We’re kicking off Work Life Week with a blog on wellbeing, and great resources to support your wellbeing through audio content! Did you know that digital audio can create the strongest emotional unifier, community builder, and mental health support resource compared to other digital marketing channels?
For example, 55% of Gen Zs and 80% of millennials feel connected and like they belong to a community due to their online audio consumption; 87% of millennials consume digital audio to relax, with 84% using audio as a tool to improve their mental health. This is compared to 77% of Gen Zs using digital audio to relax, and 79% of Gen Zs using digital audio as a coping and healing mechanism.
In that vein, here are some of the most popular meditation, mental health and sleep podcasts and streams out there to support your health and wellbeing!
Best Podcasts and Livestreams to Aid Sleep
Get Sleepy
Every episode draws on scientific expertise to combine guided meditation, with sleep-focused storytelling.
Sleep Whispers
From poetry reading to wikipedia articles, if gentle whispers are what you need to drift off, Sleep Whispers has you covered!
Headspace Sleepcasts
In partnership with John Legend, headspace now features an eight-hour long stream of gentle tunes to lull you to sleep.
What if the source of your sleeplessness is actually your little ones’ sleeplessness? Ever the gift that keeps on giving, ‘Goodnight, World!’ sees Headspace team up with Sesame Street to create stories for your little ones!
Want to learn a language while you sleep? Or do you struggle to fall asleep to audio you can understand? Why not listen to Go to Sleep in French, Sleepy Spanish, Einschlafen Podcast, the Mandarin Monkey Podcast, ArabicPod101 audiobooks, SwahiliPod101 audiobooks, Talk to Me in Korean or some of the other podcasts listed on FluentU?
Best Podcasts and Livestreams for Understanding Mental Health
HealthyGamerGG
Dr Alok Kanojia (a.k.a Dr. K) is a psychiatrist and Harvard graduate, and a recovered gaming addict. Dr Kanojia founded Healthy Gamer, a mental wellness company to help ‘the internet generation’ to transition into healthier, more successful and fulfilling lives. As well as his creating free video lectures on YouTube on mental health, ADHD, self-sabotage, loneliness and emotional literacy, Dr. K provides accessible, inclusive and affordable mental health coaching and a guide that can be downloaded from his website.
The Hilarious World of Depression
It’s all in the title – this podcast addresses the often stigmatised world of depression in an insightful and light hearted way by top comedians who live with depression; the podcast aims to show that we’re all in this together and to build a supportive community.
Anxiety Slayer
Axiety Slayer discusses panic attacks, PTSD and stress with experts, sharing exercises to help listeners feel calm and regain a sense of control of situations through guided meditations and courses on their website.
Therapy for Black Girls
Mainstream services aren’t always sensitive to the unique pressures that minoritsed groups encounter on a daily basis, so the Therapy for Black Girls podcast aims to make mental wellness more accessible to black listeners who may have had negative experiences with mental health professionals in the past, such as gaslighting.
Boundaries.me
The Boundaries.me podcast empowers listeners with the tools they need to set healthy boundaries, break codependent behaviours and how to improve the quality of their interpersonal relationships.
Griefcast
Cariad Lloyd, actor, comedian and host of Griefcast invites funny actors, authors, producers and others to talk openly and uninterruptedly about their experiences of loss and grief. The podcast – despite sounding heavy – has gone on to win 2 awards: Podcast of the year 2018; Best Podcast ARIA 2018; and it was also a Rose D’or Nominee in 2019. It serves as a space for listeners to feel less alone in their experience, and to find some comfort on their road to coming to terms with their loss.
More in Part 2 of our Wellbeing Special
In our second and final blog post on wellbeing during Work-Life Week, we share some popular podcasts for self-development, improving interpersonal relationships, and financial literacy. We hope you enjoyed this first part, and that the second part of our wellbeing special is just as helpful to you – if not more!
