Low Tide Calm App: Free ADHD Nervous System Tools

Section 1

Home

Know what you need right now.

The home screen is designed for those moments when your brain is so overloaded you cannot figure out where to start. Two emergency buttons sit at the top: I'm in Crisis (for meltdown, shutdown, or panic) and I'm Blank (for when your brain has completely emptied and you cannot make a single decision).

Below that, a quick nervous system check helps you identify where you actually are right now, because self-awareness is the first step to regulation and also the one most ADHD brains skip by accident.

You can build a grid of favourite tools so your most-used shortcuts are one tap away. The home screen also shows a daily insight, written in plain language informed by neuroscience, not motivational poster language.

Section 2

Breathe

Guided breathing exercises that make sense.

Four evidence-based breathing exercises are available, each explained in plain English with the science behind why it works.

• Box Breathing is four seconds in, four hold, four out, four hold. Equal rhythm, structured, used by first responders for acute stress.
• 4-7-8 Relaxation uses a long hold and extended exhale to break the wired-but-exhausted loop that a lot of ADHD brains get stuck in at the end of the day.
• Coherence Breathing is the gentlest option: five seconds in, five out. This slow rhythm synchronises your heart rate with your breathing and gently brings your nervous system back into its window of tolerance.
• Calm Breathing uses a longer exhale than inhale to directly activate the vagus nerve. No breath holds, making it the most accessible option when you are already dysregulated.

Each exercise has preset quick routines for different situations: a morning reset, pre-meeting calm, wind-down before sleep, and sensory overload recovery. The app remembers your last session so you can pick up where you left off. Want the science? About breathwork and the Buteyko method cover the mechanisms in depth.

Section 3

Regulate

Tools for when breathing alone is not enough.

This section contains five regulation tools for those moments your nervous system needs more than a breathing exercise.

• Crisis Protocol. Walks you through a structured sequence for meltdown, shutdown, or panic, step by step, without overwhelm.
• 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding. Guides you back to the present moment using your five senses. Simple, effective, and evidence-based for anxiety and dissociation.
• Sensory Menu. Helps you identify what your senses need right now, because sensory dysregulation is often the root of what feels like an emotional problem.
• Body Doubling. A virtual focus companion with a timer, for the ADHD brains that can only work when someone else is in the room.
• Transition Timer. A buffer tool for task switching, one of the hardest things for ADHD brains. Gives you a structured wind-down from one activity before asking you to start another.

Section 4

Dopamine Menu

Quick hits when your brain needs a reset.

A dopamine menu is a list of small, accessible activities that give your brain a genuine boost. The app has dozens of built-in options across categories including Movement, Creative, Social, Sensory, and more, all tagged by energy level so you can filter for what is actually achievable right now.

A random picker removes the decision entirely, which matters because decision fatigue is real and often stops people from doing the very thing that would help them.

You can track which activities you use most, add your own custom activities and categories, and see your top three most-used options at a glance.

Section 5

Check-In

Track your nervous system over time.

A daily check-in takes thirty seconds. You pick your current state, add an optional note, and save it. Over time, patterns emerge: you start to notice that you are always overwhelmed on Tuesday afternoons, or that your shutdown periods cluster at the end of a social week.

The app recommends a specific tool based on your current state, so you do not have to make decisions when you are least capable of making them.

You can export your full check-in history as a plain text file to share with a therapist, counsellor, or GP. It is generated entirely from your device and never sent anywhere.

Section 6

Journal

A private space for quick thoughts.

A simple journal with mood tags. No rules, no prompts, no word counts to hit. Write whatever you need to write. Tag how you are feeling. Export it if you want to share it. Delete it whenever you like.

Your entries never leave your device.