Before I discovered the joy of Headspace meditation app, I would scroll my timeline before bed, letting the blue screen light lull me into a light sleep. I woke up repeatedly throughout the night, panicking about something embarrassing I said in a meeting four years ago, and woke up feeling like I’ve never slept for a moment.
I know there must be a better way. Thankfully, I’ve been using Headspace regularly while testing the paid version of the app for the past few weeks and have finally regained some of my sanity. Turns out, I wasn’t just dreaming it – Meditation really works about your sleep cycle, mood, and stress levels, according to Dr. Joanne Fredericka licensed mental health counselor and author of “Copeology. “Meditation and mindfulness help train the mind to focus on the present, making it less likely to ponder the anxious thoughts that cause depression,” she says.
The Headspace app is designed for those who are new to mindfulness and looking for some guidance. As its tagline suggests, Headspace aims to promote a space where meditation becomes simple.
The problem with meditation – or Headspace specifically – is that you need to make it a habit for it to work in the long run. “When practiced correctly and consistently, it works by changing the way your brain responds to anxiety and stress,” says Dr. Haley Perlus, a peak performance coach with a Ph. in sport and exercise psychology. “During meditation, you can override stimuli from the amygdala and prefrontal cortex.” Perlus explains that as stress levels decrease, depression also subsides, creating a domino effect in psychological healing.
Let’s learn more about what Headspace is, how it works, and whether it’s right for you.
The Headspace app is designed for those who are new to mindfulness and looking for some guidance. As its tagline suggests, Headspace aims to promote a space where meditation becomes simple.
After the free trial period, where you’re invited to try the Knowledge Base, as the app calls it, you’ll have access to longer, more in-depth content for thousands of hours to help you relax, practice middle or move, or a combination of all three.
Yes Two plans to choose from: The annual plan (best value) comes with a 14-day free trial and is automatically charged $69.99 per year, or $5.83 per month. The monthly plan comes with a seven-day free trial with a monthly payment of $12.99. The app has a 4.9-star rating, over 70 million downloads across all platforms, over 600,000 reviews and users in 190 countries.
Headspace acts as a relaxation solution with a full range of services. “[It] He teaches eight helpful techniques that are derived from the Buddhist traditions of Burma and Tibet, says Frederick, and each is contextualized throughout different meditations, accompanied by animations that give clear. ”
Once you’re on the home page, you can choose your preferred mindfulness method, from Meditation, which revolves around stillness and accepting thoughts as they pass; Sleep, aimed at quieting mental chatter before bed; Get moving, helping your heart pump blood to produce a feel-good dose of endorphins; and Focus, which resets your brain when you’re feeling as sluggish as a mid-afternoon espresso without the jitters.
Each category has even more subcategories to choose from, and you can use the filter in the top right corner to help you navigate them. Enter your own search parameters or use Headspace’s recommended parameters, from guided breathing and Black pleasure feeding to mindful eating and navigating injustice. Sessions range from one minute to three hours long. The best part? You don’t need more equipment than your own body.
Pros and cons of Headspace
Headspace almost instantly improves my headspace within minutes of use, whether I’m feeling anxious, sad, or both (that’s really my specialty). But until it can make my bed and pay my taxes, it won’t be a perfect app. Here is a breakdown of its strengths and its weaknesses:
The app keeps track of sessions and makes good progress. I appreciate that it features popular and recent classes so I don’t have to sift through the ones I want to try again (which never happened, FYI – there are just too many classes without I feel the need to relearn any).
I love being able to measure my stress (I try to quantify it, come up with a number and put it in a “box” to manage it more tangible), so I value it a lot. high in the Reflect section, which provides detailed monthly subscription information about your current mental health (I’m 19 out of 40 on the stress scale – see how I accumulate a month from now! ), a “moment of mindfulness” that includes a brief but meaningful quote and statistics including minutes spent meditating and average session length.
I love a few moments to breathe as much as the next guy, but anything longer than that leaves me feeling a bit limited and stuck. I like that there are so many longer sessions to choose from that I can play in the background while doing my day-to-day tasks – this means I can stay on schedule while streaming a lot of the key techniques. more mindful of their daily routine.
Since the app prioritizes audio, I had to really enjoy the coach’s voice and delivery style. When I first used the app six years ago, I loved the soft British accent of co-founder and former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe so much that I can’t get myself to deviate from it at this point. .
While the mental health benefits of Headspace are self-reported (and therefore your distance may vary), our experts agree that using an app like Headspace for meditation will brings an immediate sense of calm: “The mind has a default mode network (DMN),” says Perlus. “These thoughts often cause anxiety and thinking. A study was carried out at Yale University found that meditation can reduce DMN brain activity, so when the brain starts going into anxiety zones as new connections form through meditation, the mind can return to a place of calm . ”
Frederick adds that meditating through an app like Headspace can also reduce stress and cortisol levels, improve focus, lower blood pressure, and boost awareness and self-esteem by allowing for the opportunity to test one’s thoughts and feelings without judgment.
Perlus cites recent research from Lancaster University that strengthened her trust in Headspace. The study examined the 280 most popular mindfulness apps on iTunes, narrowed them down to the 16 highest-rated apps, and found that only one out of many — you guessed it, Headspace — was researched. Experimental studies have shown that it can reduce depression and increase positive emotions. after 10 days of use (why don’t you try it out for yourself in time its free trial?). “This doesn’t mean other apps don’t work, just that they haven’t been studied,” says Perlus.
When you’re stressed, the last thing you want to do is browse through thousands of options (it’s like lounging around at a restaurant and having to make a thoughtful decision about what to order). An inventory of more than 500 sessions is unbeatable with dozens of subcategories across four major categories, but during the mid-crisis (which is when I’m most likely to reach apps), I Wish there were more options to choose from.
According to Frederick, meditation apps like Headspace aren’t for everyone. “People with some questions about mindfulness may find apps uncomfortably limited and may want to take classes that are more interactive,” she says.
Given that sleep and stress levels affect nearly every aspect of our lives (including mine!), The headspace is very valuable, full stop, as it can help you manage those areas. It makes an excellent non-pharmaceutical alternative to sleep aids and a viable adjunct to therapy (Headspace is not meant to be a replacement for therapy, but is recommended by our experts). we see meditation as a possible way to calm your thinking, it can help you plan your existing mental health care treatment with few contraindications – if any).
“Space can be a great option for anyone looking to try meditation for the first time. It is affordable, simple and easy to use. “If you’re new to the concept of meditation, apps can help you learn without feeling like you have to guess at the process.”
About whether I maintain the Headspace routine? It has proven to be a much more beneficial habit than falling into a light sleep under the light of my blue-lit screen only to wake up a few hours later and panic about something embarrassing. which I said four years ago.
