Stress often takes a toll on people due to constant life pressures over commitments. It has a direct effect on both your personal as well as your work life. But did you know there are a lot of apps out there that can help you relax and calm your mind? Check out the list of these apps to help beat stress –

1. Breathe2Relax (iOS – free, Android – free)

Developed by National Center for Telehealth and Technology, Breathe2Relax is based on the simple method of deep breathing to help you relax your whole body. Deep breathing helps to to decrease anxiety levels and effectively manage stress. The app provides you with the details about the effect of stress on you body and teaches you a stress management skill called Diaphragmatic Breathing which involves different breathing cycles.

2. White Noise Lite (iOS – free, Android – free)

White noise is an app that comes with tens of different sounds or white noise from the environment. By default it has about 40 perfectly looped sounds with options to download even more. Best works when you want a good night’s sleep. The Google play page of the app even claims that it can soothes headaches and migraines, and mask ringing of the ears. With some creativity, users can also create new soundscapes by mixing together different sounds.

3. Simply Being (iOS – $1.99, Android – $1.99)

This is an app that focuses on the power of meditation and how it can change your life. Simply Being helps you meditate along with a number of aid sounds of the nature. In 2014, it was named as the best meditation app of the year by Healthline. It also gives you all the instructions on how to meditate to help people, especially the ones with no prior experience in the field, to get perfect in the art. Recommended by the New York Times, Huffington Post and Yoga Journal.

4. Headspace (iOS – free, Android – free, in-app purchases)

One the best apps in the niche, Headspace can help you become a master in the art of meditating. Although it is a bit costly (in app purchases) for most of the users to heed, its paid meditation sessions can take you a long way in beating stress. The app starts out with just 10-minute a day sessions. The first 10 sessions are free and you have an option of in-app purchases for more. Moreover, with the Buddy system, users can take on sessions along with friends, motivating each other along the way.

5. Mindfulness Meditation, Mental Workout (iOS – $1.99, Android – free)

Also a meditation app, Mindfulness Meditation (Mental Workout : Android) is a popular product that comes with an audio guide for meditation sessions which are written and spoken by Stephan Bodian, the author of Meditation For Dummies. It includes 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, and 40-minute meditation sessions with no background music as the App page claims meditation is more effective with no such distractions. Users can also share meditation sessions amongst friends.

6. Omvana (iOS – free with in app purchases)

Omvana is a fully customizable meditation app with one of the largest databases in the category. Users can customize their meditation sessions making use of the sounds, noises and quotes that best relaxes them. Users have access to thousands of sounds and beats that can even be mixed together on the app’s mixing board to create that perfect soothing track. There is also an interesting option to record your own voice to guide yourself in meditation sessions (spooky).

7. Take A Break! (iOS – free, Android – free)

Designed mainly for people with busy lives and no devoted time for meditation, Take A Break helps users to take meditation breaks between work. There are only 2 modes –

• Work Break Relaxation (7 minutes)
• Stress Relief Meditation (13 minutes)

The meditation techniques are voice guided with an option to enable/disable the background music. It was a nominee for the best meditation award of 2014 for Healthline.

8. Serenity (iOS – $1.99)

Serenity is another relaxation app that calms the user by showing him serene videos or moving images like soft rainfall, underwater world, kittens sleeping, puppies playing and many more. This is a unique app in the niche that makes use of visual aid rather than just sounds and nature tracks like the others in the list. It also comes with full AirPlay support and a sleep timer feature to help users get refreshing sleep.

9. Calm (iOS – free with in app purchases)

Another popular app for busy bees, Calm has 7 meditation modes that range from quick 2 minutes to full 30 minute sessions along with 30 beautiful nature scenes with relevant background soundtracks. The best part about the app is that the tracks are from the meditation music master himself – Kip Mazuy. The in app pro access costs range from $4.99 quarterly to $9.99 yearly.

Conclusion

These is neither a ranking list nor an exhaustive one. It is the rather a list of apps that caught the eye on the basis of reviews, downloads as well as features they offer. If I have missed any of your favorite ones, please share your views with the comments section.