The 7 best apps to make you healthier

Tracking what you actually eat in a day or week can be a crucial tool toward developing nutritious eating habits. But a lot of nutrition apps out there push you toward particular dietary plans with marginal-to-no grounding in hard science. So rather than helping you eat more healthfully, they shift you toward no-carb or no-fat diets.

MyFitnessPal, conversely, is fairly goal-agnostic. It just tracks what you're eating in a clean, simple-to-use format that allows you to set your own targets (on your own or with the help of a nutritionist) and then to know if you've met them.

iOS, Android

Another one of the hardest parts of sticking to a healthy eating plan can be actually buying the right food in the first place. ShopWell helps you do that. And, like MyFitnessPal, it's goal-agnostic. Just tell the app how you're trying to live your life and it'll help you get there.

iOS, Android

There are a lot of sleep apps out there that do basically the same thing: attempt to track your sleep with their accelerometers and/or microphones and use science (and pseudoscience) to influence how you rest. This one stands out though because, like the Runkeeper running app, it actually encourages you to record the outside factors that impinge on your sleep, so you build a complete picture of your sleep habits over time.

iOS, Android

My personal favorite meditation app is Buddhify, not Headspace. But if you're trying to build a meditation habit, Headspace has some advantages. Most significant among them: It prompts you to meditate every day without getting too irritating.

iOS, Android

In terms of clean, easy-to-use, helpful exercise apps for tasks other than running there's a clear leader: Sworkit. It doesn't have quite the depth of analytics as, say, Runkeeper. But it's still a great way to develop a workout habit, meet goals, and stay on track.

iOS, Android

The thing about health is that it's highly personal. Sure, there are some things like better sleep or meditation that could probably make anyone healthier. But others are specific like Don't eat the sugary granola bars in the basket at work, Take the stairs, or Skip the beers at happy hour this weekend.

Habitbull is the most popular generic habit tracker for all those healthy behaviors you're trying to adopt. It turns keeping up with healthy habits into a game, with little digital incentives not to break them, and lots of juicy analytics.

iOS, Android