Have you ever heard the phrase, “There’s an app for that?” What started as an advertising slogan for Apple to imply that you can do almost anything on one of their devices, quickly became a reality for nearly all other mobile devices and brands.
More importantly, though, this catchphrase has caught on to one of the most important fields: healthcare. Previously, the scope for taking care of your health and monitoring your well-being was narrow. Most things required an in-office doctor’s visit with various testing and tools.
Fortunately, there have been significant developments in technology over the last few years. Advancements such as wearable devices with trackers and numerous smartphone updates and applications, give us the ability to monitor all kinds of information directly related to our health. We now have the capabilities to reduce major health risks and improve our quality of life simply from our phones!
Below, we’ve broken down the top 4 ways to maintain good health from our mobile devices.
1. Weight Loss
When we focus on our health, it’s not unusual to think of our weight first. Aside from being one of the most prevalent New Year’s resolutions, almost half of all adults in the U.S. make an effort to lose weight each calendar year.
While weight loss isn’t something to obsess over, maintaining a healthy weight is definitely worth giving some attention to. Excess weight can affect our bodies, causing short- and long-term health problems, including high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, and more.
But between trying the latest fad diets, to investing in a gym membership or fitness class, it can be hard to know what actually works. Luckily our mobile devices can steer us in the right direction to find an approach that aligns with our weight loss goals.
To keep diets and workout routines in check, use your phone to find an all-encompassing weight loss program that familiarizes itself with your eating habits, preferences, and current activity level. The WW program, for example, provides 5 apps in 1 by incorporating mobile features for food and activity tracking, recipes, virtual workouts, live coaching, and rewards. From there, you will have a smooth transition to begin to crush your weight loss goals digitally!
2. Sleep
Getting the correct amount of sleep is crucial when maintaining your health. Essentially, it boils down to the time your body gets to repair and recharge for another day. Neglecting this can affect your brain function, immune system, and illness duration, among many other things.
While experts warn against using electronics like smartphones before bed due to the effects of their blue light emissions, some mobile devices can actually work for good to improve the quality of your sleep. The Sleep Cycle app, for instance, includes an intelligent alarm clock that gently wakes you during your lightest sleep cycle, detailed statistics about your sleep patterns, a customizable wake-up window, and more.
Another way you can work to correct and optimize your sleep is to find out what you’re doing while you sleep. From excess snoring to sleep talking, the Sleep Talk Recorder app monitors and records the noises you (or your partner) make in the night so you can analyze what factors are hindering the quality of your sleep.
While it may seem like a great way to hear all the hilarious things you say in your sleep, in all seriousness, the app can help you and your doctor determine if you’re suffering from a deeper-rooted issue like sleep apnea.
3. Brain Training
Looking for more ways to take care of yourself? It’s equally as important to stay mentally active as it is physically active, so try exercising your mind daily! Stimulating your brain with games can help sharpen your memory, reasoning, and speed, as well as improve your daily functioning.
A perfect way to keep your mind sharp is through Lumosity, a free brain-training program. You can build a daily habit of acquiring knowledge and learning, all while improving your critical thinking, memory, and problem-solving skills.
Elevate is another great brain-training program designed to improve your focus, speaking abilities, processing speed, memory, math skills, and more. You are even given a personalized training program that adjusts the more you use it, to maximize your results.
While puzzles, books, and other traditional brain-training activities remain viable options for strengthening your mind, mobile apps designed for the same outcome allow you to continue to challenge your brain on the go and in the palm of your hand.
4. Intimate Health
When we think of mobile devices, most of us don’t typically equate them with intimate health. However, technology has begun to modernize the way we view and care for our intimate, sexual, and reproductive well-being.
For many women, tracking menstrual cycles can feel tedious and even unnecessary. However, when we pay attention to the slight changes or any irregularities, it can bring light to possible health problems we may not have caught so early on. That’s where period tracking apps come into play—there’s even a Cycle Tracking app for the Apple Watch!
To kick it up one notch further, now, atop of apps, you can even use your mobile device to access feminine care products seamlessly based on your body’s needs. Cora is a subscription box service that delivers menstrual products straight to you each month. They tailor their offerings to you personally by assessing things like how many tampons you use per cycle, size preference, and more!
Final Thoughts…
Whether you are the poster child for good health or you have a serious health condition, keeping track of all your medical information and sustaining good habits can be a challenge. Do yourself a favor and take advantage of one of the many different mobile device apps, services, or wearables to help better manage your health.
When exploring these options, it’s crucial to take the time to research exactly what you want out of them to ensure that you are benefiting and staying the healthiest you can be. Feel free to reach out to your doctor and pick their brain; they may have some suggestions based on your current health conditions.
Comment below with your favorite health and wellness app or device you use!
