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The Headspace app features a wide variety of guided meditations and exercises. Here are the apps pros and cons.

Whether youre new to meditation, returning after a bit of a break, or wanting some variety in your practice, a meditation app may be an option to consider.

The app may help you remain consistent with your meditation practice. Meditation has been shown to provide many benefits for your mental and physical health.

For example, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), some research shows that meditation can reduce:

Headspace is a commonly recommended app for meditators of all levels. But does it live up to the hype?

Headspace began in 2010 as an events company in London that educated people about mindfulness. It eventually became an app as attendees wanted more help with practicing at home.

Former Buddhist monk Andy Puddicombe cofounded Headspace with Rich Pierson, a then burned-out ad executive who needed help de-stressing from his demanding job.

With its colorful design, Headspace aims to improve the health and happiness of users worldwide.

The app features guided meditations, courses, animations, and videos for a wide range of needs and concerns, including:

Studies by Headspace and independent researchers have found various benefits.

For example, using Headspace for 10 sessions:

Whats more, a 2018 study with workers found improvements in well-being, distress, and job strain. A 2017 study with pediatric nurses found improvements in self-compassion.

According to Headspaces website, 27 published and 51 in-progress studies have tested or are currently testing its effectiveness. You can find more research on Headspace here.

While the Headspace app may offer many benefits, there are some downsides to consider as well.

Headspace with limited access to features is free to download. For instance, you have access to:

Headspace offers several subscription options. The monthly membership costs $12.99 a month and offers a 7-day free trial. Annual membership is $69.99 with a 14-day free trial.

Special pricing is also available for eligible college students and families. Students pay $9.99 for an annual membership, while families can get six accounts for $99.99 a year.

Educators and healthcare professionals may be eligible for free subscriptions.

Until recently, Puddicombe was both the creator and voice behind all Headspace meditations. Today, most of the apps content also features a female voice. In addition, Headspace offers meditations in:

Overall, Headspace comes with a wide array of offerings, including:

Headspace also offers meditations and activities for kids, from toddlers to teens. These practices are divided into three age groups:

Exercises in the kids section revolve around five themes:

While the Headspace app started out as just a meditation app, it has increased its offerings and now offers different types of meditation and mindful activities. Its main content areas include:

Headspace uses a variety of meditation techniques inspired by Burmese and Tibetan Buddhist traditions. All these techniques feature animations to add greater clarity to the process.

These include the following meditation approaches:

If youre having trouble falling asleep, Headspaces sleep content may be worth a try. It includes:

Headspaces Move section consists of 10- to 30-minute low or medium impact workouts. These sessions are coached by athletes like Kim Glass or Leon Taylor and focus on:

As the name suggests, Headspaces Focus section is designed to help you focus on work, chores, or anything else you need to focus on.

The playlists include:

Another way in which Headspace encourages users to make meditation a habit is by connecting with family members, friends, or co-workers who are also using the app.

You can share your progress with your friends, receive encouragement from them to do a meditation practice, or send encouragement their way.

Because of the guided meditations, basic courses, user-friendly design, and accessible content, Headspace could be an excellent option for beginners. It effectively answers the questions How do I meditate? and Where do I start?

Meditation can be intimidating, so the app provides specific, easy-to-digest instructions and clear-cut starting points.

Headspace offers short meditations if youre busy, easily overwhelmed, or want a genuinely restorative break (versus scrolling doom-and-gloom news headlines).

At the same time, Headspace may be helpful for meditation pros, too. Headspace can help longtime meditators shake up a practice that starts to feel stale with new content regularly added.

Plus, youll find meditations and courses for concerns that regularly arise because, well, youre a human. From stress and anxiety to trouble sleeping, Headspace can serve as a positive, supportive tool.

Still, as with any app, it requires commitment, which may naturally wax and wane, depending on whats going on in your life.

How does Headspace compare to Calm, another popular meditation app?

Both Headspace and Calm are popular, positively rated meditation apps. And both apps offer the following features:

However, they each have a unique presentation and differ slightly in their approach.

Headspace may be best if youre new to meditation, as its clearly guided and breaks down the process into easy steps.

Calm is a bit less structured and revolves around a nature theme with relaxing soundscapes.

Users of both apps criticize that:

If youd like to learn more, you can check out our in-depth comparison of Calm and Headspace here.

Headspace seems to have something for (almost) everyone. Beginning meditators may appreciate the cheerful aesthetic, concrete practices, and approachable language. Headspace aims to demystify meditation and make it easily accessible.

Veteran meditators may appreciate sampling new meditations that come in guided, semi-guided, and unguided varieties, and taking courses on common concerns that touch all of us (hello, stress).

But Headspace isnt without drawbacks. Some users dont like the apps not-so-responsive customer service and that it can auto-renew subscriptions without warning. Plus, some people may prefer a different design and aesthetic.

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2022 Headspace Review: App Pros and Cons - PsychCentral.com