'Mindfulness' seems to be the word of the moment and one that gets thrown around quite frivolously. But how can we actually adopt practices in our lives that can lead to positive change? 

Many of us have that one friend who raves about the benefits of meditation and the improvements it has brought to their lives. It might feel like a relatively new concept that has just suddenly taken off, but according to Psychology Today this increasingly popular wellness trend can be dated back as early as 5,000 BCE. The practice itself has religious ties in ancient Egypt and China, as well as Judaism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism.

Spending even just a few minutes every day meditating can help increase your mindfulness and in turn improve your ability to regulate emotions, decrease stress, anxiety and depression. According to the Mayo Clinic, the emotional benefits of meditation include:

• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
• Building skills to manage your stress
• Increasing self-awareness
• Focusing on the present
• Reducing negative emotions
• Increasing imagination and creativity
• Increasing patience and tolerance

Having a meditation app on your phone is one of the single most useful digital tools you can add to your life. Below, we have rounded up five different apps that you can listen to anywhere and assist you on your journey to finding inner peace. 

5 Meditation Apps to Help Calm Your Mind

1. Waking Up

American author, philosopher, neuroscientist, and podcast host, Sam Harris' meditation app is a guide to understanding the mind, for the purpose of living a more balanced and fulfilling life. The app is structured around its two core principles: You can practice meditation, and you can learn the theory behind the practice. There are series of daily meditations that take you through all the different types of practices and a range of lessons on topics related to meditation.

2. Headspace

Co-founded by former Buddhist monk, Andy Puddicombe, the Headspace app is meditation made simple, teaching you life-changing mindfulness skills in just a few minutes a day. It's affordable, simple, and easy to use. You can partake in meditation courses that centre around different topics like finding focus or dealing with grief, or you can partake in a one-off meditation to help calm yourself before a stressful situation.

3. Calm

This award-winning mindfulness app is a great choice for more experienced meditators. It offers guided and unguided meditation sessions targeted at different categories (Stress, Focus, Anxiety, and Relationships) that range anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes. The app also features sleep stories narrated by celebrities like Stephen Fry and Kate Winslet.

4. Breethe

The Breethe app is designed to help you better navigate life’s challenges and enjoy improved peace of mind. One of the great things about Breethe is that it aims to provide self-care to suit your schedule, with intuitive sections like Start Your Day, Take a Break, and Go to Sleep. The app has a playful streak to it with meditation sessions with names like "My Family Drives me Nuts" and "Tax Seasons- Adulting is Hard'. 

5. 10% Happier

10% Happier markets itself as "meditation for fidgety skeptics," and focuses on simple and practical exercises that have been backed by science. The point of difference with this app is that it offers a chat feature that directly connects users with their own meditation coach. Like the Headspace app, you can invite friends to join your practice.

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