Apps that help overall wellbeing

There are many aspects to wellbeing

While exercise and movement are very important, there are other ways to help improve your overall wellbeing, especially your mental health and alertness.

All about mindfulness and meditation apps

These apps are designed to help with mental wellbeing, and work by guiding you through a session that might involve breathing exercises, or ways to clear your mind of distractions.

The apps also have features that remind you when it’s time to do a session, and give lots of information on ways these techniques may help with your wellbeing.

eSafety tip

Only download apps from the official store for your device. That includes the App Store for Apple devices and Google Play for Android devices.

All about brain training apps

Brain training apps are more like a video game rather than an exercise app and include lots of little puzzles and problems - like those old-style puzzle books. Each game is quick, no more than a few minutes, and the idea is that doing a few of these a day may help you stay sharp and alert.

You can use your web browser to play games and puzzles on Be Connected too:

• Games for laptop and desktop computers
• Games for smartphones and tablets

All about diet apps

While it’s not recommended to follow fad diets, dieting apps can still be useful if you need to follow a diet based on your doctor’s instruction or recommendation.

Diet apps let you record your meals and track what you’ve eaten and when. If you need to take meals at a certain time (especially if you need to take medication at that time too), a diet app will let you set alerts on your device to remind you.

eSafety tip

Always take your doctor’s advice first, over any information or recommendation in an app. Remember that using any kind of health app is not a replacement for getting regular medical check-ups and asking your doctor’s advice.

Apps that help with mental wellbeing

Your mental wellbeing is very important and can’t be completely managed by an app. However, there are apps that can help you get access to information, and which can give you reminders about any mental health plan you may be following.

eSafety tip

If you feel you may have a mental health related issue, you should always seek medical advice as a priority. You can also:

• Call LifeLine on 13 11 14
• Text LifeLine on 0477 13 11 14
• Chat online with Lifeline at https://www.lifeline.org.au/crisis-chat/

Well done!

This is the end of the Apps that help overall wellbeing activity. You’ve learned about the kinds of apps that can help with general wellbeing.

Up next, in the How being in a community can help wellbeing course, you will learn about the kinds of apps that let you connect with other people who are doing similar things.