Stress is a buzzword but we all feel its effects to some degree. Our bodies are designed to react to physical threats, as our ancestors would have faced. But today when the threat is not physical (such as financial pressures or work related problems) our bodies react...
We all know the importance of sleep but many of us still do not get enough. Most people do need eight hours sleep even if we can “get away” with less. Slowing the mind down so as to be able to get to sleep is a challenge for some. Others can get off to sleep but wake...
The most underrated aspect of health is relaxation. Sleep is starting to be better understood. Lack of sleep contributes to the development of conditions like high blood pressure diabetes and depression. Relaxation is the time when we are not “doing” stuff whilst we...
One of the reasons that public health messages struggle to get through is that they are presented as very black and white, a bit like in George Orwell’s Animal Farm -“four legs good – two legs bad”. Yet with virtually all matters of health it is not that simple....
Recently in the media it was announced that there is now a new mental health disorder called ODD being used in the diagnosis of children. This so called disorder equates to Oppositional Defiant Disorder. The condition could be identified where a child has a repetitive...
As the year draws to a close it is interesting how three of the key themes that I have written about this year have all raised their heads. And those are 1) The medicalization of life 2) Over diagnosis from screening tests 3) Pharmaceutical companies misbehaving...
