9 ways you can use your smartphone to reduce stress by Alice Boyes on Apr 26, 2016, 4:23 PM  Smartphones have a bad reputation for contributing to our sense of being always "on" and the stress associated with that.
However, there are some ways your smartphone can reduce your stress. These are some of my favorites, accompanied by the psychological rationale behind why these smartphone features are stress reducers. SEE ALSO: People are shopping on their phones more than ever — but there's a big problem 1. Location-aware reminders. Holding information in mind is mentally taxing. "To do" lists are useless if you don't refer back to the list in the situation or moment in which you need reminding. Therefore you still need to hold in mind the self-instruction to look at your list. When an event is time-specific, a calendar reminder works well. However, another way to approach an overwhelming amount of things to do is to use location-specific reminders. It was life changing for me when I realized my phone could use GPS to very reliably alert me to something I needed to do, when I arrived at a specific location. For example, I might set the reminder "When I'm at (office supply store), remind me to look for X, Y, and Z." Or, "When I'm at (natural grocery store), remind me to look for A, B, and C." On the iPhone, you can use Siri to set location-aware reminders verbally, without even needing to type anything. You can also ask to reminded of something when you leave a location, instead of on arrival, e.g., "When I leave my house, remind me to take my...."
 2. Use a heart rate app to calm yourself. My favorite "meditation" app isn't a meditation app at all, it's the free instant heart rate app by Azumio (no affiliation.) You can use the app to practice slow breathing and watch the impact on your heart rate in real time. This is a form of biofeedback.
3. Snap a picture to remember where you parked your car. Another phone feature that saves you from having to hold information in mind is your phone's camera. Use your phone so that you don't need to hold information in your temporary memory, like which section of a car parking building you parked in. Other examples of the same principle include: - signs that contain information you want to remember, like the phone number on a flyer. - receipts - business cards you're given and anticipate you might lose. Since photos are date stamped, anything you do with your camera is usually easy to find later.
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