You know what stress is, but how is microstress different from everyday stress? The difference is that microstress, as its name suggests, is less obvious stress. Because you’ve probably been conditioned to work through small upsets, you work through the microstress, barely recognizing it’s happened.
Although microstress may not be noticeable, it can become impactful if ignored and added up. Fortunately, some apps can help you identify your microstress and deal with it effectively so it doesn’t snowball into more significant problems.
Using technology to help combat microstress
If you​​​​are experiencing microstress, there are actions you can take to minimize the impact on your life, whether they are personal or professional. There are apps to help you identify that you’re experiencing microstress, others that can help you reduce your stress, and some that can help you practice mindfulness and focus on what’s important to you.
1. Identify the cause of your stress
Identifying the stressors that affect you is crucial to managing your microstress. If you have been experiencing a lack of productivity and fatigue, it may be the result of the microstress you are going through. Learning the causes of your microstress is important so you can neutralize them.
You might be interested in starting with one of the mental wellness quizzes online that can reveal how stressed you are. In addition, some apps can help you identify the cause of the stress you are experiencing.
Welltory
Welltory is an app that tracks your heart rate and mood using your smartphone’s camera flash. You place your finger on the flashlight which turns on the app, and it monitors your stress, energy and overall health levels. You can even tell the app to check the local weather to see if that affects your stress. The app also has self-care tools to help you reduce stress, get a better night’s sleep, focus and find balance.
If you have a smartwatch or a fitness tracker, you can sync it with the app to get a better reading of your vitals and track your physical activity. You can see what is affecting your stress and overall health by tagging events and measuring your vitals.
Download: Welltory for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
CareClinic
CareClinic is an app where you can do check-ins on your medications, mood and general well-being. You can fill out questionnaires that measure whether you are depressed and screen if you have mood disorders, anxiety or adult ADHD.
You can schedule how often you do the questionnaires, either daily, a few days a week, or a custom frequency. The app allows you to save your results to compare them and see if you experience improvements.
In the app, you can track all the medications you take and see if they affect how you deal with stress. You can also track your water intake, which can be helpful because water intake can be linked to stress management, according to studies cited by WebMD.
Download: CareClinic for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
2. Find activities to reduce your stress
An excellent way to combat your stress is to find ways to calm down. Once you find a way to calm down, you can gain more insight into the causes of your stress and take the necessary steps to neutralize them.
Many activities can reduce your stress, depending on your interests. You can read, run, meditate or do art. You may be interested in learning the best ways to relax and unwind after a long day at work.
Amaha
Formerly InnerHour, Amaha is an app that provides various activities to help you release your stress. Whether it’s a grounding meditation or a visualization about a place that brings you happiness, you can find daily tasks to help you deal with your stress.
Amaha also has a daily journal feature with question prompts to help you identify what’s bothering you. You can join the Amaha community to connect with others and support each other in dealing with life’s stresses.
Download: Amaha for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
Home Workout
Physical activity is an excellent way to reduce your stress. You can eliminate the stress of driving to the gym with the Home Workout app, which provides exercises you can do at home without gym equipment.
Once you give the app your details and what you’re hoping to achieve—whether it’s reducing stress, losing weight, boosting your confidence, or all of the above—you’ll get a workout plan. The workouts are not long, so they are easy to fit into your day.
Download: Home Workout for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
3. Practice Mindfulness
When you​​​​​​​​are experiencing stress, practicing mindfulness is essential because it allows you to reflect and see if there are ways to limit the stress you are going through. You can use meditation to lower your blood pressure and help you gain clarity about your current situation.
You don’t have to sit cross-legged for an hour to meditate or practice mindfulness; there are plenty of ways to calm the mind. If you are​​​​​​new to meditation, you might be interested in discovering the easiest meditation tools for beginners.
Calm down
The Calm app has different types of exercises to help you practice mindfulness. There are different types of meditations, tension-releasing exercises, and movement routines for you to try. None of the activities are very time consuming as they range from as little as 2 minutes and can last as long as 15 minutes.
The suggested activities are based on the mood you’ve told the app you’re feeling. Whether you’re interested in soundscapes, need help with sleep, or want to listen to calming music, you can find what you’re looking for in the Calm app.
Download: Calm for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
Headspace
Headspace offers exercises to help you with mindfulness throughout the day. Once you tell the app what you want to do, whether it’s to sleep better or reduce your stress or anxiety, Headspace will provide exercises you can do at different times of the day to help you feel better .
The app has resources to help you practice mindful eating, de-stress and relax. If financial problems are causing you stress, this app has a section on conscious money to help you manage financial stress.
Download: Headspace for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
4. Focus on the important things
When microstress creeps in, focusing on the things that matter can be challenging, and stress can cause you to be overwhelmed by insignificant things. A scattered brain is unproductive, so you need to find a way to sharpen your focus to accomplish your daily tasks and achieve your goals.
Some apps can help you focus on what’s important to you, so you don’t feel stressed and don’t give the essentials the time they need. You may be interested in checking out some calming YouTube streams to help you focus.
Freedom
The Freedom app lets you focus by blocking specific apps from opening for 25-minute intervals. You can block access to social media apps, SMS, and WhatsApp to stay focused on the task at hand.
If you​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ do not like working in complete silence, the app provides focus sounds, ranging from international coffee shops, offices, nature sounds, Brain.fm, and Pomodoro sounds. You can also listen to episodes of the Freedom Matters podcast to learn tips on improving your focus.
Download: Freedom for Android | iOS (Free, subscription available)
Forest
The Forest is an app that gets creative to help you stay focused. You choose the type of tree you want to plant, and it grows as you work, and your tree dies if you leave the app for the allotted focus time.
The app gives you 25 minutes to focus on what you want to work on. Whether it’s quality time with family or friends or time dedicated to a project, the time spent will help you grow your forest.
Download: Forest for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)
You can nip your microstress in the bud!
You don’t have to allow micro-stress to go unnoticed and develop into significant stress that can make you sick and prevent you from focusing on your goals. With the help of technology, managing and reducing your stress is possible.
These apps can not only help you track your stress, but they can also help you manage and possibly eliminate it. Although it can be easy to accept that stress is a regular part of life, you want to control your stress and not be controlled by it, and these apps can help.
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