Turn to the best mediation apps if you're looking for ways to relax your mind: Keep your mind and body strong at home during lockdown
Downloading one of the best mediation apps for Android or iOS can be the first step to improving your mindfulness.
Recent events have left us all feeling more anxious than we usually do. It looks like we won't be able to head a wellness retreat or even or even the beach in the near future, so we need to find a more accessible way to de-stress.
Meditation has a wealth of benefits which include: increased focus, reduced stress, and better sleep.
To help you ease into a mindfulness practice we’ve rounded up the best meditation apps for 2020
As a side note some of these mediation apps that have made it onto our list do come at a cost. That said, they do offer free trials perfect for beginners just starting out with mediation.
The best free mediation apps to help with anxiety at a glance
Meditation apps have seen a huge surge in popularity. Here are our list of the best mediation apps for 2020 at a glance:
- 10% Happier
- Aura
- Buddhify
- Calm
- Headspace
- Insight Timer
- Simple Habit
- Stop, Think & Breathe
Now we will go into more detail about each of our top choices, as well as why each meditation app might work best for you.
10% Happier
For those on the fence about meditation.
Following on from his very successful book of the same name Dan Harris released the 10% Happier app. The former ABC news presenter has created the perfect meditation app for those that are unsure if meditation really is the missing piece of the mindfulness jigsaw.
With new content each week this mindfulness app really packs a punch! The free version helps people with anxiety and sleep with guided mediations.
By connecting you directly with expert teachers who coach you through the basic principals of mediation mean this app is great for newbies. Combine that with a real human element, with teachers personally responding to your questions it is easy to see why 10% Happier is regarded as one of the best mediation apps around in 2020.
Learn to meditate from the world’s top mindfulness experts and no doubt you will become 10% happier.
Download now for iOS or Android
Aura
Mediation based on your mood.
Each day when you open the app you are asked about your current mood. Based on your answer you are provided with personalised daily mediations, nature sounds, stories, music and even life coaching.
Aura, really gets to know you by tracking your moods and reviews patterns based on how you feel, then sets reminders for you to pause your day and take time to focus on your breathing throughout the day.
If you often find your self feeling flustered or panicked then Aura could be the meditation app you are looking for.
There are a collection of three-minute meditation sessions and 30-second anxiety busters designed to help you through these intense situations.
Aura helps millions of users take care of emotions, sleep peacefully, and become the best version of you.
Download now for iOS or Android
Buddhify
Perfect for beginners and experts alike.
With over 200 mediations, Buddhify helps users improve their anxieties, sleep, stress levels and control emotions. They have a number of teachers to choose from so you can be guided by the one that resonates with you most.
One of the stand out features of this mediation app is that it has very specific exercises that you can do anywhere. If you are at work, travelling, waking up or eating, there is an exercise to guide you through that exact point of your day.
There is even a guided mindfulness exercise if you are thinking about drunk texting someone!
Loved and used around the world by thousands Buddhify really is “meditation done differently”
Download now for iOS or Android
Calm
Life changing mindfulness skills made easy.
One of the most popular mediation apps of all time: Calm has been downloaded over a whopping 50 million times.
As soon as you open the app you can either partake in the “daily calm” or choose something more inlined to what is going on in your life that day: a desire to break old habits, stress or increased levels of anxiety.
Calm offers guided mediations ranging in time from 3 to 25 minutes.If you are a beginner you can embark on a 7 or 21 day program to get started. New mediations are added daily and the topics vary from calming anxiety to gratitude to mindfulness at work.
And to top it all of you can even drift off to sleep with Matthew McConaughey telling you a sleep story.
Download now for iOS or Android
Headspace
The grandaddy of them all.
So we couldn't make a list of the best mediation apps without including the most well known meditation app, Headspace.
The design of this app is extremely pleasing with wonderful illustrations throughout, no expense has been spared when it comes to the design.
There are endless self guided courses, quick meditations and sleep sounds to choose from. If you find yourself in a mindfulness crisis you can utilise the SOS meditations. Headspace even caters for the younger members of the family with meditations for kids.
The team have branded Headspace as “your gym membership for the mind” and believe that your mind is a muscle that deserves just as much attention as your biceps.
Just 10 days of Headspace can increase happiness by 16%
Download now for iOS or Android
Insight Timer
The number one free meditation app
Insight Timer believes everyone deserves access to free mediation. So how does free access to over 30,000 guided mediations sound?
There is a gamified element to this app as you earn badges as you track progress that helps entice you to come back and do more.
There are variety of guided meditations, depending on how you feel and how long you have that day; body scan, loving kindness, anxiety/stress reducing. You can even take this a step further and decide which style of mediation you would like to do.
It is easy to find a good mediation app that offer s a free trial however It’s a lot harder to find a quality meditation app that is in its entirety free, Insight Times is just that app.
Get started with your email today
Simple Habit
The perfect way to start your day.
Simple Habit are on a mission is to empower people to stress less, achieve more through their mobile app.
If you are someone with a heavy schedule and finding time to meditate is difficult then this is the app for you. this app Simple Habit dedicates the bulk of its catalogue to brief sessions, might be the best fit for the busiest of bees.
Simple Habit features five-minute meditations from monks and the wellbeing experts at Google. You can follow along with traditional guided meditations or take a more coached route.
If you are feeling particularly downbeat one morning, then you can take advantage of the motivational guides to help you get back on track, fast!
If you're looking to increase your mindfulness better fast or out and about, this mediation app makes it super simple.
Download now for iOS or Android
Stop, Think & Breathe
Helping you find peace anywhere.
Stop Breath & Think aims to help you find peace in only 5 minutes.
Upon opening the app you are asked what you are thinking and ho you feel. Then you are guided using breathing techniques to create space between your thoughts and emotions.
A handy progress page keeps track of how your mind and body have been feeling over time. It also shows your most common emotions before and after meditating as the app invites you to check in again after your session is done.
Stop Think & Breathe is a rather impressive free mediation app, offering a wealth of meditations completely free to use when you need it most.
Download now for iOS or Android
Best meditation apps for calmer days and sleep easy nights
There’s no shortage of mindfulness and meditation apps these days, promising to help you combat anxiety, sleep better, hone your focus, and more.
We hope you enjoyed our look at the app stores to find the most valuable and easy-to-use mediation apps that are available for free, either on a trial basis or completely free to use all features of the app.
If you are looking to start chaining your whole world then why not find out why One Year No Beer is the leading habit changing programme with a 95% success rate!
Further Reading
If you want to take your wellbeing one step further check out the best home workout apps or spend some time improving your breathing techniques.
