2018 – the year of trying to achieve a work/life blend in our daily routines, unwinding, eating healthier, being active, meditating, finding out what makes one truly happy, and having the true freedom of not needing to sit at your desk all day, and all that preferably on a beach in Indonesia, am I right? – that is what most people wish for when getting asked: “What would be your dream job?”. While this will keep being just a dream for most people, the reality is a hectic life, which contributes to a higher level of depression, burnout and anxiety than ever before. Following the “work hard play hard” mentality, today’s society is probably the most mentally over-worked generation who has ever lived, meaning it is about time we get some support from the masterminds.
Well, most likely that all isn’t as easy as we hope it to would be, but there are many great startups trying to make just a slight difference to daily routines and really trying to motivate us into living a happier and healthier life. The 8 European startups below are actively contributing to one’s mindful happiness and a more joyfull life.
Moodpath: Diagnosis and therapy from your smartphone A German startup founded by the co-founders Felix Frauendorf and Mark Goering, in 2016, it is meant to help people find their way out of depression. It is now the leading app for fighting mental weaknesses and accompanies one to “get on the right path”. The idea is that the app detects mental health disorders and is able to help manage them. It works with cognitive behavioral therapy and was developed with experienced therapists and doctors.
Novego: Another German startup that offers clients and 12-week program, priced at €177 to help overcome symptoms of depression, anxiety and burnout. It even includes access to advisers with degrees in psychology and who are reachable round the clock. Novego is headquartered in Hamburg and the company’s service is currently only available in German.
Mappiness: A UK-based startup that developed an iOS-only app that asks its users daily about their level of happiness, their surroundings and basic details about it. It is part of a research project from the London School of Economics, to be able to understand better how people’s feelings are affected by their current situations and environments. It then provides its users with data about when, where and with whom they are happiest and provides the researchers, of course, with a huge amount of anonymous information.
PSYT: Another UK-based startup that exists to help users live a happier, healthier, fulfilling and more productive lives. They focus on large-scale, positive changes that improve the well-being of individuals. To make sure their users understand their main mission, they enable them to “get the best out of themselves”, whether at work, home or school.
Lifesum: The Stockholm-based startup created a tool to help you forge good habits for an improved overall quality of life and a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Founded by CEO Henrik Torstensson, Lifesum is the leading health app in Scandinavia, Germany, France, Italy and Russia. It goes from reminding you to drink more water to presenting you overviews on your nutritional and exercise habits and is loved by millions.
8fit: Focusing on sustainable and health living and weight loss… because if you are not physically healthy, it is difficult to be mentally healthy. The Spanish-born founder Pablo Villalba, planted his startup in Berlin, Germany, but is planning to expand into the US, since they have proven to be 8fit’s largest market. 8fit concentrates on achievable workout and diet regimes and has proven results to many.
Sleep Cycle: A sleep tracking tool that monitors its users’ sleep patterns via movement and sound and wakes them at the optimal time in their REM cycle. Founded by Maciek Drejak, Sleep Cycle remains (and has remained) the leader in the app store with healthy sales. The app’s vision is to let their users start their days feeling refreshed instead of tired and constantly wanting to reach for the snooze-button.
Healthy Workers: The Amsterdam-based startup Healthy Workers helps large companies such as UWV and IBM gain insight into employee well-being and the quality of life in the office building to provide so-called “interventions” that provide a pleasant working environment and happier employees. The startup combines environmental data with science-based people analytics, to uncover actionable insights. Since we spend a huge proportion of our our life at work, a solution which keeps track of the well-being of the workforce makes total sense, both for employers and employees.
Mental, health, to nutrition, to sleep patterns, exercise and mindfulness – all these aspects contribute to happier and healthier lives. In our nowaday society, we tend to be in need of support to achieve all the goals we have in our minds. It helps to remind ourselves once in a while that we live not just to earn as much money as possible, or to achieve the biggest success ever, but to also give our mind and body the ability to sit back, relax and enjoy a nice view, go for a long and intense bike ride, look and feel the best we can or be aware what is worth getting our minds worked up for and what isn’t.
Please remember, these are still only tools that might help and enhance the way we feel, but if there are large issues pending, do not feel ashamed to look for personal help or support to get rid of any doubts and struggles you might be feeling. After all, we are all human.
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