Jackson Free Press

With smart phones now at the forefront of technology, there really is an app for almost everything you can imagine, from enacting your secret desire to be a crazy cat person (looking at you, Nekoatsume) to helping you get fit.

For our purposes in this issue, it's probably best if we discuss the apps that help with health ... not cat ownership.

Here are this week's top five.

Wake N Shake

This app helps with your sleep, at least in the waking-up department. I found it while searching for a better alarm clock app and, so far, it's worked. You can set an alarm for the morning, or even time a nap, and when you need to get up, your phone vibrates and makes loud, very annoying noises. And in a way, the app is kind of like a game. You have to shake it until it gets to 100 percent, and depending on the mode you use, it takes quite a while. The one downside? You have to keep the app on display while using it, which runs your battery down. I didn't wake up for the gym one morning because it had died in my sleep.

Calorific

I'm an avid watcher of Buzzfeed videos, and my favorites are the ones that focus on health. A couple of years back, the media company did one on what different amounts of calories look like. And now I've found an app that can tell you that as well. With incredible photography of food, it tells you what 200 calories looks like in different forms of food, and even allows you to compare types.

Addapp

It's not the most intuitive health app, but it does allow you to connect all your fitness things, including Apple Health and Map My Run, and devices such as Jawbone Up and Fitbit. Based on the data, it gives insights into your personal health, which helps you learn more about nutrition, fitness, sleep and 
your general well-being.

Nutrino

App stores have so many diet apps these days that you can choose one based on your needs. I personally like ones that give me as much guidance as possible, because even though I've been on many diets, I'm not actually sure how to eat healthy. Nutrino helps with that. It's one of those apps that cover all the bases, from heart health to sleep activity to exercise to food. It gives you helpful tips and even has a place where you can read the latest in health news.

Yoga Studio

While I'm not a huge fan of spending money on apps, I'd make an exception for Yoga Studio ($3.99). It's basically everything you'd want in a yoga app, with a library of poses, ready-made yoga and meditation classes, and is suitable for all levels. You can even schedule yoga classes and sync them with your calendar.

Read more health and wellness stories at jfp.ms/health.