In today’s time, smartphones have become an integral part of our life. Smartphones offer features quite similar to that of a personal computer. They use an identifiable operating system where new applications can be added. The technology is changing constantly and today, smartphones not only provide the basic features but also act as an instrument to keep a check on one’s health on the go. Some healthy benefits of smartphones are as follows:

1. Fitness tracking
Downloading a fitness application on a smartphone allows you to keep a count of the number of steps taken, distance traveled while walking, running or even cycling due to pre-equipped motion sensors in the phones. Hence, one of the healthy benefits of smartphones is that one can keep a track of their fitness regime and does not need to maintain a fitness chart as the application stores the information for a day, week, month or even a year as per the user’s requirement. Some applications also provide the number of calories burned during the timeframe set in the application.

2. Heart rate monitoring
Smartphones can have a useful application that helps monitor the heart rate without the need for external hardware. One just needs to put the tip of the index finger on the camera lens and the application would analyze the heart rate and display it on the smartphone screen. Some applications allow multiple users to monitor heart rates and save the information for future reference.

3. Tracking daily food intake
Another useful health benefit of smartphones is it can help in keeping a track of the foods that one eats, thus promoting healthy eating. Different applications available for free can be easily downloaded to keep count of the nutritional intake, unhealthy foods consumed, calorie count, fat and sugar count. Apps also provide facilities to scan barcodes of packaged foods and provide information about its nutritional value.

4. Storing medical information
Apps designed to store medical history, medications, allergies and emergency contact details drive the health benefits of smartphones. There is an emergency option available that when pressed would instantly give all the medical information.

5. Meditation app
Of the numerous health benefits of smartphones, apps that help one relax not only the body but also the mind are quite useful. These apps help to relieve stress and achieve a relaxed and peaceful sleep.

6. Apps with healthy recipes
Many free apps that provide healthy recipes can be easily installed on a smartphone. The nutritional value of those foods and the calorie intake are also provided. This allows one to choose recipes from a variety of cuisines and encourages one to intake healthy meals.