Royal Navy partners with health app Headspace to help stressed sailors and Marines relax

Starting today, senior service staff can now access the popular wellness app, Headspace, for free.

The agreement will also benefit some 3,000 seafaring families, the navy reserve force, Royal Fleet Auxiliary personnel and naval officials.

The arrangement follows the work of the Royal Navy Health and Wellness team to partner with Headspace.

The app is already available to serving soldiers in the British Army and is packed with videos and exercises to help with sleep, stress, meditation and mindfulness.

“As an employer, we talk a lot about the resilience and well-being of all of our staff and their families,” she added. “For years we focused on physical resilience, but we didn’t pay much attention to mental well-being.

“You will have seen that we have improved this over the past 18 months or so and I am delighted to support the next step in this process.

“Headspace has the potential to improve the mental fitness of the entire Royal Navy family by providing unique tools and resources to reduce stress, build resilience, increase movement and support better sleep.

“This is one of many initiatives the Royal Navy is putting in place to improve our team’s lived experience; allow autonomous and individual access to health and well-being support services.

The Headspace app offers advice and guidance on mental well-being as well as helpful tips for better sleep and different exercises to improve mood.

It also has articles to listen to, including how to reduce worry, improve focus, and manage anxiety.

Vice-Admiral of the Second Sea Lord Martin Connell added: “The Royal Navy is proud to partner with Headspace to enable individual, self-directed access to welfare support for our entire force – Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, Royal Navy Maritime Reserves, Royal Navy civil servants – and most importantly the families who support them.

“Interactive mental fitness content that can be downloaded to personal devices will provide particular added value to our people as they deploy and operate around the world.”