Calm is an app to aid in sleep and relaxation. It is one of the rising meditation apps these days. Nowadays, people, a lot of people are dealing with anxieties and insomnia. Some individuals may be completely unfamiliar with these emotions, while others may be seeking new ways to cope with or manage existing emotions or conditions. As such, apps like these are commonly used nowadays.
In addition, one of the ways to ease anxiety and insomnia is through meditation. Choosing an app to aid meditation is hard. As such, here’s a review of one of the most famous meditation apps these days.
What is Calm?
Calm is a mindfulness application for beginners and advanced meditators alike. It can assist users in achieving inner peace and managing life’s stresses. Also, Calm is an award-winning app for iOS, Android, and desktop that promotes mindfulness. Calm was created in 2012 and has over 100 million downloads and over 700,000 five-star reviews.
The app has hundreds of calming exercises, helpful breathing techniques, and sleep stories narrated by celebrities such as Matthew McConaughey and LeBron James are included in the application. It has numerous features, and the interface is relatively straightforward to navigate. Additionally, they are continuously adding new content.
Pros and Cons of the Calm app
The Pros
- The app is user-friendly.
- There is always new content. The voices of the narrators are soothing.
- You can customize the background nature sounds for each meditation.
- They divide meditations into categories based on emotion.
- There are thirty-plus minute-long bedtime stories for adults and children.
- There are meditations for “people who don’t meditate,” such as the LeBron James series.
- Calm recommends meditations based on your ratings of previous sessions.
The Cons
- It’s still approximately $6 per month, which is an added expense.
- The children’s bedtime tales are too long.
- The meditations are similar to those available for free on podcasts and YouTube.
- It’s one of those apps that, if you’re not committed, will sit unused on your phone.
- Their reminders are insufficient.
- It is somewhat difficult to use because it contains so much content and is sometimes disorganized.
- The background music can be occasionally distracting.
Is the app free?
There is a free version of the Calm app, but it is not very good. A lot of people wonder what they can get for free, and the answer is one session of various series. Also, these range from approximately 10–15 minutes. Calm offers users either a 7-day free trial or a free version of the app without the need to pay for premium contact. Calm utilizes a “freemium” business model. Without purchasing access is granted to daily contemplations, respiratory exercises, mood tracker sleep story selection, and a number of musical tracks and guided meditations. The 7-day free trial grants access to more than 100 guided meditations, the entire library of sleep stories, exclusive musical tracks for sleep and relaxation, and Masterclasses led by experts.
In addition, the cost of the paid version is $69.99 per year, but they will send you a coupon for the paid version after you sign up, bringing the cost of the first year down to $41.99.
Is the paid version advantageous?
The paid version is worthwhile. It has a lot of benefits. There is a multitude of available sessions. Mind exercises, meditation, and bedtime tales offer something for everyone. There are guided and unguided meditations available. There are always new additions and there is even a daily calm session that is new every day. People are particularly fond of the premium features, with a number of them noting that the soundscapes and music are particularly pleasant bonuses.
How does Calm work?
The app invites you to take some deep breaths as soon as you launch it. Then, a pop-up menu prompts you to select what drew you to the application so that it can personalize its recommendations based on your objectives.
You may be asked, “Are you looking to increase your happiness or decrease your stress?” Do you wish to improve your sleep or reduce your anxiety? All of the preceding?
The meditation section is divided into categories such as stress, concentration, anxiety, and relationships. Both guided and unguided meditations are available on Calm. The length of the sessions can range from 3 to 30 minutes.
Instead of focusing on religious or spiritual topics, Calm emphasizes mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). This program teaches individuals how to utilize their natural resources to manage stress and pain.
Some MBSR techniques include:
- Body checks
- Walking meditations that shift from concentration to awareness
- Respiratory exercises
Meditations Calm is primarily recognized for its meditations. They are separated into categories like sleep, beginners, work, inner peace, anxiety, emotions, and personal development. Each category contains packs or singles of topic-specific meditations. In the anxiety section, for instance, there are sessions titled “Panic SOS,” “Calming Flight Anxiety,” and “Letting Go into Sleep.”
Beginners are encouraged to begin with “7 Days of Calm” before progressing to “21 Days of Calm” to hone their skills.
The calm app has various features.
Each feature is extremely beneficial. This includes Daily Calm. The feature updates each morning and provides an original 10-minute guided meditation on various wellness topics. Daily Calm is accessible only to those with premium memberships. However, free trial users have access to Daily Calm Highlights, a collection of the most popular Daily Calm sessions. Even though Daily Calm updates each meditation session daily, premium users can revisit previously listened-to sessions. They can access them in the profile’s history section.
In addition to this, it also has Respiratory exercises. Calm contains six audio breathing exercises. You can adjust the volume and speed of each breathing exercise. You can also customize the duration of your breathing exercise between 1 and 60 minutes.
Sleep Stories.
Another feature of the app is the sleep stories. You’re in luck if you miss being tucked in at night with a sweet bedtime story and a glass of warm milk. The sleep stories section of Calm is filled with a variety of stories, from fables to nonfiction. Even stores that induce an autonomous sensory meridian response, or ASMR, are available. The application is continuously updated with new stories. Typically, A-list celebrities such as Harry Styles, Scottie Pippen, and Kelly Rowland narrate them. There are even a few naps available for those in need of a quick nap.
Furthermore, the app has a music feature. While working, walking, or falling asleep, Calm’s music section provides you with hundreds of curated soundtracks to help you relax. The app is divided into six categories: concentration, lullabies, relaxation, sleep, soundscapes, and nature melodies.
Calm plays background music as you navigate the app or begin a session. You can choose from a calming aquascape, rain on a window, a campfire, and other options. You can easily adjust the volume level.
Calm Masterclass
Masterclasses cover a broad range of topics, including breaking bad habits, embracing stillness, conscious parenting, and finding happiness. Each Masterclass includes a free introduction video, but only paying subscribers to have access to the full courses. This resource is ideal for those who wish to delve deeper into the world of mindfulness. This educational element distinguishes Calm from its competitors.
The Calm Kids
Calm provides meditations, bedtime stories, and music for kids of all ages. Children can learn to meditate with Thomas the Tank Engine, listen to calming lullabies, or fall asleep to classic tales such as “Peter Pan” and “The Velveteen Rabbit.”
Regarding the application, it offers far more positives than negatives. The app is indeed helpful with all of the app’s incredible features.
