Written in 2016, 10 years ago. Food science changes, so check newer advice before you change your routine.
Lifestyle Consistency
Everyday Wellness Habit Consistency
Core daily lifestyle pillars recommended by nutrition professionals for lifelong vitality.
- Morning Hydration & SunlightCircadian rhythm anchor 100%
- Whole-Food Plate BalanceReal food plate foundation 85%
- Movement SnackingActive breaks through the day 30 min total
- Evening Digital Wind-DownRestful boundary 88/100
Source: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics & American College of Lifestyle Medicine.
Synopsis of the App
Called the personal happiness trainer, Happify provides science-based activities and games for stress and anxiety relief.
Platform and Price
Free: Apple and Android
RDN Score
4 out of 5
Pros
- Cheerful, upbeat and user-friendly design.
- Quickly access and track activities from your smartphone or web account.
- Created by a team of medical doctors, social workers and meditation experts.
- Delivers inspiring content via notifications in Happify Daily.
- Using a questionnaire, Happify gathers answers to a series of personal questions like age, marital status and well being to customize the experience.
- Assess and score your positive emotions and life satisfaction at regular intervals. The app encourages the user to seek counseling when they are down for too long.
- Activity home pages include the purported benefits of doing the activity and details on why it works including links to supporting research.
- Explore tracks such as “Conquer Your Negative Thoughts” and “Find Your Calling.”
- Each track offers quizzes and activities designed to expose positive events in daily life.
- Experience Happify in private or community mode.
- Easily access the privacy policy, which is regularly updated and covers how the company collects and treats personal information.
Cons
- Requires surrendering an email address or signing up via Facebook.
- Navigating the profile questionnaire proved tedious. Going backwards to change an answer erased all previous ones.
- Oddly, the app does not account for mental health challenges like depression when given a choice of health considerations among others listed including diabetes, hypertension, chronic pain and caregiving to an ailing family member.
Bottom Line
As with similar apps, the jury is still out on whether or not using apps like Happify result in a happier life. In any case, Happify offers a fun and thought provoking way to trigger positive thoughts and potentially reduce stress.
Marisa Moore, MBA, RDN, LD, is a nutrition consultant based in Atlanta and adjunct faculty at Georgia State University. Follow her at MarisaMoore.com, on Twitter or Instagram.