App of the Month: Headspace

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By Grace Henrich, Science and Tech Editor

Feeling stressed about school starting again? Relax by taking a few minutes out of your day with the app Headspace. This app teaches its users how to meditate through guided sessions designed to increase awareness of the body and clearness in the mind. The program Take 10™, which has free ten-minute sessions and more programs with different focuses ranging from 2 to 60 minutes, are available with subscription. Research shows that meditation with Headspace helps with anxiety, stress, focus, creativity, and relationships. Neuroscientists have found that mediation, over time, physically changes the brain’s structure. Meditation increases activity in the prefrontal cortex and reduces it in the amygdala, helping meditators better regulate emotions and stress.Headspace is free to download in the App Store and Google Play.