Written in 2014, 12 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.
Platform and Price
Free download + subscription: Apple, Web
RDN Score
4 out of 5
Synopsis of the App
Calm promises to teach you to bring some calm into your life. It delivers scenic backgrounds, soundscapes and meditation guidance to help you meditate, sleep and relax anywhere, anytime.
Pros
- Simple design.
- Choose what you see and hear for a custom escape using any of the 10 nature scenes and 16 meditation music tracks.
- Meditate, fall asleep or simply decompress to the sound of a thunderstorm.
- Use the basic body scan meditation to help get started.
- Learn the “7 steps of Calm,” a program that teaches how to meditate.
- Enjoy guided meditations that fit your lifestyle with sessions ranging 2-30 minutes.
- Subscribers can unlock a variety of premium meditations including anxiety release, confidence, compassion, creativity, gratitude, motivation, energy and more. New content is added every month.
- Sleep mode turns off all audio at the end of the session.
- App automatically records activity to track completed meditations.
- Access meditation sessions without an internet or cellular connection.
Cons
- Sound quality is not always crystal clear.
- With basic fonts and graphics, the app is not as polished as some others on the market.
- Available on the Apple platform only.
Bottom Line
Calm puts a momentary respite at your fingertips. Subscribers will get the most from Calm but anyone can download the app and access the free content for a quick escape.
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.