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The Meditation App That Will Cure Your Insomnia
What it does: Billed as a "gym membership for the mind," this app teaches the art of meditation in easy-to-follow lessons that last 10 minutes or less. The app comes with a 10-day program of nightly sessions, and listening to the soothing, lightly accented male narrator is almost as good as an Ambien.
Cost: The app is free to download and includes a 10-day program with signup.
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The Best App to Help You Quit Your Vice
What it does: Whether it's quitting your daily soda habit, going to the gym three times a week or calling your mom every Sunday, this goal-tracking app keeps you honest and accountable. You simply check off each day that you follow through with your goal. The app then shows you how long (or how little) you've stayed on track for each goal. List your goals daily, monthly or even yearly, scheduling reminders to help you stick with your practice.
Cost: Free, with the option of a $3.99 in-app upgrade
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The App to Help You Lose Weight and Clear Your Skin
What it does: Waterin is a simple app that does just one thing: It reminds you to drink water. With the tag line "thirsty is too late," Waterin helps you form good hydration habits with drink-time reminders and a water-drinking log. Since drinking water is linked to weight loss (chug a glass before every meal), clearer skin and better brain function (one study in London found students who brought a glass of water performed better on tests), the benefits of downloading this app are crystal-clear.
Cost: Free
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Siri, But With a Therapist's License
What it does: Unlike your group text of college friends weighing in on dating mishaps or work drama, this app is actually certified to provide life guidance when you need a second opinion. Talkspace pairs you with a licensed therapist in a private chat room to vent about whatever is on your mind. Therapists typically provide long, thoughtful responses once daily, but you can message them as often as you like. While we don't recommend it for serious issues that may require medication, like depression, it's a relatively cheap alternative to shelling out to see a therapist about common stressors in life -- work, relationships and family issues.
Cost: $25 weekly membership
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The "New You" Task Force
What it does: A healthy living all-star team comprised of a personal trainer, life coach and therapist helps you improve pretty much every aspect of your life. If you know you want to be a better version of yourself, but don't know where to start, you can choose from a menu of categories like "Personally Grow," "Get Fit," "Create Daily Habits" and "Improve Happiness and Relationships." From there, you choose a specific goal and join a community of members and coaches with that same goal. "Exercise," "Pray," "Sleep Before Midnight" and "Set Priorities for Your Day" are popular goals-within-goals on the app, with approximately 100,000 other users actively pursuing them alongside you.
Cost: The app is free, but hiring a coach is $14.99 per week.
Since the arrival of smartphones, apps have been changing the way we conduct our lives. What once called for stationery now uses an Evite. What used to require lugging around a lighting kit and bulky camera now just takes a simple Instagram filter. And while some apps are for fun or killing time (Candy Crush, I just can't quit you), others aim to turn your life into one never-ending New Year's resolution by encouraging you to be the best version of yourself. In the past, only Hollywood's elite could afford a dream team of people devoted to unearthing a better you, but now your smart phone contains every therapist, personal trainer, nutritionist, stylist and life coach you'll ever need to become your best self.
