Almost everyone—literally—has gone wireless these days. A 2010 survey revealed that 91% of Americans own cellphones, and surely that number has grown since 2010—with many of the phones within that number being smartphones.
Plenty of smartphone apps fall into the non-healthy category. Gaming apps, food-delivery apps, and social networking apps are all convenient and surefire ways to have a good time, but they won’t do much for your health.
That’s where these apps come in. Spruce up your phone’s app collection with five apps that actually help you improve your overall health:
Sports Tracker. According to the Apple website, this app “turns your iPhone into an interactive exercise diary,” complete with the ability to track your total workouts, time spent working out, how many calories you’ve burned, and more.
- Cost: Free
- iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sports-tracker/id426684873?mt=8
Hundred PushUps. Just like how it sounds, this app kicks off your personal training program to help you complete 100 consecutive pushups! Sounds like a lofty goal, but the app claims to give you the custom repetition guidance that you need to achieve it. And who wouldn’t be proud of being able to do 100 pushups?
- Cost: $1.99
- iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hundred-pushups/id301174591?mt=8
Pure Sleep.Being healthy isn’t all about diet and exercise. Getting too little sleep is a major deficiency for working adults and kids alike, and can affect the way you feel and function. The Pure Sleep app offers several sleep-inducing songs that promise to lull you right to sleep before a herd of sheep ever could. You can preset the built-in alarm so you don’t get too comfortable in snooze-land.
- Cost: $.99
- iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pure-sleep-ambiscience-binaural/id304226903?mt=8
Hydrate Yourself. Use this app to interactively fill your water quota for the day and make sure you stay sufficiently hydrated. Familiar symptoms of dehydration include headaches, lethargy, and lack of focus (sound like a normal day? You may be dehydrated!), so this app encourages you to fill up virtual glasses that represent how much water you’ve consumed. We recommend this app for anyone drinking alkaline ionized water from an ionizer, since alkaline ionized water is up to six times more hydrating than regular water.
- Cost: Free
- iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hydrate-yourself/id392649838?mt=8
Calorie Tracker.True to its title, this app tracks your calories each day, taking into account whatever information you share with it: exercise, food and beverage intake, and your overall goals. If you’re committed to losing weight and don’t mind taking the time to input all that information, this app (produced by LiveStrong) could be an integral part of your health objectives.
- Cost: $2.99
- iTunes link: http://itunes.apple.com/app/calorie-tracker-livestrong.com/id295305241?mt=8
Have any health apps that you’d recommend? Pass along your suggestions!
