Wellness in the Digital Age: Your Personal Health Toolkit for 2024
From Sleep Optimisation to Calorie Tracking — Maximising Apps for a Balanced Life
INTRODUCTION
It’s a brand-new year, and all of us have that list of goals that we want to achieve by the end of the year. Most of us, I am sure, will want this year to be more conscious about our health. With more and more illnesses arising in the world, it is vital to take note of how our daily activities affect our health. There are a few questions that always pop up when I discuss anything about my health.
- Am I getting enough sleep?
- Am I burning more calories than what I am consuming?
- Am I hydrating enough through the day?
- How am I feeling… emotionally?
- Do I have all the info for that visit to the doctor’s office?
I plan to use technology to help improve my health by answering the above questions, and I want to share them with you. Over the years, I’ve read articles and watched countless YouTube videos where people share apps that have positively impacted their lives, and I’ve taken note of them and tried them for myself. In this article, I will be sharing the ones that I’ve been using for a few months now and how I use them for the betterment of my life.
RISE SLEEP
We all have bursts of energy throughout the day, but wouldn’t it be great if you knew when these bursts would pop up so you would know how to plan your day accordingly? Well, there’s an app, Rise Sleep, that helps you figure out when you should conquer the most difficult tasks and when it’s time for some self-care activities. Rise Sleep analyses your sleep during the night into a graph which shows how your energy dips throughout the day. It even goes further to suggest when you should be winding down for bed and what time is perfect to fall asleep to wake up feeling refreshed. I see a lot of difference in my energy schedule during the day after following the tips the app proposes. I recommend using it, especially if you have sleeping issues.
LOSE IT
Every year, we all have that one goal that keeps repeating itself, which is to lose some of the extra pounds you’ve gained during the Holidays. I’ve always tried to track my calorie intake, and somehow, I find it too dull and tedious, but that was until I stumbled upon this app, “Lose It!”. Now, I know most of you must be saying, why didn’t I try “MyFitnessPal”? Well, I did and used it for a month a while back, but the fee was too expensive, and it didn’t have most of my local Indian foods then, so it was either inputting every ingredient from the dish or finding another way of tracking. “Lose It” has different types of cuisine, and the UI is much simpler for me than “MyFitnessPal”. Besides the different cuisine types and the lower subscription cost, it does the same as every other Calorie Tracker app.
Here are some of my frequently used features of the app:
- Intermittent Fasting;
- Calorie Burn Bonus: get competitive and exceed the estimated calories you should burn in a day;
- Calorie Scheduling: on weekends, you can schedule a higher calorie intake than weekdays;
- Nutrition Strategy: whether you’re a vegetarian or a pescatarian, they’ve got you covered.
WATERMINDER
If you’re someone who never remembers to take a break from the desk and take a sip of some water, well, then you’re not alone. It’s not that I don’t like drinking water; it’s just that I rush to the dispenser only when I am thirsty and gut down a glass full of water as if I’ve just returned from the Sahara Desert… lol. I’ve read numerous times that a hydrated body keeps the mind alert and focused and gives you that glow on your face that everyone loves to get complimented on. Trust me, they’re all true. I’ve set up the app to notify me every hour to get up and sip water, even if I am not thirsty. The best part is that you cannot only track water but any beverage you usually consume and set the hydration impact, which means when you log 100ml of water, it adds the full 100ml to your daily hydration goal rather than a 100ml of alcohol, which contributes only 50ml towards your daily goal because it’s not hydrating like water. I find it’s a great way to break that addiction to Pepsi, especially when you want to close that hydration ring on your Watch screen. What I admire about the app is that it takes your health information and creates an estimated amount of water you should drink daily. It’s up to you to achieve that goal before the day ends.
DAYONE
Journaling daily helps me with my anxiety, which I didn’t know I suffered from until recently. It also helps me with my writing too. Everyone these days is saying how much journaling is essential for your mental health, and I strongly agree with them. Still, some days, you dread the thought of someone getting a hold of your physical journal or it’s miraculously getting damaged. Well, I’ve been back and forth with DayOne and numerous other journaling apps, even the one from Apple, which they released in iOS17, but I always seem to find my way back to DayOne. What I love most about this app is its overall UI. It’s so different and appealing to me, and with the writing prompts, it’s perfect. Journaling on DayOne helps me to connect with myself, and for those days when I have nothing to write or don’t have a clue where to begin, prompts are always there to step in and save the day. Now that I have made entries in the past year, I get memory notifications almost every morning, sending my mind into nostalgia mode. I reminisce over what I felt on a day like today in previous years.
FLO
This one for us, ladies/women, out there. Learning more about our feminine health is essential, and having the relevant information for those visits to the Doctor’s office is necessary. This app was recommended to me by a friend, and I am grateful for it because before, I was using the native “Cycle Tracking” feature in Apple Health, and it was good, but with Flo, I get all sorts of insights based on what I log. I get notified when it’s time to check with a doctor or when a change in my daily habits is needed due to a trend of logged symptoms. It would be great if Apple included this feature within their Health app because it would be a total game changer and, at the same time, save some money due to the pricey subscription, which, to be honest, is all worth it.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, embracing technology to prioritise and enhance our well-being in 2024 is a proactive step towards a healthier lifestyle. The apps discussed — Rise Sleep, Lose It, WaterMinder, DayOne, and Flo — showcase the diverse ways technology can assist us in managing our health, from sleep patterns to nutrition, hydration, mental well-being, and feminine health. Incorporating these tools into our daily routines empowers us to make informed choices, fostering a holistic approach to self-care. As we navigate the year ahead, let’s leverage these technological aids to achieve our health goals and promote a mindful and balanced lifestyle. Cheers to a healthier and happier 2024!
I can’t thank you enough for checking out this content and for sharing your thoughts, experiences, and feedback. Your attention and support mean the world and inspire me to create remarkable and informative stuff. I hope this article has been helpful and eye-opening, and I can’t wait to share more with you down the road.
Have you enjoyed this content? Support my creative journey on Patreon for exclusive perks, behind-the-scenes access, and a chance to be part of something special. Join the community that makes it all possible!
If you need to reach me, refer to my landing page with all my social links, and please don’t hesitate to shoot me an email (for business stuff only, though).
Until we meet again, take care and stay safe!
