Best Stress-Relief Apps: Four Ways to De-Stress on the Go

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.  ~ Lily Tomlin

Looking for stress relief on the go? You can find ways to control your stress with the very thing you have in your hand: a smartphone. One of the things I love to do is find new ways to kick stress to the curb quickly. I started to search for the best stress-relief apps that you can use immediately to break the cycle of stress.

Here’s a list of my favorite apps for stress relief:

GPS for the Soul is my new favorite stress-relief app that stops the fight-or-flight response in its tracks. This app measures your heart rate variability by placing your finger over the lens of your smartphone camera. The app rates your stress and directs you to solutions to deal with your stress with breathing exercises, music, pictures and more. It’s totally customizable, following Deepak Chopra’s personal GPS guide. The program will help you break the downward spiral of stress and start your day brand new. Currently the app is only on iTunes. Watch this video by Ariana Huffington to learn more.

Stress Tracker is a free app that helps you pinpoint the cause of your anxiety and manage your stress. This app allows you to identify your stress level, reason, symptoms in real time. Over time, you can trend over days, weeks and months what is contributing your stress. This app is easy to use and can be customized by adding stressors specific to you.

Stress tracker was developed by a team of leading psychologists using cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness principles. I like the fact you can view stress trends to bring greater awareness to your stress response.

Relaxing Sounds of Nature Lite is a great app where you can combine different nature sounds to create a unique outdoor experience. Whether you want to relax or you are preparing to meditate or sleep, this app is perfect. Add relaxing music and you have created your own private Zen experience. You can save your favorite mixes for future use. The app also has a timer so you can even relax on a break at work or set for sleep at night.

Relax Melodies: Sleep and Yoga is another app that you can mix music and sounds. Named one of Amazon’s Top Best Apps of 2012, Relax Melodies has 46 different ambient sounds to mix. You can easily save your favorites or use the premixed sounds for total relaxation. This is available for both iPhone and Android.

Try these apps and tell me about your favorite to help with stress relief.