I care and have thought a lot about the intersection between technology and mental health. That hasn’t always been the case, though. I owned my first smartphone at 15, did a computer science degree at 18, and landed a tech-related job at 21. But at no point did I consider how looking at a screen was affecting me internally.
In recent years, that has changed. The world is more aware of the potential dangers of screen time and social media. It’s also something that I’ve thought more about as my children have gotten older. How do I shape, coach, and advise my children in these matters? It’s a question I keep coming back to.
I’ve dabbled with Moodfit, which helps me track my mood, and Soaak, which delivers medically tested sound therapy directly to my phone. My latest find is the Lungy app, which is helping me to prioritize breathing exercises in the hope that I’ll feel happier and healthier.
Homescreen heroes
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring the apps that we couldn’t live without. Read them all here.
According to the Lungy website, the app uses your smartphone to “respond to your breathing, creating a real-time audiovisual experience that evolves with you.” It does this by providing breathing exercises alongside nature-inspired visuals. I’ve been using it for the last week, and I can report that it has revolutionized my experience of using breathing to manage my mental health. Read on to find out how it works.
Breathing exercises with a difference
It all begins by telling Lungy whether you want to utilize the app for relaxation, sleep, recharging, or sports. It asks this so it can customize the interface accordingly and offer specific exercises based on your goals. Knowing that I could change this at any time, I proceeded to choose relaxation.
I then dove straight into my first breathing exercise. I left all the settings at their defaults, which meant I was straight into a two-minute breathing exercise. Knowing when you should be breathing in or out is clearly marked by an undulating line and haptic feedback at each transition point.
Haptic feedback means you can either close your eyes or keep them open and enjoy the visual landscapes. They are beautiful and mesmerizing, so I picked the latter. If you want them to respond to your breath, then you’ll need to turn this feature on and give the app access to your camera and microphone. I liked the idea of the app responding specifically to me, so I activated it straight away.
After two minutes, I was presented with my results, including my exercise volume. I went straight in at a ‘grapefruit’ size but was told that I should be aiming for watermelon size. The challenge was on!
I then launched an ambient breathing exercise where you’re expected to close your eyes, lie down, listen to the music, and relax. They also suggest that you put your phone on your chest so that you feel the haptic breathing reminder. Lungy provides a wide range of content, with new exercises dropping each day. That alone kept me coming back day after day.
More than just breathing exercises
Along with breathing exercises, Lungy has a ‘Learn’ tab that contains a variety of different articles to help with sleep, self-care, managing depression, and more. This content is displayed within the app itself, so you continue to feel like you’re being enveloped by the Lungy ecosystem. Each article tells you how long it’ll take to read, so you can plan to read each one when it’s convenient for you.
It’s also possible to create custom exercises where you dictate the timings, visuals, and music to generate your own masterpiece. Personally, I wasn’t particularly motivated to use this part of the app, as I was so impressed by all the content already provided.
Another feature that is particularly helpful for Apple users is that you can connect the app to Apple Health. This lets you securely track wellness and activity levels so that you can see trends over time.
Try it for yourself
Lungy was developed by doctors using the latest research in breathing techniques. They claim it’s not just “another breathing app”. Having tried it out, I think I’d agree. From the design to the breathing exercises and from the soundscapes to the progress tracking, this is an app that has helped me be proactive and diligent about slowing down.
You can try it out with a seven-day free trial, although you’ll need to unsubscribe before the end of that week to avoid being charged. The most flexible, albeit more expensive, plan is the monthly subscription, which costs $3.99/£4 per month. Alternatively, you could go for an annual plan, which costs $24/£25 per year.
The app is currently only available on iOS, although you can register for Lungy Android updates so you’ll get notified when it lands.
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paulo.n.hatton@gmail.com (Paul Hatton)
