Lifestyle

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor I’m stressed and anxious enough as it is, but it looks like there is no good news on the horizon, as a report finds that people aged 40-59 are not in a good way. An ONS study, has found that middle aged people are the least happy, have the lowest levels of life satisfaction and the highest levels of anxiety. These latest official wellbeing statistics make grim reading, unless you get to 60 and even...

By Steve Taggart The cost of dying is increasing beyond the rate of inflation. Buying a grave, particularly within London and other urban areas is, in part, a reason for this. Land is at a premium and the financial burden of operating local authority cemeteries is high. The average cost of a grave within London is £3,250, this does not include the funeral director's fees which will usually add another £2,500. The most expensive borough is Haringey where a new grave...

By Joe Mellor, Deputy Editor Marathon man Mark Vaz is almost halfway through his outrageous challenge of completing 400 marathons in 365 days despite dislocating his shoulder earlier in the week. Mark is raising funds for Adoption UK as he attempts to become the first man to run 400 marathons in a year – so more than one a day. The current record is 239 marathons. To put Mark’s challenge into context, he will be aiming to run a total...

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 Laura Casewell  The country’s first female-led facial surgery clinic has launched in London, seeing five of London’s most well-respected female surgeons working together. The Face Surgeons is run by a highly skilled team of five surgeons each expert in their field. Miss Sarah Osborne performs eyelid surgery (ophthalmology), maxillofacial surgery is provided by Miss Caroline Mills, Miss Katherine George and Miss Helen Witherow and Ear Nose and throat surgery by Miss Sarah Little. All undertake facial cosmetic surgery associated...

By Rosie Benson Does our city working culture, look down on those who choose a different path? We’re officially in back-to-work mode and an epidemic of January blues is spreading throughout UK offices, causing many of us to question our career paths. I too have not been immune, and recently left my stable, relatively well-paid job in television, to try my luck in the notoriously unstable, badly paid job of freelance writing. This wasn’t a decision that I took lightly...

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...