Phone Apps for Health

Our tech friend, Dan, using his smartphone

Our tech friend, Dan, using his smartphone

Does saving money by using apps on your phone sound too good to be true? Wellness and fitness monitoring, via phone apps, may just be the trend of the future.

With a push from healthcare companies to have patients become more proactive with their health, wellness and fitness apps are popping up everywhere. Some companies are even making these apps specific to their employees or customer’s individual needs and providing monetary incentives. Aetna, Cigna, United Healthcare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield are just a few of the big name health providers that have begun using fitness apps. That means you may be able to get paid (or pay less) to live a healthy lifestyle.

 5 Unique Wellness and Fitness Apps

Let’s take a look at five unique and popular FREE apps (most have $ upgrades available).  Could the right fitness app be the incentive you need for a healthy lifestyle change?

  1. MyFitnessPal– This fitness app has a free fitness counter and calculates how many calories you burn when working out. It has a large library of common foods and even allows you to “scan” barcodes for calories and nutritional information.
  2. The Johnson and Johnson Official 7-MinuteWorkout– This app offers a variety of 7-minute workouts that can be used in over 1000 combinations based on your preferences and motivation.
  3. Sickweather– This is a sickness forecasting and mapping app. What does that mean, you ask? Sickweather scans social media for signs of illness and maps them, like a weather doppler, letting you know what the chance of sickness is in your area.
  4. Fitocracy– Need a little friendly competition to help motivate you? The Fitocracy fitness app works like a game using your social network to encourage you and to egg you on. It offers fitness resources and a community of support.
  5. Relax Melodies– Having trouble getting the rest you need to maintain optimal health? This wellness app lets you create a personalized sleep mix and the website boasts…

“Can’t sleep? In 20 minutes or less you will.”

Finding the right wellness and/or fitness app could not only save you money, but may help improve the quality and length of your life. Finally, a healthy excuse to use your phone!