At times, it was hard to sit through long, silent periods for 20 or 30 minutes without getting distracted. Headspace also lacked a feature I came to appreciate in other apps: The option to underlay meditation narration with some sort of white noise, like rain or a stream. But skipping backwards and forwards is imprecise, because it relies on moving an external ring around an internal circle that has the play/pause button. I found it difficult to rewind or fast-forward in meditations, which you sometimes want to do if you’ve lost your focus or want to advance past a lull. While Headspace is the best app we found overall, it still has its shortcomings. Other videos offered bitesize insights into subjects like meditating with kids. Nonetheless, I walked away with a better understanding of people’s relationship with food. I was surprised (and skeptical), because it’s a meditation app, after all. One day, the video subject was a Q&A with a nutritionist. They’re usually less than a couple of minutes, and sometimes even incorporate a quick breathing exercise. Headspace also releases short daily videos addressing a variety of wellness topics, which I came to really enjoy, and even look forward to. Headspace has a growing library of sleep content, from nighttime breathing exercises to narrated "sleepcasts." In fact, I can’t remember being awake at the end of a Headspace sleep session! Many people look to meditation as a way to help them fall asleep. Some users may find that just two voices isn’t enough variety, though I never got frustrated with the narration. I found that the middle length, usually about 10 minutes, was well-paced, and filled the Goldilocks bill not too short or too long.Įach of the meditations uses the same default male voice, though most sessions have a female voice you can select instead. On the flip-side, longer versions, at 20 minutes, can feel drawn out and have long pauses. Shorter versions, sometimes just three minutes, can feel rushed. Users can set the duration of sessions from as little as three minutes to up to 20 minutes-many apps offer sessions of different lengths, but Headspace is the only one that lets you pick a session and then change the length.
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One big pro of Headspace is its customizable session length. Other basic meditations I tried were good as well, and I never left a session feeling as though I didn’t achieve what it said I would, whether that be a feeling of calm, focus, or decreased stress. I found the app’s beginner course easy to follow and useful, and the sessions conducive to relaxing and focusing on being present (without dozing off). If these options don’t fill the bill, you can track down specific meditations in the library by searching with a keyword (“stress” or “relax,” among others). You can also start with the “basics” program, which is designed to teach the fundamentals of meditation and mindfulness through 10 sessions.
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When you first download Headspace, you quickly set up an account and select an area to focus on-like stress and anxiety, help to fall asleep, or “trying something new”-and it carries you through to a page specific to your choice.
Headspace offers a little bit of everything, striking a fine balance between providing users with a lot of options while maintaining a high standard of quality content. Here are the best meditation apps we tested ranked, in order: In our testing, Headspace came out on top, because of its user-friendly interface and variety of quality, guided sessions that are good for anyone who wants to develop, and stick with, a meditation habit. Sure, they all offer guided sessions, but what makes one better than another?īreathe easy: We tested eight of the most popular meditation apps, and looked at their library size, how effective meditations were, and the overall user experience. But there are so many meditation apps out there, it can be overwhelming to pick the best one for you. Moreover, smartphones and their apps have made guided meditation sessions widely accessible, and ready on demand. In recent years, the practice has grown in popularity as a tool for people to relax and destress. It may seem like everyone is ohming and ahhing about meditation these days.
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