The New Year has just dawned on us and with it comes the obligatory resolution to become healthier in the coming year. But adopting a healthier lifestyle is easier said than done. In today’s day and age, there are so many distractions that steal away from your goal and there is also the perennial problem of discipline and motivation. 

Most of us are not able to hire a fitness coach to give us constant direction and feedback to keep us on track of our fitness goals, but thankfully there are now thousands of apps available that can function as trusted aides in your fitness journey. From keeping track of your physical activities to reminding you of your goals, these nifty apps have become popular for good reason. So, if you are on a quest to transform yourself, know that you don’t have to go the distance alone. Log onto to your app store and check these five different kinds of apps out, find which app best suits your needs and tastes and stride into the New Year confidently. 

BMI calculator

BMI calculator specialises in calculating the BMI and BMR. BMI stands for Body Mass Index, the value of which is derived with the help of the weight and height of an individual. This index is, in turn, used to identify the well-being of an individual in terms of weight. The BMI Calculator app takes note of the age, sex, height and weight of a person, calculates the BMI and deduces the weight condition of the person—whether they are normal, underweight, overweight, or obese.

On the other hand, BMR stands for Basal Metabolic rate, which means the number of calories a healthy person burns at rest. These calories are burned naturally through basic tasks like breathing, digesting, heart beats and all the other physiological tasks keeping a human alive. Alike the calculation of the BMI, the app asks for the age, sex, height, and weight of a person and calculates the BMR. With this data, you can take the required actions in order to bring your body weight to its ideal state and get a step closer to a healthy lifestyle.

Water Drink Reminder

Water plays a crucial role in a healthy lifestyle and even weight loss. The human body needs to be hydrated timely for the fluent operation of the metabolism but due to our busy schedules, we often forget to refill our bodies with water, leading to fatigue, muscle cramps, spasms, dizziness, headaches, constipation, and even increased anxiety. Not to mention, dehydration invites long term ailments like chronic fatigue and depression, migraine, arthritis, stomach ulcers and kidney stones. 

Which is why, Water Drink Reminder can be a real asset on your road to fitness. The app asks for body weight, sleeping and wake up times, then it uses that information to determine when and how much water a user needs to intake. What is more, the app reminds the user with an alarm precisely every hour during the working time, whereby the users can set the amount of water drunk at every reminder and reduce the daily goal. Should you meet your goal before the day is through, the app goes silent and will not buzz for the rest of the day.

Pedometer Step Counter

While walking, jogging or running, it is difficult to track the amount of calories burnt. And without keeping track of actual data, the journey to a healthy lifestyle can stumble and stray. This is where the Pedometer Step Counter comes in. 

As the name implies, the app counts the number of footsteps during exercise and deduces the amount of calories burnt. Users can also set their goals in terms of steps after planning the amount of calories they want to burn on any given day. For those who lose track of their fitness goals and routine, there is also a reminder option, which prompts the individual to get moving by beeping at preset times.

Twilight

In this tech-driven world, our exposure to the blue light is at an all time high with the use of devices like smartphones, computers and TVs has increased at an unprecedented rate.

Sun is the natural source of blue light. Exposure to the natural form of blue light regulates the natural sleep and wake cycles and this process is known as Circadian Rhythm. In addition to the regulation of Circadian Rhythm, the natural blue light increases alertness, heightens reaction times, damps mood swings and improves the state of well-being. However, the exposure to the artificial blue light is unhealthy to the human body as it contributes to eyestrain and retinal damage, ultimately leading to macular degeneration. Research has also shown that blue light disrupts the state of hormones in the body.

In light of this increased exposure, Twilight app was developed to help filter out the harmful blue light that oozes out of smartphones and other digital devices.

The app basically has three adjust modes against the blue light. The first is the control over the colour temperature, which can be adjusted to a value between 1000K to 5000K.  Keeping the temperature at lower values is good for the eyes as they help in preventing eye strains. However, lower color temperatures do leave a reddish tint on the screen. On the other hand, higher colour temperatures bring blue tint to the screen. 

Other additional two modes on the app are intensity and screen dim. As the name implies, the intensity controls the amount of reddish or bluish tint on the screen and the screen dim mode allows the user to adjust the brightness. There are also numerous ways to automatically toggle the blue light filter on and off in the app. 

Sleep Bot

Inadequate sleep can be a slow poison. Sleep deprivation affects memory, causes emotional outbursts, paranoia, and chronic diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. A good amount of sleep is essential to a human body and Sleep Bot app is a great tool for tracking your sleep patterns.

All the user needs to do is set the app to “Going to Sleep” mode before going to bed. The app also asks to check smart alarm, track motion and record sound mode before bedtime. The smart alarm mode wakes the user somewhere in between thirty minutes prior to set time judging the best time to wake the user. Similarly, track motion option tracks the movement of the smartphone during sleep. If the smartphone is kept close to the user, the app can trace the motion of the user during sleep. There is also the record sound option, which records the sounds produced during the sleep. This mode helps to keep track of difficulties like uncomfortable breathing or snoring. In addition to sleep tracking, the app also comes with a plethora of literature regarding sleeping habits, healthy ways to induce sleep or ways to stay awake.