Once upon a time, we were young and mostly carefree about our health. We could go dancing all night, drinking too much, and chowing down on pancakes at a 24-hour diner, and then still go to work the next day with some dry shampoo and a giant coffee to get us going. It can feel easy to take our health for granted until time passes, we get a little older, we have some babies, and then one day we bend over to pick up a Cheerio off the floor and totally throw our back out (true story, sadly).
These days, we are doing more to take care of our health. We're finding joyful movement to build strong bones, we're drinking less wine and more water, we're trying to manage our stress better, and take good care of our mental health, too. While it can be a little daunting to think about all of the things we want to do to stay healthy, the good news is there are some great apps out there that make tracking our health easier.
Whether someone is working on movement goals (like step counting or aiming to do 100 sessions of yoga in a year), sleep goals, or goals around mental health, there's an app for that! We've rounded up 15 of the easiest to use health tracking apps, many of them free, that can help anyone take a little better care of their health. Download today and be a little healthier tomorrow!
Map My Walk
For basically any workout that happens on two feet, Map My Walk can track it! This free app can track distance, pace, elevation changes, and more for activities including walking, running, hiking, and even snowshoeing for the cold weather athletes. This can be a great option for those who are training for a race or who just want to see their progress over time.
Clue
Has anyone else ever had one of those days were everything is just extra irritating and/or eating a lunch of candy and potato chips seems entirely reasonable and then good old Aunt Flo arrives and everything clicks into place? And maybe we don't need to get a divorce or start buying Snickers in bulk at Costco? Yeah, this is where the Clue app would be helpful! This app helps track users' cycles, whether for period prediction purposes or for trying to get (or prevent) pregnancy. This can also be helpful for tracking symptoms or for keeping track of irregular cycles for those who have conditions like PCOS.
Daylio
Daylio is a super customisable app that allows users to track their mood on a daily basis (which can be helpful for tracking our mental health) as well as their progress on a variety of health or actibity goals that they set for themselves. This app is also free and has a 4.8 out of 5 rating in the Apple store.
Easy Quit
Easy Quit is a simple app that can help folks who are wanting to change their relationship with alcohol, either by quitting completely (shout-out to all the dry January folks!) or by reducing their drinking frequency or amounts with the "quit slowly" setting. This app even helps people track how much money they are saving by not drinking, so it is good for both health and the wallet!
Peloton
Yes, we love Peloton for the cycling classes, but the app (which is currently $12.99) has so much content, including great meditation and yoga classes for when being healthy means needing to chill out. With over 50 instructors, it's easy to find a class that is just the right combo of motivating and encouraging! The app also tracks all the workouts users do on the platform, so it's easy to track how much movement we're getting in a week, month, and year.
Sleep Score
Getting a good night of sleep is one of the cornerstones of good health and it should be so easy, right? Just shut the eyes and drift away to dreamland. Yeah, not so much for some of us. For everyone who struggles with getting enough sleep or falling asleep, the Sleep Score app might be just the thing! This app has sleep meditation and tracks sleep cycles while also offering expert advice on how to improve the ZZZs.
Migraine Buddy
Man, we really wish that nobody needed this app, but for those who get migraines, Migraine Buddy can be really helpful for tracking frequency, figuring out triggers, and even using weather forecasts to help predict likely headache days.
Strides
The Strides app is free, easy to use, and really flexible. We use it for tracking some daily health habits (it turns out we actually do feel better when we remember to drink water every day) so it's great that we can set multiple habits and goals all within the same app.
Apple Health
One of the best all-in-one health tracking apps is Apple's Health app which allows Apple phone and watch users to track everything from daily steps, to resting heart rate, to menstrual cycles, to sleep cycles, and even changes to balance and aerobic capacity. We can't imagine a user who won't learn something about themselves and their health with this app!
My Fitness Pal
OK, full disclosure: We're not fans of recommending anything that seems like we might be promoting diet culture. We know that diets are harmful and don't work. That said, we do know that there are times when we might want to pay extra attention to our nutrition and this app can help track goals around tracking things like sodium intake or if we are getting enough protein. Note: If calorie counting is a trigger for bad body or mental health, this might not be a good fit.
Skincare Routine
There are so many options when it comes to skin care products and about one million YouTube videos or TikToks showcasing how people do their daily routines. It's amazing! But it's also overwhelming, which is where the Skincare Routine app can help. For $3.99 per month this app can help identify what products to use and how to find a daily routine to help meet whatever skin care goals we might have. Yes, please, someone tell us what to do!
Talkspace
In 2023, hopefully we all know that mental health is just as important as physcial health. For anyone who is needing some help with mental health, relationship health, or just to spend some time processing with a trained counselor, Talkspace is an option to find a provider that can help. Bonus: This service is covered by some insurance plans!
Mint
We know that we promised a round of apps to help track health, so what is an app about money management doing in here? Well, here's the thing: stress is terrible for our health and feeling anxious about money is so stressful. The Mint app is a great tool to get in control of the money side of life, including tracking spending and setting savings goals.
Breathwrk
When life is hectic, stressful, or overwhelming, taking some time to breath is always a good idea. The Breathwrk app has a variety of breathing exercises available for free (with more available for a low-cost subscription) and has a tracking tool so users can track their daily streak for doing breath work.
Strava
The Strava app is super popular with folks who walk, run, hike, or cycle because it all not only allows users to map and track their own workout but also can share their data with other users in the Strava community. This is the app for folks who get a motivated by having some friendly competition and seeing their miles add up over the course of a year!
*Disclaimer: The advice on CafeMom.com is not a substitute for consultation with a medical professional or treatment for a specific condition. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem without consulting a qualified professional. Please contact your health-care provider with questions and concerns.
