The Wellness Wheel is a visual model tool that helps organize individual areas of a person's life to gain understanding of how to archive greater overall health. The wheel is typically depicted using 5-8 categories.
Click the individual tabs to browse suggested apps.
*Have you checked out the College of Medicine's HealthFirst program?*
Image created using Piktochart | Tiffany Follin
Intellectual Wellness refers to expanding one's knowledge, skills, and creativity
Mango Connect
(Student Tech Fee Funded) Mango Connect is an online self-paced language learning system covering over 40 languages and including 16 ESL classes taught in the native language. Each lesson combines real life situations and audio from native speakers with simple, clear instructions.
Download the app to get your first language in any language for free. Link your profile to FAU Libraries to gain full access to Mango content.
Website format available here.
Ted Talks
Explore more than 2,000 free videos and learn from the world's most remarkable people. Search by any mood or topic, from tech and science to the surprises of your own psychology.
Words with Friends
Put your vocabulary skills to the test with this app. Choose to play solo or with an opponent with the smart match feature. Bonus, this app also functions as a social wellness enhancer by allowing you to connect directly with someone you already know using the username feature. To sharpen your language skills, Words with Friends also offers 6 additional languages to play: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, and UK English.
Duolingo
Learn one of (or all!) 23 languages available through this app. You choose the time you would like to devote each day, then start learning. Duolingo uses a mix of learning techniques to immerse you in the language, from visual matching to translating to memory recall. The app also uses a repetition technique and a health meter tracks your mistakes- don't worry, empty health meters can be earned back through more practice so it is a constructive measure rather than a punitive one. If you are feeling particularly intelligent, you can sign up for more then one language to learn at a time, however, your health meter level applies to all of them.
Physical Wellness is creating proper eating habits, exercising, sleeping, and taking care of your overall medical health.
My Fitness Pal
App to track daily diet and exercise. Choose foods from the My Fitness Pal database, connect with friends, and keep track of your fitness goals. Completion of daily food and exercise entries allow you to calculate the estimated time to reach your healthy goal weight. Food entries can help you stay on track if you are concentrating on a specific dietary goal instead, providing nutritional breakdowns. Quick-add calorie option also available and blog entries provide featured recipes and words of wisdom from certified trainers, dieticians, and writers.
Map My Walk
($ Cost for full-access) Map My Walk syncs with various wearable tech and connects with your MyFitnessPal account to easily upload burned calories and log your steps. While in the app, press and hold the stats to personalize your home screen; walks are tracked using GPS so some routes may be affected if the signal is blocked. Nothing is ever perfect, they say, so here's the tea: for a GPS tracked app, it was disappointing to discover that the app does not automatically stop time and calorie burn if the walker ceases walking (to the tune of 5 calories a minute sitting here in my librarian chair) or suddenly goes into warp-speed/hyperdrive mode: imagine my face when I realized that I forgot to "finish my walk" and the 670 calories burned on the drive home were not actually earned! (and no, there was no way to delete the mistake.)
Stand Up! The Work Break Timer
iOS | Android
Trust me, I get it: our busy lives sometimes leave us little time to schedule a physical workout and we are required to sit for long stretches of times. But that doesn't mean we cannot be active during the day, and short physical breaks will also provide mental breaks that can be equally beneficial. Let Stand Up! do all the hard work of remembering: Set days, a time window, reminder frequency, and location. When the app pings, get up and stretch, use the restroom, or grab some water from the fountain. The ping is free, but with a one-time tip, you unlock all the sounds in the alert panel.
Down Dog
($ Cost for full-access; free with your fau.edu email) If you think you are likely to get bored doing the same yoga practice every time, Down Dog has the solution. Each time you log in for a session, you're greeted with a brand new sequence, which will keep things fresh. If you would rather consistency, you can save your favorite practices once done or scroll through your practice history. Choose how long you want the session to last, adjust your practice and sound options, then press start: the app will create a session that is a perfect fit for your needs and experience level. The public, free version gives you access to timed yoga sessions from 5-90 minutes long with select features, while the paid & free institutional version allows you full access to music, guide voice, yoga pace, and "boosts" such as starting your practice with a shoulder opening sequence. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to sign up with your FAU email to take advantage of Down Dog's generous decision! Namaste.
iOS | Android
($ Cost for full-access) Fitness app designed for the real world. Engage in missions, collect items for your base and listen to your personal music- if you encounter zombies, you will need to speed up! Can be engaged with at walking, jogging, and running speeds. some missions designed for outdoor routes only, while other missions can be engaged with in a gym setting.
Social Wellness is the ability to create positive relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and those around you. It also applies to our ability to give back to our local and global communities.
Put Your Phone Down
Using technology to, um, stay off technology, may seem a bit ironic but sometimes you just have to go with it. This app lets you start an infinite timer which tracks how long your device has been "down." The timer continues to count as long as the app is open, so it is great as a reminder to put your phone back down if you habitually pick it up during social events, and closing the app will end your session. You can even brag to Facebook about your streak... I choose not to brag about my 1 minute and 20 sec streak but totally your call.
Meetup
Find people who are interested in pursuing the same interest as you. App allows you to choose categories, such as Book Clubs and Outdoors & Adventure, then choose topics within the categories that interest you. View local meetups and choose those that look fun to join.
Pocket Rice
This app is great for improving your intellectual wellness while each correct answer earns 10 real grains of rice to feed hungry communities. Sound too good to be true? In-app advertisers foot the bill of your winnings, so go ahead and feel smart about playing this trivia game.
Donate a Photo
One photo = one dollar a day donated to a charity of your choice. This donation app by Johnson & Johnson is so straightforward you expect a trick at some point. Users *are* limited to one picture a day, which they can upload from their camera roll or take via the app. Galleries are available within each cause to view what others have uploaded, and a general "Featured" gallery is available.
Dinner Mode
iOS | Android
There are occasions when technology should not be on the menu: use the Dinner Mode app to disengage with your device and re-engage with those you are sharing your meal with. Choose from 15 minutes, 30 minutes, or an hour, then place your phone face down on a stable surface before time runs out. Picking up your device will automatically stop the timer and you will be prompted to try again.
Spiritual Wellness is the growth of one's sense of purpose and meaning in life, as well as their mindfulness
Insight Timer- Mediation App
Insight Timer offers both a timed "quiet" option where you can set your own intentions for your practice, as well as guided meditations available in their library. Explore videos based on time, ambient or music used, teachers, and subjects. Connect to the community through joining groups, or visit their homepage to visually see where others are mediating throughout the world.
Smiling Mind
Smiling Mind was developed by a not-for-profit organization with the sole purpose of providing positive tools based on mindfulness meditation to those who needed them, no matter their geographic location or socio-economic status. Their vision is to see mindfulness meditation on the Australian Curriculum by 2020, so users may note the substantial available to the 7-18 audience. However, Smiling Mind does offer an impressive number of sessions for adults, plus they offer sessions to be used in the workplace.
Buddhify
($4.99) A mindfulness meditation app that offers customized guided meditation tracks ranging from 5-30 minutes and broken down into 14 different activities, a solo meditation timer, a check-in system to monitor how you are doing, and stats to show your usage and progress.
Financial Wellness is establishing and maintaining healthy money habits that will help you manage your financial resources throughout life
Mint
Free money management and financial tracker app. Bring all your accounts together in one easy-to-view platform. Keep track of account spending, account balances, net worth, and receive notifications of bills due so you never have to pay a late fee again. Wary of handling finances through an app? Their website offers an alternate secure platform for users, although you will still have to provide access to your accounts for Mint to work properly.
Ibotta
Earn real cash back for your purchases without using paper coupons, a discount, or a promo code. Choose your favorite stores than start adding the available offers. Redeem your cash back reward via PayPal, Venmo, or various gift cards when you verify your purchase with the receipt.
Spendee
Yes, acknowledging just *how much* we spend on coffee drinks a month can be very scary, but having that knowledge is very useful in the long run. Spendee is a budgeting app that can be used with or without linking to your personal bank accounts so you can budget for indulgences while making sure you stay on track with your financial goals for large spurges or goals later in life. Neat features: the ability to use foreign currency, and wallet overview presented in both a bar graph and circle graph. Premium and Plus subscriptions get additional features, however, the basic package is a great start to help you gain financial awareness of where your money actually goes.
Plates by Splitwise
We've all been there: you're with a large group of people, the check arrives, and you look from your empty salad plate and glass of water over to your friend who has had a steak dinner and a couple of Black and Tans when suddenly someone suggests you split the bill evenly to make it easy. Not so fast! There is absolutely no shame in suggesting you split the bill based on what a person consumes, especially if the process is as pain-free as Plates makes it. Select up to 10 diners, enter in item prices and assign them to a plate, and then calculate the tip. The app even lets you split shared items so no one is left paying for more than they consume.
Emotional Wellness is being able to understand and cope with one's feelings
Colorfy
When you need a moment to disconnect from your surroundings and focus on something calming, the Colorfy app is here for you. A coloring book for your iPad, simply choose a picture, tap a color, then start filling in the image. The app does require a subscription for full image and color pallet access, however, users do have access to some of the preexisting images already loaded. A free daily image and color palette is made available to users.
Stress Baal
This is an adorable little demon that I am told has been naughty. Sometimes I find him more amusing to simply watch but his creators say that he is meant as a stress reliever so should be at the mercy of someone who needs to take their stress out on a non-human (plus he apparently deserves it). Swipe your finger around your screen and watch him get beat up.
Personal Zen
iOS | Android
Studies have shown that you can reduce stress and anxiety by playing certain mobile app games such as Personal Zen. Users trace the path the friendly sprite makes in the grass while ignoring the presence of the angry sprite. The game seeks to rewire your everyday outlook: following the friendly sprite retrains your mind to disengage with the negative and focus on the positive, creating a mindset that allows you to overcome stress in the real world.
Sanvello (Formerly Pacifica)
($ Cost for Premium access) Manage stress, anxiety, and depression using psychologist-designed tools. Check in using Daily Tracking, write your thoughts down, and set goals for yourself: such as challenging yourself to sit in the front of the class, order a new menu item, or make a mistake on purpose. After checking in, "take action" and choose from the suggested activities based on your energy level. Meditation audio tools, guided self-help paths, and community chats are also featured.
Stop, Breathe, & Think
($ Cost for Premium access) Practice your mindfulness. Meditate regularly and develop skills that help you relax, support academic and professional achievement, and develop more positive interactions and relationships with those you encounter. Check in with a 10 second self evaluation and record your current physical, mental, and emotional mood; then choose a short recommended guided mediation guide based on your schedule. Guides are either audio or visual, and range from 2 to 17 minutes in length. Users also have the option to skip their check-in and head straight to a guide of their choice, as well as to monitor in with their progress and earn stickers along the way.
Environmental Wellness is both creating a personal environment that is beneficial to your wellbeing and also understanding and realizing our larger connection to the Earth.
Allrecipes
Use the Dinner Spinner to list your leftover ingredient(s), dietary need, and time requirement. This app is also great for those who are concerned with the effect of meat eating on the environment but lack vegetarian/vegan recipes to start experimenting with. Although there may be some glitches, for instance, a vegetarian dietary need search brought back a meat-based sauce, as you become more comfortable with your skills you can easily make substitutions in recipes that look appetizing, such as swapping out the meat for lentils or meatless Crumbles from your local grocery store.
iNaturalist
This app is a joint initiative by the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society to help you identify the plants and animals around you. With a community of over 400,000 scientists and naturalists, users are able to learn more about nature while providing valuable data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature.
iRecycle
Whether you need to dispose of a hazardous material apart from your normal recycling, or you do not have access to recycling and are interested in starting, iRecycle can help you find where to drop off specific items. General categories narrow into specific items, and the recycling centers are listed in distance format from your current location.
JouleBug
Turn everyday habits into more sustainable, eco-friendly habits over time with this fun app that allows you to connect with other like-minded people. Choose a habit to change based on your lifestyle, such as turning the water off while you brush or dressing warmly instead of hiking the thermostat, then "Buzz" in each time you complete your new habit. Challenge yourself solo or choose to connect with other JouleBug users to see their stats, activities, or follow specific people in the community. Create a community with your friends and encourage them to be sustainable...or shame them with how sustainably awesome you are, totally your call.
Love Your Leftovers
Sometimes doing your part is as simple as eating all your leftovers. The simple concept- reducing food waste that goes into landfills helps give back to the Earth- is helped along by this app. Enter your leftovers and choose from the recipe(s) that pop up. One drawback is that the recipe selection is not vast and sometimes an ingredient may not be listed. Once you establish good left-over cooking habits, you may wish to seek out another recipe builder.
MarineDebrisTracker
Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? If you are concerned about the plastic in our oceans, consider using this app to help raise awareness as you spot (and pick up) marine trash that makes its way near shore. Your logged finds are added to the marine debris data collection that the University of Georgia analyzes. This project was a joint collaboration between the NOAA Marine Debris Program and the Southeast Atlantic Marine Debris Initiative (SEA-MDI) out of the University of Georgia College of Engineering.
Jenna Jambeck, the co-founder of this app, is a must follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JambeckResearch
Olio
Olio works on the premise of matching unwanted food with eager consumers. Users snap a picture, add a brief description, and provide pick up information (please remember to practice safe meeting habits). While food does range from unopened packages to intact perishable items such as bread and fresh fruits, Olio users can also advertise items such as a half-eaten sub...please be advised that the Medical Department does not endorse the user-generated contents of Olio but rather the concept.
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