Our Top 5: Apps For Inner Calm

We believe that time well spent, is time spent on you. But between meetings, emails, deadlines and other to-dos, carving out time for a little peace and quiet can be difficult. However, taking just 10 minutes out of your day for yourself can really transform your mind. Here at Braintree, we're huge fans of using meditation to help us do this. And there are dozens of handy apps that make it really easy to focus on finding your inner calm (even if you've never tried meditation before) so we've decide to put together our pick of the best. Discover how meditation can boost your mood with these five simple tools that help you feel at peace anytime, anywhere and everyday.

1. SIMPLY BEING Sometimes less is more, and this is completely the case with the Simply Being app. Its basic menu and minimal options make it one of the easiest, stress-free mediation apps to use – just as it should be. You can choose from 5 meditation times and opt to listen to the guided meditation with or without music. The guided mediation is great if you've never meditated before as it walks you through the whole thing. We also love that you can choose how long to continue listening to the music after the voice guidance finishes. You can also to do a 5 or 10-minute session, so it’s great if you don’t have a lot of time to spare. Top 3 reasons why we love it:

• There's no complicated set up involved - simply open the app and relax
• The voice guidance is really peaceful to listen to
• Perfect for beginners

Download the Simple Being app for £1.49.

2. SMILING MIND Smiling mind was developed by a team of psychologists in Australia as a simple and modern meditation tool for young people. There are tailored programmes for different age groups, including adults, however as Smiling Mild is tailored towards helping young people stay calm and de-stress, it's one of the most modern and fun apps we've discovered. With a wide range of different meditation activities to test out whilst earning 'meditation minutes' and 'achievements' along the way, it makes it really enjoyable to use and always puts a smile on your face. Top 3 reasons why we love it:

• The relaxing Aussie voice over guide
• Earn 'mindfulness' achievements the more you use the app
• The wide range of programs and activities available

Download the Smiling Mind app for Free.

3. CALM If you're in need of a little more peace in your life, the Calm app can help you meditate, sleep, relax or focus through its easy-to-follow program, nature scenes and blissful music. The app begins with simple 'The 7 Steps of Calm' sessions that are created for beginners or experienced meditators looking for a refresher. There are 7 other guided meditation sessions that range from 2-30 minutes for whenever you need a break from your day. One of the main reasons we love this app is for its beautiful, immersive nature scenes. There are 10 to pick from, everything from a lake in the mountain to the middle of the rainforest. Our favourite has to be the sunny beach scene that reminds of us Australia! Top 3 reasons why we love it:

• The 7 'Steps of Calm' session is ideal for beginners
• The choice of short or longer guided sessions
• 10 peaceful nature scenes to help you relax

Download the Calm iPhone app for Free.

4. HEADSPACE Headspace is a fairly new app founded by a former Buddhist monk. It aims to make meditation easy and focus on exercising the mind. The app uses proven meditation and mindfulness techniques so that you can quickly train yourself into a healthier, happier, more enjoyable life. And the 'Take 10' timeline helps you get into the habit of meditating with a 10-day course of 10-minute mediation sessions. We particularly like how the app records your meditation sessions and monitors your progress and even allows you to connect with your friends so you can send each other motivational nudges along the way. Top 3 reasons why we love it:

• Engaging animations as you progress
• Buddy up with friends and motivate one another
• Easy 'Take 10' program to follow

Download the Headspace app for Free.

5. SLEEP EASILY The Sleep Easily app focuses on clearing your mind and relaxing every part of your body to lull you into a more restful, meditative sleep. It's free and offers a guided meditation from international speaker and author Shazzie. Her soothing voice helps you drift peacefully to into a state of relaxation that will send you to sleep in 26 minutes or less. During the recording, accompanied by calming music and sounds, you'll be gently guided every step of the way to relax your whole body and mind. One of the things we love most about this app is that you can set a wake-up alarm before launching a session – so there's no worry about dozing off. Top 3 reasons why we love it:

• Perfect for those who struggle to clear their mind before bed
• Focuses on relaxing every part of your body
• Use the in-app alarm to set up a wake-up alarm

Download the Sleep Easily app for Free.

If you know of any great relaxation apps we've missed or top tips for inner calm then let us know - we'd love to hear about them! Jo x