The Best Mindfulness Apps For Meditation And Mental Health

Mindfulness can be described as a mindset of presence and grounding in the current moment—no matter what you might be facing or feeling. It can help individuals take their minds off of the past and future by focusing on the present.

Ruminating over past events and worrying about the future can lead to symptoms of anxiety and emotional distress. Being mindful can empower people to notice thoughts as they arise and consciously determine the best way to respond to them. Mindfulness can be a form of self-care that leads to personal growth and enhanced overall well-being. Read on to learn more about mindfulness, as well as the best mindfulness apps that can help you to develop the skill to promote mental wellness and personal development.

Exploring the science behind mindfulness

When considering mindfulness, it can be helpful to think of your brain as if it were a muscle. You might spend time and effort exercising to keep your other muscles in shape. The practice of being mindful can be seen as exercise for your brains. 

Research on the mental health effects of mindfulness

Studies have shown that if you practice mindfulness for at least eight weeks, you can grow the part of your brain—believed to be responsible for happiness, emotional intelligence, and creativity. When this happens, it can also reduce the area of the brain thought to be responsible for depression, stress, and addictive behaviors. In this way, mindfulness can promote mental wellness.

Mindfulness can also promote awareness of the mind-body connection, which holds importance for both physical and mental health. Science suggests that mindfulness can lower blood pressure, reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve sleep, and help people cope with pain.

What to look for in a mindfulness app

A typical mindfulness app can provide meditations and practical tools to a new user once they create an account. What you should look for in a mindfulness app depends on your preferences. Do you enjoy listening to music tracks, personal stories, or insightful podcast episodes? Are you seeking an app that offers content in multiple languages, such as English and Spanish? Do you need an app that’s compatible with Android or another type of mobile device?

Aside from personal preferences, it may be helpful to look for an app that limits distracting ads and pop-ups. Ads and other distractions can break immersion and prevent you from reaping the full benefits of mindfulness and meditation.

The best mindfulness apps

Now that we’ve defined what mindfulness can do for your mental and physical health, you may be wondering where to start. Many find apps to be particularly convenient and simple to use. 

Here are some of the best mindfulness apps available if you’re looking for a simple way to stay consistent with mindfulness in your daily routine:

The Mindfulness App: One of the most user-friendly meditation apps 

The Mindfulness App can be a great fit for many, whether you are just starting out or you are experienced in meditation. There is a free version and a premium subscription, both of which provide meditations for relaxation. The free version includes the following:

• A five-day guided introduction to mindfulness course
• Timed sessions that include guided meditations with a range of three to 30 minutes
• Customizable meditations
• Reminders to meditate and mindful notices throughout the day
• Statistics to track your progress

When you upgrade your subscription account to the premium version of the wellness platform, you can receive more than 200 guided meditations and courses taught by some of the world's most influential teachers. These classes cover topics like stress relief, emotions, sleep, and relationships. You can also unlock tools like the option to listen to meditations while offline.

Calm: Your meditation app for sleep

The Calm app focuses on helping you meditate, sleep, and relax. This app has been featured in The New York Times and is trusted by millions, with many noting that it can be especially helpful for beginners. The Calm app features guided meditation sessions ranging from three to 25 minutes, covering topics like the following:

• Deep sleep
• Happiness
• Body scanning
• Forgiveness
• Calm kids
• Walking meditation
• Managing stress 
• Self-esteem

There are plenty of options for intermediate and experienced meditators as well. Below are some of the app’s other features:

• A 10-minute daily calm program to promote positive change through mindfulness
• Sleep stories to help you fall asleep at night, as well as a sleep mode that allows you to set a sleep timer
• Programs for beginners and advanced users ranging from 7 seven days to 21 days
• Breathing exercises for relaxation of the mind and body
• Soothing nature sounds, music tracks, and scenes to help you meditate or fall asleep

You can also use the Calm app to track your progress with daily streaks and time spent meditating. 

Headspace: One of the best mindfulness apps for beginners

You can use the Headspace app to teach yourself how to meditate, breathe, and live mindfully. You can tailor your journey to peace and healing, selecting mode options for stress management, sleeping, breathing, focus, happiness, and calmness.

If you have never practiced meditation before, many have found that this can be a good app to explore as a new user. Headspace’s practical tools can make it simple to ease into meditation and mindfulness.

Many choose to use the free basic version as a form of education to learn the essentials of mindfulness and meditation. Once you have finished the basics, there are dozens of packs that you can choose from for mental wellness and self-improvement. 

Packs include a series of guided meditations, focusing on topics like happiness, health, work performance, sports, and students. If you don't want to work through a meditation pack, you can choose from single, standalone exercises.

Mindfulness Coach: An app for people seeking guided meditations 

Developed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the Mindfulness Coach is an app that was originally developed to provide meditations and education about mind-body awareness for veterans. However, this tool can be used by anyone. It offers a library of information about mindfulness as well.

This mindfulness app includes 12 audio-guided mindfulness exercises, along with a catalog of additional exercises that you can download. There are also options for goal-setting and tracking, which can give you a sense of how often you’re meditating and the effects it’s producing—all for free.

The mind-body connection and why audio matters

The audio used for mindfulness apps matters. Music can be highly impactful, with music therapy considered an effective therapeutic modality for clients living with grief and the effects of trauma. Music tracks are often used in meditation apps to help users fully immerse themselves in a meditation practice. Some meditation apps also feature honest personal stories of resilience and joy to inspire personal growth and positive change in listeners. 

Sleep and recovery-focused mindfulness features

Mindfulness apps frequently feature relaxing soundscapes and meditations to help users fall asleep. Individuals may use these meditations as part of their night routines and could even use these practical tools in place of other sleep aids. Some apps may have a “sleep mode” in which audio stops after a preset amount of time, such as one hour. 

Similarly, mindfulness apps often have morning meditations to promote calmer mornings and allow individuals to build self-care into their routines. It’s possible that meditating regularly could promote recovery from physical and emotional concerns by relaxing the body, potentially reducing inflammation and allowing the immune system to work more effectively.

Community and human connection features

Similar to mindfulness, a sense of community can promote overall wellbeing. Combining mindfulness with human connection through app features like group live sessions could promote personal growth by enabling people to make friends with similar interests and values, which could bring about a positive change and provide accountability for personal development.

Give a meditation app a try

If you have been experiencing a lot of stress, nervousness, or sleeplessness, you might benefit from a regular mindfulness routine as a form of self-care to promote mental wellness and overall well-being. These apps—and others you can find online—can teach you how to put mindfulness to work in your own life, and can provide you with plenty of resources to use along the way.

Finding the right mindfulness app for you and your budget

Some mindfulness apps are free, while others require paid subscriptions. Many of the paid apps come with free trials, however, so you can test them out before committing to a subscription. 

Additionally, some apps may work well for some people, but not for others, so it can be helpful to try out a few until you can identify the one that’s best for your needs and preferences.

How can online therapy help those exploring mindfulness?

If you have been struggling to “get out of your head” and manage your thoughts, talking to a licensed therapist can be helpful. A qualified mental health provider can help you implement mindfulness practices and other evidence-based strategies for personal growth and enhanced mental wellness.

Practicing mindfulness with an online therapy platform

On the BetterHelp platform, a licensed therapist can meet with you at a time that works for your schedule. This can be helpful for those who might be experiencing high levels of stress or other mental health symptoms. There's no need to travel to an office—your session can take place from anywhere you have an internet connection. Many BetterHelp providers are trained in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and other modalities that can promote calmness and a focus on the present.

The efficacy of online therapy for mental health challenges

A 2023 study evaluated the efficacy of in-person versus online mindfulness-based stress reduction in decreasing psychological distress. After completing an eight-week program, both the in-person and online groups displayed reduced anxiety, stress, and depression scores, indicating that online mindfulness-based therapy could be just as effective as its in-person counterpart.