Give yourself a mindful makeover in 2020 with this all-in-one app
Price: Free (with IAPs)
Version: 7.0.9
Size: 108 MB
Seller: Memorado GmbH
Platform: iPhone & iPad
Geist (formerly Memorado) is a revamped and rebranded app that provides users with an all-in-one brain training and mental wellbeing solution. It does this by offering a range of tiered brain training workouts alongside meditation programs and mindfulness exercises. Is this all too much, or has Geist struck the balance just right? Let’s find out.
When you launch the app, Geist asks what cognitive goals you might have – do you want to focus more, remember names more easily, or think more quickly? After, you’re prompted to complete your first “workout,” which is a brain training exercise that spans a range of games. The workouts themselves are fun, albeit sometimes a little skewed towards memory rather than logic. And for some exercises, you’ll need to be fairly adept at using your device’s touch screen, which could interfere with your performance.
Start a workout to train your brain.
After you’ve completed a brain training workout, Geist offers an analysis of your performance – it compares you against other Geist users and highlights some of your areas of cognitive strength. By performing well on these exercises, you earn Geist points which are then used to unlock additional tests. This ensures users reach a certain level of proficiency before moving on, which is a nice touch.
Feedback on your performance.
Usefully, the Games tab lets users access a range of different brain training games on-demand, so you can gain extra practice or kill time without launching into a full brain training workout.
The brain training is all good in Geist – although this alone doesn’t set it apart from other apps. What does is the inclusion of meditation and mindfulness exercises, which you’ll find in the app’s remaining two tabs.
Geist’s game library.
In the first, Meditate, users have six options to choose from depending on their goals or experience with meditation. This ranges from the ultra-basic (“Learn to meditate”) all the way to more targeted sets of meditations. In each set, there are around seven structured meditations alongside additional talks. There’s a surprising amount of content here which some users might overlook – for those new to meditation, Geist offers a great place to start and the quality of what’s on offer is impressive.
Meditation options.
The same can be said for the app’s sleep-based mindfulness exercises. There are plenty of “sleep stories” to choose from, which aim to lull users towards a relaxing sleep, as well as mindful exercises and soundscapes which you can listen to throughout the night. The sleep exercises are themed – there’s “Fall asleep now,” “Wake up easily,” and “Improve my sleep.” The one you choose will depend on the personal sleep goals you have.
Targeted mindfulness exercises.
Unfortunately, Geist doesn’t offer sleep tracking or integration with the Health app, so it’s difficult to track the quality of your sleep or to log “mindful minutes.” For now, you’ll need to use a third-party sleep tracker and log your mindful exercises manually in the Health app, which is a bit of a pain.
Geist can be downloaded and used free of charge. However, to unlock personalized brain training, unlimited exercises and meditations, and user statistics, you’ll need to subscribe to Geist Premium. This will set you back $60/£50 annually, but can be trialed free of charge before you decide to pay.
So, if your New Year’s resolution is to get your brain and mind in shape, look no further. Geist provides a great place to start your brain training and mindfulness journey.