Blue Monday, January 2024 falls on the 15th, and it’s said to be the most depressing day of the year. As well as this, it is also believed to be the peak season for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), meaning people's mental health is at an all-time low. Usually, this is because the nights are darker, the outside is colder and money has all been spent on Christmas and New Year.
How can I improve my well-being in winter?
Because January can be a difficult month in general for people (mentally and financially), we thought we’d provide some helpful insights for a way to make your mental health a little less blue. It’s time to beat the January Blues and wipe away those stormy Monday blues with our selection of the 10 mental health apps for teens.
Habits to improve mental health:
- Meditation
- Learning a new skill
- Sleeping
- Walking
- Exercise
- Writing
- Reading
Can an app help my mental health problems?
Calm
Meditation is a great way to improve mental health, it gives the person a sense of calm, peace and balance and also is great for balancing out your emotions. And what better way to improve your mental health through meditation than with the number one app for sleep and meditation, Calm. Calm is recommended by top psychologists, therapists and other mental health experts and is an app dedicated to playing sleep stories, music and any other ways to help with peaceful meditation.
Make sure to download the Calm app now on iOS and Android, it’s free!
Similar apps:
- Moodfit
- MindShift
- Moodkit
Headspace
Headspace is another fantastic mental health-based app, one of the leading mindfulness apps which has helped to reduce stress, improve focus and decrease aggression. The app provides a selection of mindfulness tools to help with everyday life activities like sleeping, exercise and focusing.
Headspace is currently free to download on iOS, Android and Desktop.
Similar apps:
- Insight Timer
- Unplug
- Simple Habit
Happify
Similar to the previous two mindfulness apps, Happify focuses on monitoring your emotions and keeping your positivity active. It aims to stop negative thinking and improve emotions. Once a user has signed up and reflected on their mental health goals, Happify then puts users into groups and activities which are aimed to help achieve mental goals. It is reported that when people use the app, over 85% have stated that they felt better about themselves within 2 months.
Download Happify now for free on iOS and Android.
Similar apps:
- Worry Watch
- Mood Tools
- Daylio
Day One
Writing is another tool that’s great for improving mental health, it's perfect for unwinding and de-stressing and a way to get your feelings down (both negative and positive) to let your thoughts escape your mind. A great tool for writing down your triggers and how to cope with them is Day One, a journaling schedule where you can add photos, note emotions, and document your feelings. These pages can then be reflected on throughout the year.
Day One is available right now on iOS, Mac and Android for free.
Similar apps:
- 5 Minute Journal
- Reflectly
- DailyBean
SleepScore
Sleep is essential for keeping our bodies healthy and refreshing our minds. A lack of sleep can result in moods decreasing, mental health plummeting and depression increasing. Sleep Score is ideal for monitoring your sleep to check you are getting enough hours nightly, it measures every movement and breath whilst you sleep, ensuring you are keeping to your sleep schedule and providing details on how you can improve your sleep.
Make sure to download SleepScore now for free on iOS.
Similar apps:
- Sleep Reset
- Stellar Sleeps
- Sleep Easy
7 min workout
Fitness is another key way to improve mental health. By exercising you are relieving any stress or tension stuck in your muscles. It also boosts physical and mental health, and releases endorphins which make the mind and body happy. 7 Min Workout is a fast, high-intensity exercise workout which lasts for 7 minutes daily providing fun activities to improve mental health with the main aim to burn fat in short amounts of time.
Download 7 Min Workout now for free on Android and iOS.
Related blog: Our Top 10 Fitness Tracker Options
Similar apps:
- Peloton
- Sweat
- Centr
Footpath route planner
Along with workouts, a less intense way to keep fit and improve mental health is the Footpath Route Planner. Walking is known to improve our moods, give us time to think and allow our brains to get fresh air which stimulates our minds. Footpath Route Planner is a great way to reduce stress and increase self-esteem. Plan your routine around footpaths and bike trails instead of transport.
Download the free app now on iOS and Android.
Similar apps:
- Strava
- Google Fit
- MapOut
Babbel
Learning a new skill is very beneficial for mental health, especially learning a new language, it gives the brain something to focus on giving purpose. Babbel is a great app that introduces grammar and vocabularily into daily conversations that you may use.
It’s a free app that you can download now on iOS and Android.
Similar apps:
- Busuu
- Memrise
- 50 Languages
Duolingo
Another great app perfect for learning a new language is Duolingo. Very popular around smartphone users, like Babbel Duolingo makes learning languages fun. Through challenges, competitions, and games, build your way to the top of your language leaderboard. And what makes it better? The app is completely free!
Download now on all platforms!
Similar apps:
- FluentU
- Speakly
- Speechling
PocketBook Reader
And finally, our last suggestion for the best apps to improve mental health is Pocketbook Reader. Because reading keeps the brain active and promotes mental fitness, it’s a great way to boost positive mentality. This free app provides all formats of reading like books, magazines, textbooks, comic books and more.
PocketBook Reader is available to download for free on iOS.
Similar apps:
- Epic
- Apple Books
- Bookly
Conclusion:
Please make sure to leave your other app recommendations below to help improve mental health. And let us know if you downloaded these apps. If you are on the lookout for a brand-new phone, why not consider checking Stock Must Go, our phones are high-quality and refurbished, so you pay less! A great way to make that Blue Monday a little brighter.