How to Turn Your Smartphone Into a Wellness Hub

^{Photo by Daria Nepriakhina via Unsplash}

TL;DR: Is it time for a digital digital detox? Or should you find out how to create healthy habits, downloading wellness apps, and taking advantage of curated online subscriptions that focus on mental, physical, emotional, and digital well-being.

Do you ever feel anxious about all the time you stare at screens? You're not alone.

The numbers are growing more daunting each year with the average American logging around seven hours of screen time every day.

Balancing out social media scrolls and work emails with physical activities can be tough, but you can find ways to create healthy tech habits. A great way to start is by subscribing to workout programs and signing up for wellness apps and courses, but there's no one-size-fits-all solution. That's why you have to keep at it! 

By curating your own little roster of supportive platforms and health-conscious solutions, you can turn your phone into a robust wellness hub. It's time to transform some of that screen time into something restorative without doing a full digital detox. 

What's a "Wellness" App?

Every app you install is there for a reason. Some might be for leisure, others for work. You might have that one where cats just make soup. 

When you starting building a healthier selection of apps and online activities, it's important to be open-minded about what you find healthy and meaningful. You can find tools and platforms that are committed to specific mental and physical goals and others that you can tie more indirectly to your overall health, wellness, and digital well-being. 

A Straightforward Wellness Approach

StackSocial and the Internet at large host a ton of wholesome and holistic platforms and services that offer mental, emotional, and physical wellness support. 

If you struggle with stress, focus, or anxiety, the Mindabout personalized mindfulness app might be an ideal addition to your home screen. With sessions covering sleep, developing healthy habits, happiness, LGBT issues, and more, you can customize your journey.

Here are a few more wellness options for the mind: 

• NeuroNation Brain Training: A training tool for your memory and logical thinking—some of the main components contributing to your overall wellness. With just 15-minute sessions, it can cover the neuro boosters needed to improve your focus and speed of thought over time.
• Unplug Meditation App: This wellness app has been featured by The New York Times and Vogue for its fantastic collection of over 800 meditation videos, and it's led by more than 80 of the most renowned teachers in the world.
• The Essential Mind Hacking Bundle: This online series is led by highly rated professional speakers, coaches, and trainers and focuses on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to encourage positive thinking and break self-sabotaging patterns.

Workout Software For Your Phone Wellness Hub

When it's time to get out of your head and break a sweat, you can turn your smartphone into your own personal trainer by curating a selection of fitness courses and wellness apps for your needs and routine.

Here are some of our favorites: 

• Verv Premium Home Workout Planner: A thoughtful planner that takes the guesswork out of how to get in shape. With it you can pull pre-loaded workouts for losing weight, running and walking, as well as meal plans,
   meditation guides, and more.
• YogaDownload Unlimited: Subscribers of this wellness app can enjoy unlimited access to the content and downloads, which means you can turn off that pesky Wi-Fi to stretch and pose free of distractions. Includes over 1,500 online yoga and fitness classes.
• CardioCast Audio Workout: CardioCast sets you up with a fitness coach who will create playlists to match your workouts down to the beat. It features workouts up to an hour long, and you can track progress via the Apple Health app, making it easier to stick to your routine and maintain healthy habits. 

Unexpected Wellness Solutions Available on Your Phone

In contrast to apps driven directly by mental health or physical health, perhaps you could benefit from an app that's focused on wellness-promoting subjects without being overtly wellness-driven.

For example, Plantum is an AI-driven plant identifier that can take an image and generate an in-depth breakdown of the plant being photographed and how to care for it. Subscribing to Plantum can counteract excessive screentime by inspiring you to get outside, garden, breathe fresh air, and perhaps even eat more vegetables. You can almost always benefit from a little digital detox. 

A few more examples of indirectly helpful wellness solutions available on your phone:

• Ancestral Quest Genealogy: A fun and unique wellness app for those who like to get more specific and thoughtful when meal and workout planning. Making it easy to build your family tree, the program can give you a good point of view on your family's medical history, perhaps inspiring you to take a DNA test, and even make lifestyle adjustments based on your findings.
• Trainer Certification Courses: Learn the science and inspiration behind your most valued workouts. These courses can also give you the tools you need to become your own personal trainer, informing future workouts and saving you money for years to come. 
• Headway Premium: This award-winning wellness app can turn personal growth into a healthy habit with its 15-minute summaries of the best nonfiction books. Available in audio or text summaries, you'll get a customizable and gamified approach to learning that keeps things fun.

The Smart Thing About Dumbing Down Your Phone 

While we discuss all of the potential wellness benefits that come with smartphone usage, it's important to address the obvious downfalls of overuse. 

For many people, an effective strategy for coping with smartphone overuse is by restricting things like app access and color integration. For those who are curious about dumbing down your phone, you can learn how with Assistive Access on an iPhone. 

By restricting and hopefully limiting your phone usage, you can lean into other areas of wellness like exercise and adventure. These deals can help: 

• Smart Fit Multi-Functional Wellness and Fitness Watch: Stay off your smartphone when running and exercising and limit your focus to the relevant health-tracking metrics this watch offers. Access your steps, and calories burned, and even take a phone call with this watch if you need to. 
• 2-For-1 Dual Camera Drone Bundle: Spending less time playing games and scrolling feeds with your phone leaves more room for outdoor adventures. For a more captivating tech-driven experience, pick up a pair of beginner-friendly drones and take to the skies today. 
• 4-Piece Home Fitness Set: As you balance the real world with your smartphone usage, lean into wellness-promoting activities like physical exercise. It's incredible what you can do with a few affordable accessories for yoga and stretching like these. 

Your Smartphone Wellness Hub: A Work in Progress

Just like scrolling the same social media feeds, using the same wellness apps over and over again can grow dull, making it hard to stay motivated. Use this guide as a jumping-off point, and you never have to stop refining your smartphone wellness hub. By keeping a fresh, rotating roster of apps and subscriptions, you can use your screentime to regularly add new healthy habits to your routine and boost your digital well-being.  

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