC Sounds
BBC Sounds gives you free access to recorded radio shows, podcasts, stories and more.
BBC Good Food is available both as an app and a website, and has a plethora of exciting and budget-friendly recipes. Each recipe is reviewed by users so you can find some fabulous student dinners here!
Deliciously Ella is also available in both app and website form. The app is a ‘plant-based lifestyle’ app with plenty of vegan friendly and vegetarian recipe ideas, mindfulness practise, yoga and pilates workouts, articles and podcasts.
6. Fiton
Fiton is a home-workout app with hundreds of workouts, stretches, yoga flows and dance sessions. It has both a free version and a paid version – though the free version is incredibly flexible and isn’t particularly restricted in comparison with the paid. We love this app’s night time wind-down stretches to help with sleep and relaxation.
If you’re more a fan of outdoor exercise – running or rambling – you might want to try the Nike Run Club. The app provides audio-guided runs, tracks distance and allows you to set goals. If you prefer to go for long walks, the app still works to track distance, average pace and set goals.