Digital Mental Health Solutions Go Beyond Meditation: Evidence-Based Apps and Wearables Gain Traction Ahead of IPO

Using mobile applications to address mental health issues may seem implausible, becauseAddiction to Novel Gadgets and Social Media Tools Has Long Been Believed to Exacerbate Depression Among Adolescents. However,Designers of smartphone apps and wearable devices, and even the NHS (the UK’s National Health Service), are genuinely seeking to leverage mobile phones for mental well-being purposes. VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has compiled some new perspectives from renowned international tech commentator Amy Fleming.

In fact, the idea of using digital methods (such as mobile phones and computers) to treat mental health conditions is not new. PC-based online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been used to treat clinical depression for over seven years. Perhaps with the widespread adoption of mobile phones, delivering such services through updated smartphone applications will make this treatment more acceptable.

Meanwhile, there are currently over 500 “mindfulness” apps on the market, offering meditation soundtracks, relaxation techniques, and advice for enhancing mental well-being. Not to mention, many fitness and self-optimization apps have already begun venturing into the realm of “mood tracking.” Everyone is eager to jump on this bandwagon: Apple iPhones can now detect users’ breathing patterns, and Michael Acton Smith, creator of the hit game “Moshi Monsters,” has also started incorporating this technology into his website.

If you open his “Psychokinesis” app, you will sense a tranquil atmosphere—rain falling on leaves, a mountain lake—all evoking a sense of well-being. Yet we remain skeptical: Can growing reliance on smartphones truly help us find peace?

Evidence suggests that mental health applications are effective. Sleepio, a digital CBT program, announced that it will focus on addressing insomnia this summer. The company has already completed a successful NHS “real-world” trial, delivering its services through the “Manchester” feature. In a randomized controlled trial comparing self-help interventions with a placebo group, participants’ concerns, sleep duration, lifestyle, and bedroom conditions were assessed. Results showed that 98 participants experienced improved sleep, achieving a 68% remission rate for anxiety and depressive symptoms, a significant improvement over the NHS average of 45%.

This application was jointly developed by Peter Hames, a pioneer in innovating the National Health Insurance system, and Colin Espie, Professor of Sleep Medicine at the University of Oxford. Colin Espie has also overseen more than 750,000 employees across organizations including Comcast, LinkedIn, Boston Medical Center, and the Henry Ford Health System. Big Health, the parent company of Sleepio, recently secured $120 million in funding to further research novel mental health treatments that “eliminate reliance on medication.”

Meanwhile, the wearable industry is also expanding into the realm of stress relief. The concept is that wearables can track an individual’s biometrics, and this data can then be used to modify behavior for positive outcomes. Certain fitness brands, such as Misfit Ray and Jawbone Up3, offer basic sleep tracking and can identify causes of sudden spikes in resting heart rate.

The upcoming new software “Feel” (a wristband) claims to detect users’ emotions by monitoring skin electrical activity, blood volume pulse, and skin temperature. There are also clip-on devices such as Bellabeat Leaf, Prana, and Spire that can monitor breathing.

Neea Moraveji, Chief Scientist and Co-founder of Spire, as well as Director of the Stanford Medical Center, focuses on studying physiological changes in the human body with the aim of detecting people’s emotions. He stated, “Breathing is a unique and interesting signal because you can directly control it.” Regarding laboratory research, he noted, “If you tell participants that their breathing is the subject of study, they may easily alter their breathing patterns, even without interrupting their ongoing activities during the experiment.”

Let’s begin testing Spire while also selecting a meditation course to join. I was delighted to see that the waveforms on the screen were predominantly calm “encouragement stripes” (a stripe pattern used by Spire), and I realized that the three-minute episode of “stress stripes” coincided precisely with the time when my computer inexplicably prevented me from copying text from one email to another email account. This inevitable technical glitch truly frustrated me.

Intuitively, users can observe their breathing patterns displayed as waveforms on the screen. Another feature of the app, “Boost,” encompasses several functionalities. Initially, I practiced alternate nostril breathing and discovered it had a surprisingly calming effect (although I am uncertain whether performing this exercise on a bus was advisable).

However, my enthusiasm for this application did not last long. First, I suddenly learned that my father was experiencing symptoms of a mild yet abrupt stroke. Then, startled by a screaming child, I inadvertently reversed into a parked car. Yet, when I checked the Spire device, I found that the respiratory data recorded for that corresponding period indicated zero stress.

I asked Moraveji if this might be because I was unconsciously holding my breath when I became overly anxious. “People do have a natural mechanism to slow their breathing, especially when under significant stress,” he said. “It’s possible that you were so tense that you held your breath, and thus the data wasn’t recorded. This is certainly an area where our app needs continuous updates.” Although I still really like Spire, it no longer takes precedence over Instagram.

Claire Burge is a productivity expert who typically provides mental health training and counseling to employees of large corporations such as Virgin and Siemens. She has considered the issue of using smartphones as mental health tools. “I don’t think this is a favorable environment,” she said. “Smartphones create neural circuits that should be taken into account, but this also means that, from the outset, smartphones foster neural circuits associated with disconnection from objects.”

The creator of Buddhify, a current best-selling app, is also increasingly questioning the industry he operates in. In a widely circulated recent blog post, Rohan Gunatillake described the app ecosystem as a “hostile territory” vying for market dominance. Yet, “throughout human history, traditional mental training has always been emphasized—whether through group practice or the ethical guidelines and other core cultural elements that foster mutual support among teachers.” He also expressed concern that today’s “mindfulness apps” adopt a monetization model by offering limited free content upfront, promising users all the acclaim and recognition they desire, but without assuming any financial risk.

“Nowadays, the vast majority of people who prioritize mental health are from the middle class and are generally financially stable,” he wrote. Furthermore, “mindfulness apps” are largely peddling a meditative lifestyle rather than providing experienced teachers for users to learn from and engage with. Gunatillake aims to build a bridge—an app that links these two strands—by involving traditional and digital approaches and teachers more deeply in app design, striving to expand access to face-to-face instruction. He predicts that “over the next 20 years, nothing will diminish the importance of mental health.”