Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a particularly hard task, especially while also trying to keep up with the flow of work that comes with being a university student. To make your life easier, the Sheaf has compiled a list of free iPhone apps to help you out.

7Min

Health apps usually vary between not having enough features and having too many or being over-complicated. 7Min fits somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. It is one of the apps designed around the “7 minutes of activity a day” idea.

The app has a simple interface, consisting of only one button. Push it, and a five second timer starts a seven-minute workout consisting of a series of timed activities.

That’s all it does. Really the job of this app could be done with a list of the activities included in the seven-minute workout, which are the same each time, and the ability to count in your head, but the app is useful because it provides a convenient, simple and structured workout for its users.

UP Coffee

UP Coffee is an app that measures caffeine intake. The main screen features a stylized lab beaker that holds little bubbles in true infographic form. Hit the plus sign button in the top corner and a menu appears, allowing you to chose from a variety of beverages.

Select one of these beverages and little brown bubbles fall down into your infographic beaker. Add enough beverages and the app will tell you when you’re “wired,” which is the app’s way of telling you to slow the fuck down.

However, the main function of the app is telling you if you’ll be able to sleep well at night. Tapping a meter will cycle through how your sleep will be, how long until the caffeine in your system is low enough to sleep and when your optimum sleeping time should be. Overall the app is simple, intuitive and has enough functions to properly inform the user.

Noom Coach

Noom Coach is a weight management tool that lets you monitor caloric intake as well as physical activities done throughout the day. Its interface is easy to use and it’s easy to quickly check where you’re at for calories, in order to see if you can afford to have another snack. Goals are easily visible, as the app simply states that if you hit your calorie goal every day for “x” amount of days, you should acheive your goal.

The app allows for a lot of customization as well, letting you pick how much weight you want to lose as well as how fast you want to lose it.

All of these features are completely free. However, there is also the option to join one of Noom Coach’s specialized programs, which costs money. Unlike other apps, paying for the special features will connect you with a real personal trainer and a group of other Noom Coach users on the same journey as you. Worth noting is that this portion of the app was not reviewed, so this is speculation based on what is advertised.

While these features are extensive, they are not necessary, so you’re free to use the app as a simple calorie measuring tool, which is quite good. The library of food items is vast and provides nutritional information about each food. The app even offers a function that allows you to use your phone’s camera to scan the barcodes of store-bought foods.

These apps combined provide a set of tools essential to the student trying to remain healthy during their studies. 7Min offers a way to do quick exercises to keep active while not sacrificing too much potential studying time. UP Coffee offers a way to make sure you’ll actually be able to sleep after finishing your essay at 2 a.m.

Then, to cap off the set, Noom Coach is a way to keep a hold on late night snacks and general eating. Utilizing these three in tandem is one option that students can use to maintain a healthy lifestyle while keeping on top of their studies.

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Jack Thompson / Staff Writer

Graphic: Lesia Karalash / Graphics Editor