This means being aware of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the present moment.Īn example of bringing awareness to the present moment could be enjoying the sensation of the sun on your face as you draw the blinds in the morning, or noticing how it feels to hug your loved ones goodnight. “Mindfulness means knowing directly what is going on inside and outside ourselves, moment by moment.” Professor Mark Williams, What is Mindfulness?Īccording to Professor Williams, an important part of mindfulness is reconnecting with our body, our senses, and the sensations our body experiences. What is mindfulness and why are people using it? Of those, Calm saw the largest number of installs, with over 911,000 more downloads in April compared with January, a rise of approximately 31%.

Top of the leader board is the app Calm with 3.9 million downloads in April, followed by Headspace with 1.5 million downloads, then Meditopia, with 1.4 million. Nonetheless, despite the rise in overall downloads and usage, meditation and mindfulness apps were (and still are) becoming increasingly popular. In April 2020, usage reached an all-time high of over 200 billion hours. It is worth noting that downloads of all mobile apps have seen a massive spike since the onslaught of the pandemic.Īpp store intelligence firm App Annie found that in the second quarter of 2020 (Q2), consumers downloaded nearly 35 billion new apps and mobile app usage grew 40% year-over-year. Just to clarify, this post focuses solely on mindfulness apps rather than apps in general. And the total amount of downloads for April reached close to 10 million in total. It’s not a question of Calm vs Headspace, the question is: Are mindfulness apps for you?Īccording to a report from the app store intelligence firm Sensor Tower, the world’s 10 largest English-language mental wellness apps saw a combined 2 million more downloads in April 2020 (the height of the pandemic) compared with January.Beyond Calm vs Headspace: Waking Up and Reflectly.Mindfulness Apps: Calm vs Headspace (the top dogs).To skip to a specific section of this Process Street blog post click the appropriate link below: We’ll also examine why people are turning to mindfulness as a means to cope with the pandemic, and check out two other alternatives beyond the Calm vs Headspace feud: Waking Up and Reflectly.

This means that while the world goes bust, it’s boom time for the mindfulness app industry.ĭownloads of mindfulness apps have doubled since mid-March and the digital mental health market is projected to reach $4.6bn in 2026 a massive jump from its value of $1.4bn in 2017.Ĭontinue reading to take a look at the two key rivals in the mindfulness app game: Calm vs Headspace. In the midst of the global crisis, people are increasingly turning to mindfulness and meditation to regain a sense of calm in their lives.

Perhaps because of the pandemic, its subsequent lockdown measures, and the impending breakdown of life as we know it?

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