82
APPS
MINI
MEMEIf you’re feeling the strain of
those long days at home and
your middle name is ‘Help’,
bring some calm to your life
with these brain-stroking apps
SMILING
MINDWhether you need
additional calm in
your own life or to
help one of your
kids relax, this is
a must-install. It’s
entirely free, so
won’t worry your
bank account, yet
offers meditation
programmes for
adults and children,
and for all kinds
of circumstances.
Just the thing to
make your mind,
well, smile.
£free / Android, iOSPIGMENT
The simple, childlike
joy of colouring-in
can be surprisingly
effective in
reducing anxiety...
but getting felt-tip
all over your fingers
doesn’t help. So
Pigment gives
you all the benefits
of real-world
colouring with
none of the mess;
and there’s even
an optional tool to
stop you colouring
outside the lines.
£free (IAP) /
Android, iOSPORTAL
Instead of merely
providing sounds
to soothe your
ears and help you
relax, Portal plays
relaxing videos
shot at a range
of eye-popping
locations. Whether
your idea of bliss
is a beach, a field
or waves crashing
against Scottish
cliffs, Portal will
help you get away
from the real world
for a few precious
moments.
£free (IAP) / iOSSLEEP BY
MAX RICHTERMax Richter’s original Sleep
is both awe-inspiring and
overwhelming, given its
eight-hour run-time. The
app reframes his compositions
to help you focus on work,
meditate or, yes, fall asleep.
You’ll need a paying Spotify
account if you’re on Android,
or Spotify/Apple Music on iOS.
£free / Android, iOSSTRIDE: WALK,
RUN, CAPTUREIf you need an added incentive
to get outside and walk or
run, Stride reimagines exercise
outdoors as an epic struggle
for territory. As you move,
hexes are coloured on a live
grid. Repeat visits enable you
to defend your turf. Rope in local
friends and Stride becomes a
fun way to gamify exercise.
£free (IAP) / Android, iOSTOCA LIFE WORLD
For parents, a calm mind comes from
stopping the kids tearing around the
house for a blissful several minutes.
Your device can help – at least if you
install Toca Life World. With its many
and varied locations, characters and
secrets for younglings to discover,
it’s an interactive digital doll’s house
they’ll never tire of.
£free (IAP) / Android, iOSSTRESS
SOOTHERS