It might sound counterintuitive that I suggest you download apps and continue to feed your phone addiction in order to get healthier during your HSC.
Surprisingly, there are a few apps that can contribute to a more balanced lifestyle!
With some hope, they will be helpful in pulling you away from the perils of HSC-lethargy and graduating with under-developed muscles and eye-bags the size of small planets.
Realistically, we have our phones on us most of the day, if you don’t, you’re lying. So in all seriousness, it really is the perfect way to send yourself reminders or track your progress. Plus, I know student life all too well (I meant the being perpetually poor part!), so these are all free apps.
Thank me later.
Waterlogged (iOS + Android)
Most people are chronically dehydrated – did you know that?!
Most people have to tendency to forget to consistently stay hydrated during periods of stress.
This tracks your water consumption, and you can set water goals etc. It works how you’d expect a water tracker to, and you can upgrade to the nice swish version which sends you updates and shows you your h20 consumption in fancy and aesthetically pleasing charts.
Sleep Time (iOS + Android)
Apart from its very presence as an app on your phone, which is motivation in itself as the little icon serves as a reminder of your 3-hour sleep nights and 2am bedtimes, this app has an alarm, and also tracks your sleep time and quality.
You can track when you fall asleep, when you wake up (which is actually surprising to most people, because you probably get less sleep than you think) and when you have light sleep and deep sleep, which calculates your sleep efficiency. This one is unspeakably helpful during periods of exams and sleep deprivation – make sure you track your sleep so you know you’re getting enough!
Nike+ Running (iOS + Android)
For those of you who are runners, this app tracks your running progress and distance and speed as well as shows you your pace and how much you run over a week/month period.
It uses GPS to figure this all out, and if you listen to music while you run and have your headphones in, has voice reminders that let you know how far you’ve run. It’s helpful for adding structure to your runs, and giving yourself solid measurement on your running progress.
Nike+ Training Club (iOS + Android)
And for non-runners, this Nike app acts as a personal trainer.
Put in your training goals and your details, and it gives you instructions on short workout circuits. It’s especially helpful for students, as you can choose how long your workouts are (so you can make it a short, intense workout for 15 minutes), and if you want more cardio or muscle-building. It’s also suitable for all fitness levels. Like the last one, it tracks your progress and you can keep on top of your fitness.
PIP Stress Tracker (iOS + Android)
This app is more focused on your general well-being, and the stressballs of the world.
Marketed as a “stress management mentor”, it monitors your stress levels throughout the day/week/month and can help you figure out when you are most anxious.
The aim is to be able to pinpoint your “stress triggers”, in order to reduce how stressed you are on an everyday basis.
They won’t change your lifestyle, but they help you to look after yourself!
After all, you’re about to go into the ‘real world’, so you might as well get start looking after yourself now with these awesome apps!
Sophia Zou recently completed the HSC in 2013, so fortunately for AOS Community Blog-readers and perhaps less fortunately for her, the memories of Year 12 are still fresh in her head. Sophia considers it her mission here to help students make the most of their final years at high school. Her interests include political science, Simon and Garfunkel, and pretending to be a tea aficionado. Alongside tutoring at Art of Smart Education, she spends her time playing the piano and studying Government & IR and Languages at the University of Sydney.
