This isn’t “clickbait” because we promise you that this is truly the best hack for finals. The Best Final’s Hack is meditation! Many may doubt how effective it can be, but we know how hard you work and you need a little time to yourself. Lots of studying and working on projects can become ineffective due to added stress, so refresh your mind and continue with a relaxed mindset. Take one of our apps listed below, and we promise you that you’ll come to those finals ready and prepared.

1) Calm

Stars: 4.5/5

I really enjoyed using Calm. I got extremely focused into the meditation that I was working with and it felt very good. It was also very stress relieving. Something that works very well about Calm is the constant sound effect in the background that you get to choose. In Calm, they do not require you to meditate in any sort of clothing or position, they just recommend a quiet room where there are no distractions and to be generally comfortable. The practices are only 10 minutes, so don’t take up that much time. There is an instructor speaking and giving very good instructions as well. The flaw is that the app only gives one form of meditation, and other types such as stress relief, anxiety relief, focus, happiness, and gratitude are only enabled by a subscription that must be bought. The meditation that came with the app is very good though, so there is almost no purpose to buy everything else. A nice feature on this app is also a sleep guidance. You can download free stories, speakings, or sounds for you to listen to while going to sleep. The audio tracks are very soothing and calming and help you fall into a really good deep sleep.

2) Stop Breathe and Think

Rate: 4/5

Stop Breathe and Think is a very good app. When you open it, you make an account and then you can start. It has an option where it teaches you to meditate and it has a list of all of the offered meditations. If you click begin, it will ask you a few questions and allow you to express five emotions that you are feeling that day. It then recommends a mediation for you. The length of the meditation varies and you can choose one that is anywhere from 2-20 minutes long. To access some features you will have to buy a membership ($3.50/month for a yearlong subscription and $4.99/month for a month long subscription). The longer meditations, certain soundscapes, and certain ending chimes are subscription only. However, the free parts of the app are enjoyable alone. If you choose not to purchase a membership, you don’t need many tools to use this app. The app recommends being in a nice and quiet environment, but it is not required.  You don’t even need WiFi and it’s available on both android and apple products. More experienced meditators can even use the app as just a meditation timer. The timer does end silently though so it can be easy to get swept away. I did the calm and grounded meditation. Afterwards, I actually felt more grounded and refreshed. While I was meditating, I was really calm and almost lost track of time. I would recommend this app for anyone that wants a quick and easy way to relax a little around finals time, especially if they’re willing to spend a few dollars for a membership.

3) OMG. I can Meditate!

Rate: 3/5

“OMG, I Can Meditate” is a good app because there are different meditation sessions for different reasons; like, for example, there is a meditation session for how to fall asleep or a session for how to focus better for a test. The app also gives different sessions for different age groups, so people of all ages can meditate.The app gives an instructor who gives you specific directions for how you are to meditate which can be very helpful for people that have never meditated before. The only problem with this app is that in order to use this, you need to have an internet connection and if you want certain features like a meditation session for losing weight then you need to pay for it.

4) Headspace

Rate: 4.5/5

Meditation doesn’t only relax your mind, but it can help you stay organized! That’s why Headspace is another amazing app that you should try! Headspace is free and doesn’t need wifi! It just takes 10 minutes for each session! That’s such a small amount of time, just fit it to when you wake up, or during a hefty amount of homework or right when you go to sleep. Don’t worry about forgetting because the app allows you to schedule your times and reminds you. This doesn’t only fit for finals, but for sure any kind of stress or emotional discomfort that you may have is what the app can help with. Headspace is user friendly and I guarantee you that it definitely relaxes the mind. The best hack for finals is no doubt meditation, so get Headspace!