Wave Hello to 5 Awesome Audio Apps for Focus and Relaxation
Here's a question… How serious are you about your sounds?
✔ Do you have to lock in the perfect playlist for your work or your workout?
✔ Are you the designated DJ at dinner parties and on road trips?
✔ Do your headphones have noise-cancelling properties?
✔ Do you sleep with anything that generates white noise?
✔ And—here's the big one—do you turn down the car radio when you're trying to find a tricky turn or an unknown address?
No matter your answers to these questions, it's clear that audio is having a bit of a moment. Between streaming services and podcasts, audio books, meditation apps and the whole ASMR thing, there's always something to listen to.
And while I would advocate for taking the occasional break from these things to listen to your actual surroundings (I noticed this week that the late summer cicada song has given way to crickets with the cooler weather), today I want to share with you a few of my favorite audio options, specifically those good for focus and/or relaxation.
5 Awesome Audio Apps to Tune In to What Matters
1. Noisli
Noisli allows you to mix and save your own background noise combos, and I think it's completely genius. With a free account you can layer up to 16 sounds including weather, water and (my favorite) coffee shop sounds. Did you know that researchers found that brainstorming to coffeehouse chatter brought out more creativity in test subjects than either louder or quieter environments?!
2. Insight Timer
Insight Timer offers THOUSANDS of free guided meditations of all kinds, which I find rather overwhelming. BUT what I do love is the customizable timer function. Set timers of different lengths with varying intervals and bells or chimes—then put them to work for your meditations, evening stretches, journaling prompts, email batching, etc.
3. Calm
Calm is also known for its guided meditations, most of which require a paid subscription. But the free version of the app gives you access to 1) a lovely library of nature sounds, and 2) an adjustable breath timer that prompts your inhale and exhale in a calming rhythm, accompanied by a soothing bubble animation.
4. Audible
Audible's Rise & Shine Yoga Flows collection is perfect when I have a few minutes to hop on my mat. I find yoga videos a bit awkward as I'm craning to view the screen from whatever position I'm in, but these short (~20 min) practices guide yogis through familiar poses with a balance of gentleness and drive. (My favorite is Yoga for Breakfast.)
5. Spotify
Spotify offers a selection of binaural beat playlists for focus and stress relief, and although the science is mixed on the actual effect of these auditory illusions (created when slightly different tones are played in each ear, so earbuds are a must here), I find they offer a neutral background sound that blocks out distraction. Another Spotify favorite for me is the Peaceful Retreat playlist. (No surprises there!)
One note... Many of these apps (and others) offer content designed to help you fall asleep. I didn’t mention any of those because I don't keep my phone in my room at night. I've found that the benefit of not reaching for email/news/Instagram as soon as I wake up far outweighs missing out on this sleep content, at least for me.
Have you tried any of these? Do you have any favorites of your own? Hop on over to Instagram and tell me—I'm ALWAYS happy to swap recommendations. My hope is that this list sparked an idea for how you could create or upgrade something you're already doing, even in a tiny way.