Best Apps for Anxiety and Breathing Exercises

Education about PTSD and its treatment, a self-check you can repeat to track symptoms, and coping tools for breathing, relaxation, grounding and self-talk. It includes crisis links and does not require registration.

• Free, with no ads or in-app purchases.
• There is also a browser version, PTSD Coach Online.

Teaches diaphragmatic breathing, explains the body's stress response, and lets you adjust the pace of each inhale and exhale. It works with Apple Watch heart-rate data.

• Still active: the Defense Health Agency released an update in August 2026.
• Its App Store privacy label says the developer does not collect data.

A self-guided mindfulness course with 12 audio-guided exercises, short lessons, a practice log and reminders. A steady way to build a daily habit.

Anxiety and poor sleep often travel together. Insomnia Coach is a self-guided five-week training plan based on cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), with a sleep diary and a set of tools.

• The VA suggests checking with a provider first if you have sleep apnea, bipolar disorder, a seizure disorder, sleepwalking or night terrors, or work shifts.
• Its sister app, CBT-i Coach, is not a self-help app. The VA says it is designed to be used with a provider as part of CBT-I.

CBT-based anxiety tools: thought records, coping statements, step-by-step plans for facing fears, guided relaxation and mood check-ins. It also has a community forum for adults.

• Originally built by the nonprofit Anxiety Canada, which closed in 2025. The app now belongs to 247 Labs and is still free.

Guided meditations, breathing exercises, sleep stories and short courses, including one for moments of acute anxiety.

• Run by a registered nonprofit in the Netherlands and funded by donations. No subscription, no ads and no account required.

A very large free library of guided meditations, breathwork and sleep content from many teachers, plus a simple meditation timer. The paid tier adds courses and offline listening.

• Quality varies from teacher to teacher, so try a few before you settle.

Guided meditation, breathing and sleep content, with limited free material. Some plans include access to coaching or therapy, and the app now has an AI chat companion.

Meditation, a paced breathing exercise, sleep stories and soundscapes. It also runs on Apple Watch and Apple TV.