Health

By Mark Turnbull, Health and Wellbeing Practitioner  Blue Monday….how does it feel? During the last full-working week in January, the Monday is said to be one of the most ‘depressing’ days of the year for many people. But why is that? The evidence behind this suggests that there are several reasons and I think it can be useful to consider them using a Cognitive Behavioural approach. Many of us will have difficult situations and problems to deal with during the post-Christmas...

By Jess Bolton SH:24's graduate business associate.  There’s been an huge amount of chatter recently about whether or not dating apps are leading to an increase in STIs. Back in November we put the question to our twitter followers and 53% of them said no - not exactly conclusive... https://twitter.com/sh24_nhs/status/661127893876137984 As the number of casual sexual encounters goes up the rate of transmission inevitably goes up with it but there is nothing about these apps themselves that promotes unsafe sex....

By John Rendel, founder of PEAS (promoting equality in African schools) The introduction of reusable sanitary pads and lessons to reduce the stigmatisation around menstruation is transforming access to education in Africa. As a girl in Uganda you have less than 25% chance of staying in school after completing primary school and, even if succeeding in getting a school place, a girl will miss three days of school a month simply because of her period. Many girls drop out of...

By Sarah James 1. I can do with a month off, it will be easy! 2. It's only been 4 days! I feel like I've not drunk for at least 3 months. 3. I'm bored of staying in the house, I'm going to go to the pub, I can drink sparkling water and watch other people drink! 4. F/ck that! Back to the house, it's safe there. 5. Suddenly I stop drinking and I seem to have been struck down...

Car servicing and repair company Kwik Fit has devised an innovative way to help you shed the festive pounds. A team of their technicians are trialling a fitness scheme in a London garage which will quite literally help people lose their spare tyres. The crew has teamed up with a personal trainer to devise a system – Fit Kwik – using only car and van tyres. The free 30-minute sessions will include tyre flips, lifts and throws, during which participants...

By Dr Helen Webberley MBChB MRCGP MFSRH Christmas is the season of excess - we do a bit more of everything. We spend more money, and pay for it in the following months; we drink more and eat more, and in most cases our bodies recover; we take more risks - physically, emotionally and sexually – and we rely on the NHS to pick up the pieces. The result? Our NHS is bursting at the seams, we are constantly reminded...

By Kasia Mysiak, Marketing & Communications Executive of CLARITY  CLARITY, one of the oldest social enterprises in the UK, was established in 1854 by Elizabeth Gilbert who lost her sight at the age of three due to scarlet fever. The objective of “The Association for Promoting the General Welfare of the Blind”, as CLARITY was called back then, was to enable blind people to support themselves. Blind people were employed and trained to make products, these products were then sold and...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Regrettably last year there were an estimated 43,900 death in England and Wales last winter. It was the highest number since 1999. A report has said that the flu virus was the major cause of the rise and most of the deaths involved people who are over 75. One of the reasons why so many people died due to the flu virus, is because the vaccine was less effective than previous years. There were more...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor "Get off a stop early," is the advice you might have been given when looking for simple ways to get healthy; well that's easy to say if you are on the bus, not as easy when you get the train, and the previous stop is Peterborough. However, assuming you are on the tube, the helpful folk at TFL has release an updated walking map of London. You live in a mansion in Belsize Park, but...