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Health Tracking Apps

Updated: Apr 11

Empowering your patients to manage their health at home


As occupational therapists you are used to helping the people you work with to achieve their goals, manage their health, consider their wellbeing, and empower them to live the lives they wish. The work you do as OTs is powerful and meaningful to those you work with, however you can’t be with your patients all the time, so it is great to have tools that will help your patients and clients to manage their health at home on their own. In this digital age we can now find an app for literally anything, from tracking our mood to helping us sleep, and these apps can come in very handy in helping people understand and manage their own health. We take a look at some of the apps available today.


Image shows a woman's hand with pink painted nails tapping on a smart phone that sits on a desk


Pzizz

This app is designed to help aid sleep using what they call dreamscapes. The team behind this app have thoroughly researched the effects of sounds on our physiology, allowing them to dive into the sounds that can help induce sleep. They talk about “psychoacoustics” and it all gets a little confusing, but all we need to know is that the team at Pzizz have made it their goal to produce sequences of sounds that will help listeners fall asleep, and get good quality sleep. There are over 100 billion sounds sequences and users can adjust the narration voice to completely personalise what they are listening to. It is clinically proven to be more effective than just listening to relaxing music and has even been praised for helping people experiencing insomnia.


Download from the App store or Google Play.



Symple This app is designed to be a health and wellbeing journal that allows users to track symptoms and feelings. The user-friendly app also makes it easy to track and study factors that influence how you feel giving a better understanding of how different things effect your mood and sense of wellbeing. The ability to easily keep track of symptoms can help users when they have an appointment with a doctor or healthcare professional as it will assist them to demonstrate when their symptoms are occurring, the regularity of the symptoms and how they are affecting their daily life.


Download from the Appstore.




The Breathing App

This free app is very simple and easy to use, making it ideal for all users, no matter their tech comfort level. Just as the name suggests, this app is designed to guide users through breathing exercises to help promote a calming state and reduce anxiety. They explain that the app is inspired by “resonance” which they explain as “the scientific name that describes what happens when our heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and brainwave function come into a coherent frequency.” Many studies have been done on resonant breathing and have shown a range of benefits, including: reduction of inflammation, reduction of stress, improved sleep, improved resiliency and strengthening of cardiovascular function. This could be a great free app to recommend to patients as a way to reduce stress and anxiety, or as something to introduce to their daily routine.


Download from the App store or Google Play.


Follow on Instagram @TheBreathingApp.


Pigment

This is an adult colouring app and it has been praised by users for offering the ability to actually colour in, rather than the standard “tap-to-fill” method that most colouring apps offer. It does include the “tap-to-fill” option but users can also choose what they want to colour with, whether that be pencil, pen, paint strokes or more. The great thing about this app is that users can also choose their own colour palette for use, and there are over 2,200 different illustrations to choose from with more being added every day. Colouring is a therapeutic and calming activity that can be done anywhere, this app could be a great relaxation tool for many.


Download from the App store or Google Play.


Aqualert

This app is the ideal companion to help keep your patients hydrated throughout the day. The health benefits of drinking plenty of water are well-known, from improving organ function to relieving fatigue and aiding digestion, keeping hydrated is an important part of our daily lives. However, drinking water is something that is easily forgotten by many due to other responsibilities, stressors, or illness. This app will send scheduled reminders to encourage users to drink water during the day. It will set a recommended water intake goal based on the user’s gender, height, weight and activity, and the amount of water consumed can be logged, giving users an overall view of their water intake for the day. It’s a great tool for people living with dementia to ensure they stay hydrated, but it can be beneficial for everyone.


Download from the App store or Google Play.



Fitbit App

Before you ask, no you do not need an actual Fitbit to use the app on your device. When you download this app you just select “no Fitbit yet” and it will set up the mobile tracker on your device. This app is ideal for anyone looking to increase their exercise through walking or running, this may be to improve heart health, lose weight, or improve mental health. Whatever the reason, it is always great to see your own personal progress on paper (or screen), this can also encourage users to keep going, increasing activity levels and as a result improve health and improve wellbeing. Getting out more for walks can also often increase social interactions for users which is a great benefit as we are all naturally social beings.


Download from the App store or Google Play.



Image by difisher from Pixabay





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