It can be difficult to take time out of your day to focus on yourself, and even more challenging to find ways to relax and de-stress. So, by providing guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, the Headspace app is a great way for anyone looking for a more mindful lifestyle. Let’s dive into the details and see if this app is worth downloading.
What is the Headspace App?
Headspace is an online platform and app that provides users with access to guided meditations, mindfulness exercises, sleep sounds and other resources for relaxation. It was developed in 2010 by meditation experts Andy Puddicombe and Rich Pierson, who wanted to make meditation more accessible. The goal of the app is to make meditation easy and enjoyable so that users can learn how to manage various stresses and anxieties while improving their overall well-being.
The app also provides users with personalised courses tailored towards specific goals or areas of interest such as creativity or relationships.
The courses are created by experts in various fields such as psychology, yoga, nutrition, neuroscience and more. So you know you’re getting quality information from qualified experts.
What Exactly is Meditation?
There are many myths surrounding meditation and understanding what it involves. The stereotypical view of chanting during some form of religious ritual is not the day to day meditation that apps like Headspace are trying to promote.
Meditation is a way of calming the mind and restoring inner balance through the practice of mindfulness. It involves learning to quieten the mind, become aware of the present moment, and observe one’s thoughts and feelings without judgment. Through this practice, one can learn to access a deeper level of peace and well-being.
Most meditators find that setting aside 10-20 minutes each day for meditation helps them stay focused throughout their day. This could be used for guided meditations such as visualisations, walking meditations outdoors or other forms such as yoga which combine breath work with physical postures.
Who Is the Headspace App For?
The Headspace app is designed for anyone who wants to learn how to practice mindfulness and incorporate meditation into their daily life. Whether you’re looking for ways to reduce stress or improve your overall mental health, this app will have various courses, exercises and guided programmes to follow. With its easy-to-use interface and comprehensive library of content, its content is suited for beginners as well as experienced meditators alike.
Also, It can also help people who are looking to be more productive. The focus category helps people improve their mental concentration and reduces their effort to stay focused. Headspace claim that the programmes for focus can prevent ‘mind wandering’. Also, they reference a study that found that listening to binaural beats reduces mind wandering and improves focus by as much as 22%.
How Does the App Work?
Once you’ve downloaded the app, you’ll be asked to create an account which will allow you to access all of its features from any device – desktop or mobile – at any time.
The set-up process takes you through a few stages for you to inform the app about ‘What ‘s on your mind?’ This helps guide the app to create a daily plan of sessions for you to try.
Once through the set-up process you’ll have two options. Selecting the “Today” icon will provide you with your daily plan. Also ‘Explore’ allows you to choose from their library of hundreds of guided meditations ranging from 10 minutes up to 30 minutes long.
The app acts much like a library or catalogue of different sessions that are available to choose from depending on what you want to achieve from your sessions. I did find the sheer scale of the library of content makes it difficult to decide what type of session to try first.
At times, I found myself scrolling through lots of content wondering where to start or what session to select. Particularly when the sessions offered in ‘Today’ didn’t really offer sessions I felt I needed.
So, I’d like to see more help from the app to guide me towards finding sessions that are tailored to me. However, it does become a handy app to use in moments of your day. By this, I mean if you are having a stressful day, or if you are stressed about financial pressures or even trying to unlock your creative mind then the headspace app can be very useful as and when you need the support.
Headspace does offer content for beginner-level users. But I fell the app is better suited for people who know why they need it or are currently practising meditation or mindfulness. It doesn’t work effectively as a scroll-and-try app. I feel you need a purpose or routine to make the most use of Headspace.
What Can I Expect from the Various Sessions?
Each session includes audio guidance from experts as well as visual animations and videos that will help to steer you through the sessions.
Whether that’s for stress relief, focus or low impact exercises such as yoga poses.
You can also access additional resources such as sleep soundscapes, breathing exercises, educational videos and much more!
What Are the Main Features?
There are essentially 4 main categories to help navigate you to the programmes you are looking for:
Meditate:
Themed meditations are included in the app tailored for different stages of life, such as children, teenagers, adults, couples and seniors. Each meditation is designed to help users feel calmer and have a more positive outlook on life by teaching them mindfulness techniques. These include breathing exercises, guided visualisations, mantras and affirmations. There are also various themed packs which focus on topics such as creativity, stress relief, and dealing with anger or anxiety.
Sleep:
Sleep sessions guide users through a series of mindful activities that aim to reduce their stress levels and help them fall asleep more quickly and easily. This includes things like progressive muscle relaxation exercises. This can involve tensing and relaxing each body part one at a time while concentrating on the feeling of relaxation they bring. Visualisations are also used as a way to ease worries and let go of any negative thoughts that may be keeping someone awake at night. Additionally there are sleepcasts which can be listened to in bed before sleeping. These include soothing stories with relaxing music in the background which help people drift off into a peaceful slumber.
Move:
Move provides low-impact workouts that range from a series of workouts from stretching, yoga poses and light cardio. The sessions are guided by Headspace coaches who are former Olympians, Kim Glass and Leon Taylor.
The sessions focus on your breathwork and are designed to help you find calm at various stages of the day. Whether it’s starting the day with an energising flow, relieving stress from work or calming the body ready for a good night sleep.
Music:
The music section is designed to help with your focus. It offers playlists that have been curated from a diverse range of well-known musicians. For example, there are playlists from Hans Zimmer, Arcade Fire and John Legend who have picked their own ‘focus music’. The music is instrumental instead of singing and songs.
Can you Track Your Progress?
Yes, Headspace does provide some tracking of your progress and activities. It tracks your stats in terms of your total meditation time and how many sessions you have completed.
You can also ‘check in’ by answering a series of 10 questions about either stresses or anxieties in your past month. This will create a progress bar chart on how stressed or anxious you are feeling month by month.
Is there a Free Version?
There isn’t a free version of the app. There is a free 7-day trial, but after that, you have to commit to a paid monthly or annual subscription.
Who Would Find Headspace Beneficial?
People who currently engage in meditation and mindfulness would find Headspace very useful. Its vast library of content will keep users engaged and exploring new sessions. It can be a little tricky to know where to begin for a complete beginner. However, if you are experiencing stressful moments in your day or racing thoughts then trying out Headspace. It could provide you with routines and guides to help overcome these moments. Also, they have content tailored towards beginner level users.
How Much Does The App Cost?
The cost varies depending on whether you opt for a monthly subscription (£9.99/month) or an annual subscription (£49.99/year).
All subscriptions come with a 7-day free trial so you can test out the features before committing.
Headspace Pros
Pros:
- Easy-to-use interface with a comprehensive library of content
- Variety of topics covered including mental health, relationships, creativity, etc.
- You can choose content depending on your goal or personal circumstances.
- Classes and guided sessions are provided by experts e.g. former Olympians teach the move sessions.
Cons:
- Monthly subscription costs $12/month (annual option available);
- Vast library of content could be daunting for beginners.
- Progress tracking is basic. Although you can integrate Headspace with Apple Health.
What Do Other Reviews & Users Say About The App?
Many reviews note that Headspace has made a big imapct on their mental wellbeing . Many users praised its user-friendly design, wide range of topics covered, detailed instructions and visuals provided during each session. On Trustpilot they receive a lot of negative reviews regarding their free 7-day trial. A lot of users experienced that they couldn’t unsubscribe and continued to be billed. However, Headspace has responded to the negative reviews and provided contact details to resolve. Furthermore, it wasn’t my experience using the 7-day free trial on an iPhone. I could simply unsubscribe from my phone subscription settings with no further payment taken.
Alternative Apps to Headspace
If you are wanting to try alternative apps to Headspace for comparison then try out:
You may also want to check out our review of the Morphee Sleep Aid or the article on how to track sleep quality.
Final Verdict on Headspace
Overall, Headspace is an excellent resource for anyone looking for ways to reduce stress levels, improve mental health & promote mindfulness through simple yet effective methods. With its comprehensive library of content & variety of topics covered, this interactive platform makes it a useful resource to practice mindfulness in your daily lives. Without a purpose or situation that arose in the day I would struggle to stay engaged with all the content. But then, I’m a complete beginner to meditation and it’s not something that’s part of my daily routine. Although, after using Headspace, it does make me ponder that I should. There’s no doubt the techniques helped me to feel more mindful and focused on the present.
