If you’re an unemployed American, you can use Headspace Plus for the next year for free and learn how to practice mindfulness and meditation, both of which will help you find ways to feel more calm and less stressed or anxious. Headspace Plus also offers exercises created to help you sleep well – or a little better than you have been, anyway. All you need to do is download the Headspace app, compatible with the best smartphones (opens in new tab) and tablets (opens in new tab), and sign up. Or you can access Headspace via your computer.
Get your one year’s free subscription to Headspace Plus (opens in new tab)
This good news from Headspace comes at a time when up to 43 million Americans could lose health insurance due to coronavirus-related job loss (opens in new tab). Leading health organizations have also warned of a mental health pandemic off the back of the coronavirus fallout, with a greater uptake already seen in teletherapy for conditions such as anxiety and stress. That’s why a year’s free subscription to Headspace Plus could help ease the burden for some. The program centers around 40 themed meditations. There are mini mindfulness meditations for those who are new to the practice and want an easy step in, as well as techniques to help you learn how to calm a racing mind. Mindfulness and meditation can help you:
Reduce stressControl anxietyIncrease your self-awarenessBoost your problem solving skillsLengthen your attention spanFeel more grounded and peacefulIncrease feelings of compassion and gratitude
Sleep has a huge impact on our mental health, and can be negatively impacted by a range of issues, from sleeping in a room that’s too noisy or too hot, through to being kept awake by a racing mind, or not having the best mattress (opens in new tab) or the best pillow (opens in new tab) for your sleep style. Via Headspace Plus, you’ll also be able to access a series of guided meditations created to help you sleep better. These are based around calming your mind before sleep, so that you’re in a more relaxed state before you lay your head down. There will also be a new series of meditations, available via the Headspace app, aimed at how to live through unemployment. These guided mindfulness meditation sessions cover topics such as how to adapt to sudden change, and how to find purpose again.
How the wellness community responded to the coronavirus pandemic
For all the bad news we’ve seen since the coronavirus pandemic first hit, we’ve also seen the wonderful way in which many companies and individuals have stepped up to help their global community. The fitness industry, in particular, has responded to the coronavirus crisis by offering people free at-home fitness classes (opens in new tab), with many brands, such as Peloton and Fitbit, one of the best (opens in new tab) fitness tracker brands in the world, offering extended free trials on their digital fitness platforms. In the UK, the NHS made the Thrive app (opens in new tab) available to everyone to help people deal with anxiety, stress and low mood, while Chris Hemsworth and the team behind his wellness Centr (opens in new tab) app have created a series of meditations for kids experiencing stress and anxiety as the coronavirus pandemic continues. Even big pharmaceutical companies have extended care, with insulin manufacturer Novo Nordisk offering a free 90-day insulin supply to diabetes patients (opens in new tab) who have lost health insurance due to a coronavirus-related job change or loss.
