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05Feb

What You Should Know About Sleep

Louise Chunn

sleep, stress, wellbeing

Body

Don’t smoke, cut back on the booze, try to stick to a healthy diet, get some exercise --- that’s enough health rules to be getting on with surely?  But there’s one essential element that many people forget about. Sleep is as important as any of those in keeping us on the rails. This was one of the main messages I took away from a visit to Champneys Tring recently. I was at the well-known health spa to sample a Lifestyle Improvement Plan, for which food and drink intake, exercise levels and daily activities are monitored in advance. The aim is to illustrate that...
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05Feb

How I Overcame My Fear of Driving

Joanne Mallon

phobias

Mind

Driving phobia is more common than many might think. If you are a sufferer, be inspired by one woman's story of recovery and learn how you can do the same
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04Feb

Cosmetic Surgery Makes Beauty That's Barely Skin Deep

Linda Blair

psychology, society, women

Body

I was sad to read in The Guardian today that there’s been a big rise — nearly 17 per cent – in the demand for cosmetic surgery in Britain in the last year. Breast augmentation is the number one favourite, with anti-ageing techniques such as eyelid surgery and face and neck lifts following closely behind.  I was, however, not surprised to read that there’s also been a rise in reports of patient dissatisfaction. Quite apart from any issues of competence  this shows that cosmetic surgery doesn’t offer lasting satisfaction. Why not? First, the procedures rarely promise...
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04Feb

What is Kundalini yoga?

Lucy Greeves

yoga

Body

Kundalini is a very spiritual style of yoga that is believed by its adherents to raise them to a level of heightened consciousness
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03Feb

Taking Care of Our Elderly

Wendy Varley

care, elderly, family, society

Relationships

More and more of us have an elderly relative in residential care. Currently more than 400,000 people in the UK live in care homes, a figure which is bound to rise further, given the ageing population (there are currently 3 million people aged over 80 in the UK, and that figure is predicted to almost double by 2030. Currently one-in-six of the UK population is aged over 65; by 2050 it will be one-in-four). NICE the (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) has issued new guidance on improving the mental wellbeing of older people in residential care, via a...
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31Jan

Veganism: Obsessive or Principled?

Claudine Levy

nutrition

Body

With stars like Beyoncé and Jay Z doing couples’ cleanses, and Gwyneth Paltrow being papped  every other day with the diet deity that is cold-pressed green juice, veganism seems to be this year’s must-have accessory. Could it be that this fashion for deprivation, veiled as nutrition, is doing something damaging for our already body-conscious society? A vegan diet was once an ethical life-choice, the preserve of so-called hemp-loving hippies concerned with the moral dilemma of eating produce from sentient, living...
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30Jan

Seven Ways to Streamline Your Schedule

Linda Blair

psychology, stress, tips

Soul

Techniques to help stop you being overwhelmed and learn to manage your time, and streamline your schedule
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29Jan

Why Carmel Allen Founded Kiss It Better

Louise Chunn

empathy

Soul

Cosmetics can get a bad rap from serious-minded people, but sometimes a lipstick is much more than an indulgence. Carmel Allen has used lipsticks to help raise £800,000 for research into childhood cancer with her charity Kiss It Better, which celebrated its 10th birthday today. I remember where the whole thing started.   Carmel was a much-respected beauty director on the glossy magazine that I was editing. One morning she didn’t turn up for work – and phoned to say that she didn’t know if she could ever work like that again. Her baby Josephine, who was not even one, ...
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29Jan

The Stressed Sex?

Daniel Freeman

emotions, men, mental health, psychology, therapy, women

Mind

Oxford psychology professor Daniel Freeman on the gender differences around mental illness, and why it is difficult to report on
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28Jan

What is Sivananda Yoga?

Lucy Greeves

yoga

Body

Sivanada yoga is the style probably most similar to the original roots of Hindu yoga practice
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