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Page | 32 www.boostress.eu Calm Smartphone App Name and contact details of lead organisation: Calm App – developed by British entrepreneurs, Michael Acton Smith OBE and Alex Tew in 2013. Type of Best Practice: Online Resource – Smartphone Application Purpose/Aimof the Tool/Programme/Resource: The Calm App aims to “make the world happier and healthier” by providing types, tools, exercises and resources to help users to practice mindfulness, meditation and calming breathing techniques. According to their blog, Calm is the number one app for mindfulness and wellness and it has over 22 million downloads worldwide. Short description of the methods/output and how they were implemented: Calm is a smart phone application that is available to download for free from the Google Play Store for Android devices and from the iTunes Store for Apple smart devices. The App provides a plethora of mindfulness techniques, resources and exercises for users to practice; including daily mindfulness tasks to help users to increase their mindfulness practice incrementally; a sleep journal where users can record the length and quality of their sleep and a mindfulness journal where users can track their progress in developing their mindfulness practice. According to the description of their app: “Calm sessions are based on mindfulness meditation principles. Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to our thoughts, emotions, and experiences without judgment. Some of our sessions introduce specific practices that lie within the umbrella of mindfulness, such as Vipassana and Loving-Kindness - practices to develop awareness and equanimity.” As well as generally encouraging people to practice mindfulness, the app also includes guided meditations and breathing techniques which users can access on-the-go when stressful situations arise and they need support to help to maintain calm. Users are recommended to start using the Calm App “with the 7 Days of Calm” programme which is a free introductory programme that offers the basics of meditation. Building on from this session, users are encouraged to access the library of resources, sessions and specific programmes on the app which “address themes such as sleep, focus, and gratitude.” The app also includes the “Daily calm” programme, which encourages users to start each day with a 10-minute session. The topic and theme of these sessions varies from day to day so it allows users to slowly build up a regular practice of mindfulness. In addition, the app includes a library of 50+ “Sleep Stories” which can help users to get to sleep. These include resources such as “classic literature, nature essays, children's tales, scientific articles, etc. This library provides these articles in the format of audio-tracks and they are updated every week so that users have access to regular new material. As well as all of these resources, the app also provides users with access to ‘master class’ sessions on specific topics related to health and well-being. Introductory sessions are available through the blog, with full masterclass sessions accessible through the app. These sessions deal with positive mental health and are delivered by medical doctors and psychologists, adding to the credibility of the app’s content.