by Lesley Lyle | May, 2024 | Health, The Challenge Hub
As we age, it makes sense to prioritise our health and longevity. While many factors contribute to living a longer, healthier life, one of the most impactful is regular exercise. Research has revealed that regular physical activity in older adults can have as powerful an effect on life expectancy as giving up smoking. This encouraging finding highlights the importance of staying active as we age. The Benefits of Exercise in Old Age A study conducted with 5,700 elderly men in Norway revealed compelling results: those who exercised just three hours per week lived around five years longer than their sedentary counterparts. This demonstrates the significant impact that regular physical activity can have on longevity, even in the later stages of life. Moreover, the study found that even small amounts of exercise, such as six 30-minute sessions per week, were associated with a 40% lower risk of mortality over an 11-year period. Encouraging Fitness in Older Adults In light of these findings, there is a growing call for campaigns to encourage fitness among older individuals, especially for those over 65 but it’s never too early to start! The benefits of exercise are clear, it’s as beneficial as quitting smoking in terms of reducing mortality rates. Not only will you live longer but you may enjoy these extra years by staying active as you age. The All-in-One Challenge If you’re looking for a fun and effective way to kickstart your fitness journey, consider joining The Challenge Hub’s All in One Challenge. This innovative platform offers a variety of challenges designed to inspire and motivate the over over-55s to lead a healthier...
by Roland Majla | March, 2024 | Health, Roland Majla
Introduction: In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, a paradigm shift has occurred, moving beyond the traditional focus on treating illness to a more holistic approach that emphasizes overall well-being. Positive Psychology, a field that emerged in the late 20th century, has played a pivotal role in reshaping the healthcare landscape. By concentrating on the positive aspects of human experience, Positive Psychology has introduced a refreshing perspective that not only complements traditional medical approaches but also enhances the overall quality of healthcare. Listen to the audio version of this article Understanding Positive Psychology in Healthcare: Positive Psychology in healthcare is founded on the belief that health is not merely the absence of disease but also the presence of positive emotions, resilience, and a sense of purpose [Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000]. This field explores the factors that contribute to a fulfilling life and aims to integrate them into healthcare practices to promote better patient outcomes. Role of Positive Psychology in Healthcare: Enhancing Patient-Cantered Care: Positive Psychology places a strong emphasis on understanding the individual patient’s needs, preferences, and values. By incorporating patient-centred care principles, healthcare providers can foster a more collaborative and empathetic relationship with their patients. This approach not only improves patient satisfaction but also contributes to better treatment adherence and outcomes. Preventive Healthcare: Positive Psychology promotes a proactive approach to healthcare by focusing on preventive measures. Encouraging individuals to adopt positive lifestyle changes, such as regular exercise, a balanced diet, and stress management, helps prevent the onset of various health issues. This approach aligns with the adage “prevention is better than cure” and has been proven...
by Tracy Bevan | August, 2023 | Health, Tracy Bevan
By the time you get to your 40s and 50s you think you have a pretty good handle on who you are, then along comes menopause and everything can get turned on its head. It is a time in life that often involves considerable external pressures so it may not be obvious that hormones are playing a part in how you are feeling. Caring for aging parents, dealing with children, work, relationships; there are so many reasons to be sleepless, tired and overwhelmed. We don’t always stop to consider ‘oh, this could be a menopause symptom.’ For me, I was left questioning my identity, not just because I was aging but because mood swings could leave me wondering who I really was. Something I took in my stride one day could cause a melt down on another, so which was the real me? It isn’t always comfortable to realise that our reactions are dictated by the presence or absence of hormones, we believe in our stories – my manager made me cross, a late train made me anxious. Cognitive dissonance doesn’t sit well with our minds. When the outside world doesn’t match up with how we feel on the inside, it searches for explanations, and we invest a lot of effort into finding things to blame for our difficult feelings. But all women go through menopause, what’s the big deal? It’s true, menopause will happen, and some sail through with few complaints. Some find it a difficult time without ever realising why and many simply put up and shut up because our health has never been that high...
by Tracy Bevan | March, 2023 | Health, Tracy Bevan
The world moves so quickly. It’s not surprising that our minds and bodies can sometimes struggle to keep up. Evolution takes a long time. A really long time. We often forget because our brains are wonderfully plastic and constantly adapting but some parts still remember the stone ages like it was yesterday! Whilst we are capable of assimilating new information at a fantastic pace, the area of our brain that was used to dealing with ‘that shadow looks like a bear’ can find it hard to interpret messages. The input becomes conflated and distorted, from ‘nice headphones’ to ‘everyone else has those headphones’ to ’if I don’t get those new headphones I’m in trouble’. We are left on high alert, our senses primed for danger, watching for the threat our brain tells us is out there. Stress Is Normal We don’t always notice the daily stressors we encounter because they are a constant low buzz in the background but coming out of lockdown offered me occasional moments of clarity. I noticed the discomfort created by motorway rush hour traffic or being back in an office. These things generate a strain on the nervous system and require some effort, heightening our stress response system. Let me be clear, these are not bad things. We were born for stress, effort and challenge, they fire us up and teach us skills. The problem comes when we stop acknowledging stress and forget to do the things that help us come back down again afterwards. Without the self-awareness it also gets harder to connect the resulting anxiety with its origin. Balancing The...
by Pinky Jangra | December, 2022 | Happiness, Health, Pinky Jangra
So many of us do not speak or live our truth with honesty. We might think that it’s no big deal. Sometimes it is OK or even necessary to put on a happy face, to keep your cards close to your chest, to just keep quiet and muddle on through for a bit. But, doing this continuously is ill-advised. “How are you today?” “I’m fine” Except, you’re not fine. “Let’s go for a drink tonight” “OK” But you don’t want to go for a drink tonight. “Can you lead this new project?” “Sure” But you’re already overwhelmed and overloaded. When we keep hiding how we feel, saying ‘yes’ instead of ‘no’, building whole careers and lifestyles around things that don’t really fulfil us, this causes a great deal of inner pain. In an attempt to avoid conflict outside of ourselves, we end up causing a war inside ourselves. Dr Gabor Maté’s book ‘When The Body Says No’ is full of case studies of people who were never honest about how they really felt or what they really wanted in life. And sadly, this led to much mental and physical illness for them. The distress caused by not being honest, by holding things in, by living a façade really does take its toll. It creates dis-ease. One of the top regrets on the death bed is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me”. We also need to understand that what you suppress will express itself in perverse ways. Suppressed sadness can turn into a deep depression, suppressed...
by Lisa Jones | October, 2019 | Education, Happiness, Health, Lisa Jones, Mental Health, Mindfulness, Positive Psychology
What am I good for? I recently attended the International Meaning Conference (IMeC) in London (July 2019), which held many inspiring talks by inspiring people. It led me to reflect on the journey of positive psychology and how it has come a long way from being all about finding happiness to a place that also values having a meaningful life. This blog reflects on a statement, inspired by Viktor Frankl, which is: Ask not ‘what makes me feel good?’ instead ask ‘what am I good for?’ Origins of positive psychology Most people with an interest in positive psychology will be aware that the seeds were planted by the thought that we should be studying the outliers of data that seemed to buck the trend of what most people experienced in life. These outliers were individuals who, despite difficulties and challenges, still flourished and thrived. Usually psychologists would ignore these oddities (they upset their charts!), but in the late 1990s Seligman, Peterson and Csikszentmihalyi decided to explore them further. What makes me feel good? Most of the researchers under the umbrella field of positive psychology wanted to understand what made people happy and satisfied in life. This was important to create better well-being in society. However over time this first wave of positive psychology was challenged by researchers and critics who thought this was far too superficial and limited. Many studies began to emerge that demonstrated that chasing happiness as a means to an end in itself led to more unhappiness. It seemed that happiness was always out of reach, like the end of a rainbow. Positive psychology had attracted...
