Articles

The Power of Regular Exercise for Women

Shane Warne Legacy Heart Test

How to exercise safely in the heat

RUOK

Sleeping well

Heart Age Calculator

Diet or exercise: Does one matter more?

How to maintain strength as you age

Tips for staying motivated

7 Benefits of regular physical exercise

Little things make a difference

Why does exercise make us feel better, mentally?

Achieving goals

Exercise and mental health

How mindfulness can help during coronavirus

How to practice mindful eating

Mindfulness in everyday life

The Power of Regular Exercise for Women: A Path to Health and Vitality

Why Exercise Matters

1. Heart Health and Longevity

Research shows that women who exercise regularly have a significantly lower risk of early death or fatal cardiovascular events compared to men with similar exercise habits.

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of mortality, and exercise acts as a shield. It strengthens your heart, lowers blood pressure, and improves circulation.

2. Weight Management and Metabolism

As we age, our metabolism tends to slow down. Regular exercise revs it up, helping you maintain a healthy weight and prevent unwanted pounds from creeping in.

Strength training is particularly crucial. It builds lean muscle mass, which boosts your resting metabolic rate. More muscle means more calorie burn.

3. Bone Health and Osteoporosis Prevention

Weight-bearing exercises (think brisk walking, dancing, or lifting weights) increase bone density. This is vital for preventing osteoporosis, a condition that affects women disproportionately.

Strong bones mean fewer fractures and a more active, pain-free life.

4. Mental Well-Being

Exercise isn’t just about physical health; it’s a mood booster. It releases endorphins, reduces stress, and fights anxiety and depression.

Our working women often carry immense mental loads. Exercise provides a sanctuary—a time to focus on themselves and recharge.

5. Hormonal Balance

Menopause brings its challenges—hot flashes, joint pain, and sleep disturbances. Exercise can ease these symptoms and improve overall quality of life.

Plus, it helps regulate insulin levels, reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

Aim for about 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days. But remember, any movement counts—even a short walk during your lunch break.

Mix it up! Cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises all play a role. Try a dance class, lift weights, or practice yoga.

Listen to your body. If you’re tired, opt for gentle stretching or a rest day.

Let’s Get Moving!

Ladies, let’s rewrite the narrative. Prioritize your health. Lace up those sneakers, grab a friend, and embrace the joy of movement. Your future self will thank you.

For more information, check out the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s study supporting the incredible benefits of exercise for women. It’s time to thrive! 🏋️‍♀️🌟🌼

Women may realize health benefits of regular exercise more than men | NHLBI, NIH

Shane Warne Legacy Heart Test

(https://shanewarnelegacy.com)

Sharing with everyone a wonderful initiative to support health and wellbeing across the community.

Through the work of the Shane Warne Legacy you can in only 4 minutes gain important insights around your health. 

Have a crack, play with heart, and get a Heart Test. In 4-minutes, check your blood pressure, BMI, Heart Age and more. A small step that could make a big difference for you!

To find your nearest location click the image below

How to exercise safely in the heat

(Source - https://www.npr.org)

With the weather warming up its important to think about how to exercise safely in the heat.

NPR asked two specialists in heat and exercise — Carol Ewing Garber, professor of movement science at Columbia University and Dr. Matt Leonard, attending emergency physician at Suburban Hospital, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (both regular exercisers) — to discuss the science behind exercising in the heat, how to keep your body safe, and what to do if you suspect you or someone you're with has heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

Click the image to read the full article and learn the details behind their 10 tips.

1. Don't eat right before you head out

2. Protect your skin – it's the body's cooling system

3. Wear material that will help your body breathe

4. Hydrate before, during and after exercise

5. Try more heat-friendly forms of exercise

6. Choose early mornings, evenings or shady routes

7. Know the difference between dry and humid heat and

take that extra water vapor into account

8. Ease up in the heat and acknowledge your limits

9. Know the warning signs of heatstroke and heat exhaustion, and what to do

10. Most important: Listen to your body

For more information click the image below to go to the NPR website

RUOK

(Source - https://www.ruok.org.au/)

A CONVERSATION CAN CHANGE A LIFE

Life's ups and downs happen to all of us. People can experience things like relationship breakdowns, financial difficulties, health issues or periods of major change at work, home or in life.

The people in your world won’t always tell you if something’s troubling them, so it’s important that you make asking, ‘are you OK?’ a part of your everyday relationships with friends, family, teammates and colleagues. 

The earlier you give someone an opportunity to open up to you, the sooner they can find appropriate support or, if needed, professional help and the greater the chance that together, you can stop small problems from becoming bigger ones.

For more information click the image below to go to the RUOK website

Sleeping Well

(Source - Beyond Blue)

Getting a good night's sleep is crucial for your mental and physical wellbeing. There are two types of sleep – ‘deep sleep’ and ‘dream sleep’. Good quality sleep is about the amount of ‘deep sleep’ a person gets, not the length of sleep.

Most ‘deep sleep’ occurs during the first five hours after falling asleep. Sleep can be disrupted for a number of reasons, such as illness, pain, anxiety or depression.

For more information click the image below to go to the Beyond Blue website

Heart Age Calculator

(Heart Foundation)

The Heart Foundation has developed a calculator to find out your heart age compared to your actual age and identify if you are at risk of heart attack or stroke.

The Heart Age Calculator estimates your heart age based on your inputs and compares to your actual age.

This calculator is intended for people aged 35-75.

Your risk of a heart attack or stroke may be higher if your heart age is greater than your actual age.

For more information click the image below to go to the Heart Foundation website

Diet or exercise:

Does one matter more?

(Source - Mayo Clinic)

Both are important.

Diet has a stronger effect on weight loss than physical activity does; physical activity, including exercise, has a stronger effect in preventing weight regain after weight loss.

Weight loss through diet without physical activity, especially in older people, can increase frailty because of age-related losses in bone density and muscle mass. Adding aerobic and resistance training to a weight-loss program helps counter the loss of bone and muscle.

For most healthy adults, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

• Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefit. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefit.
• Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running and aerobic dancing. Strength training can include use of weight machines, your own body weight, resistance tubing or activities such as rock climbing.

As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight, maintain weight loss or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more.

For more information click the image below to go to the Mayo Clinic website

How to Maintain Strength as You Age

(Source - Forbes Health)

Strong, healthy muscles help you live an active life and work to support your skeletal system, helping you move, lift, balance and even circulate blood through your body. As you age, muscle mass and strength naturally decline—also known as sarcopenia—and this decline can begin as early as 30 years old. By age 80, a person can have up to a 50% decrease in muscle mass.

However, aging doesn’t have to result in less muscle strength, and there are ways to help keep your muscles strong over time. Even if you’ve been relatively inactive throughout most of your life, maintaining—and even building—muscle strength as you age is possible.

1. Exercise - Exercise is essential throughout life, but it becomes particularly important as we age, as it helps protect us from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, strokes and even some types of cancer. It also helps our mental health and the ability to perform daily activities.

2. Limit Alcohol - Studies show that heavy drinkers tend to have lower muscle strength and more muscle wasting than people who don’t drink heavily. 

3. Eat a Well-balanced Diet With Plenty of Protein - Protein is one of the building blocks of muscle, and not eating enough protein can lead to a loss of muscle mass. 

4. Maintain a Healthy Weight - In one recent study, 54.3% of study subjects who suffered from obesity had sarcopenia, compared to 35% who were overweight and about 25% who were of normal weight.

5. Get Seven-to-Eight Hours of Sleep a Night - A lack of sleep can interfere with protein synthesis, or the creation of protein by cells. What’s more, without adequate sleep, levels of muscle-building testosterone in the body decrease while cortisol (the stress hormone) increases. These imbalances may lead to weakened muscles and muscle loss.

For more information click the image below to go to the Forbes Health website

Tips for Staying Motivated

(Source - Mayo Clinic)

Have you ever started a fitness program and then quit? If you answered yes, you're not alone. Many people start fitness programs, but they may stop when they get bored, they don't enjoy it or results come too slowly. Here are seven tips to help you stay motivated.

1. Set goals - Start with simple goals and then progress to longer range goals. Remember to make your goals realistic and achievable.

2. Make it fun - Find sports or activities that you enjoy, then vary the routine to keep it interesting. If you're not enjoying your workouts, try something different.

3. Make physical activity part of your daily routine - If it's hard to find time for exercise, don't fall back on excuses. Schedule workouts as you would any other important activity.

4. Put it on paper - Are you hoping to lose weight? Boost your energy? Sleep better? Manage a chronic condition? Write down your goals. Seeing the benefits of regular exercise and writing your goals down on paper may help you stay motivated.

5. Join forces with friends, neighbors or others - You're not in this alone. Invite friends or co-workers to join you when you exercise or go on walks. 

6. Reward yourself - After each exercise session, take a few minutes to savor the good feelings that exercise gives you. 

7. Be flexible - If you're too busy to work out or simply don't feel up to it, take a day or two off. Go easy on yourself if you need a break. The important thing is to get back on track as soon as you can.

For more information click the image below to go to the Mayo Clinic website

7 Benefits of Regular Physical Exercise

(Source - Mayo Clinic)

Want to feel better, have more energy and even add years to your life? Just exercise.

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.

Need more convincing to get moving? Check out these seven ways that exercise can lead to a happier, healthier you.

1. Exercise controls weight

Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn.

Regular trips to the gym are great, but don't worry if you can't find a large chunk of time to exercise every day. Any amount of activity is better than none at all. To reap the benefits of exercise, just get more active throughout your day — take the stairs instead of the elevator or rev up your household chores. Consistency is key.

2. Exercise combats health conditions and diseases

Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight is, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the "good" cholesterol, and it decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Regular exercise helps prevent or manage many health problems and concerns, including:

• Stroke
• Metabolic syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Many types of cancer
• Arthritis
• Falls

It can also help improve cognitive function and helps lower the risk of death from all causes.

3. Exercise improves mood

Need an emotional lift? Or need to destress after a stressful day? A gym session or brisk walk can help. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed and less anxious.

You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

4. Exercise boosts energy

Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep

Struggling to snooze? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, get better sleep and deepen your sleep. Just don't exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to go to sleep.

6. Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life

Do you feel too tired or too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular physical activity can improve energy levels and increase your confidence about your physical appearance, which may boost your sex life.

But there's even more to it than that. Regular physical activity may enhance arousal for women. And men who exercise regularly are less likely to have problems with erectile dysfunction than are men who don't exercise.

7. Exercise can be fun … and social!

Exercise and physical activity can be enjoyable. They give you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors or simply engage in activities that make you happy. Physical activity can also help you connect with family or friends in a fun social setting.

So take a dance class, hit the hiking trails or join a soccer team. Find a physical activity you enjoy, and just do it. Bored? Try something new, or do something with friends or family.

The bottom line on exercise

Exercise and physical activity are great ways to feel better, boost your health and have fun. For most healthy adults, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week.

To provide even greater health benefit and to assist with weight loss or maintaining weight loss, at least 300 minutes a week is recommended. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefit.

Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, biking, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running, heavy yardwork and aerobic dancing. Strength training can include use of weight machines, your own body weight, heavy bags, resistance tubing or resistance paddles in the water, or activities such as rock climbing.

If you want to lose weight, meet specific fitness goals or get even more benefits, you may need to ramp up your moderate aerobic activity even more.

Remember to check with your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any concerns about your fitness, haven't exercised for a long time, have chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes or arthritis.

For more information click the image below to go to the Mayo Clinic website

Little Things Make A Difference

For most of us we know that going cold-turkey on all our bad habits and becoming a new person overnight isn't going to happen.

In the real world it is about making changes that are realistic and sustainable for us.

The good news is that making mindful small changes is an effective strategy for getting us on target for achieving our goals.

One thing at a time

You should plan on picking one thing to change at a time.  Give yourself time to consolidate that change before you add the next.

Replace rather than eliminate

It is easier to replace a bad habit with a better one rather than trying to eliminate it completely.

If an evening snack in front of the TV is your nightly routine you may find it easier to start with changing from potato chips to a healthy smoothie.

Don't be too hard on yourself

If changing our lives was super-easy and the results immediate everyone would do it.  Allow yourself time to consolidate your new habit and accept that you will have moments where you fall back into your old routine.

Importantly it is what you do next that is important.  One indulgence won't derail your journey so it is a case of picking yourself up again and recommitting to your new goal.

Read below for more articles on setting goals and staying motivated.

If you would like support with making sustaninable changes to your eating and exercise habits our HealthyME program is for you.

For more information click the image below

Why does exercise make us feel better, mentally?

(Source - Better Health Channel)

Often, people who exercise regularly do it simply because it makes them feel good. Exercise can boost your mood, concentration and alertness. It can even help give you a positive outlook on life. 

The link between exercise and mental health is complicated. Inactivity can be both a cause and a consequence of mental illness, for example. But there are lots of ways that exercise can benefit your mental health, such as:

• The levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, stress hormones and endorphins, change when you exercise. 
• Regular exercise can help you sleep better. And good sleep helps you manage your mood.
• Exercise can improve your sense of control, coping ability and self-esteem. People who exercise regularly often report how good achieving a goal makes them feel. 
• Exercise can distract you from negative thoughts and provide opportunities to try new experiences.
• It offers an opportunity to socialise and get social support if you exercise with others. 
• Exercise increases your energy levels. 
• Physical activity can be an outlet for your frustrations. 
• Exercise can reduce skeletal muscle tension, which helps you feel more relaxed. 

The physical benefits of exercise are also important for people with mental illness. It improves your cardiovascular health and overall physical health. This is important because people with mental health issues are at a higher risk of suffering from chronic physical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and asthma.

For more information click the image below to go to the Better Health Channel Website

Achieving Goals

(Source - Lifehack)

Every year, millions set goals and only a fraction of those millions cross the finish line. Learning how to properly set your goals will enable you to live your dream life.

If you’ve been having issues creating and staying with your goals, you’ve come to the right place to achieve any goal.

You’ll find everything you need to know about creating, setting, and achieving goals that you have in mind. Together we’ll create a plan that will set you down the path of success.

If you’re ready to hold yourself accountable and begin goal setting right, let’s get started. We are going to help you set goals and achieving anything you want in life.

For more information click the image below to go to the Lifehack website

1. What is goal setting and why it is important for goal achievement?
2. Why is setting goals and achieving small wins important?
3. Why people fail to reach their goals?
4. Do you need a lot of willpower to achieve your goals?
5. Your ultimate solution for goal setting

Top of Page

To provide accessible, life-long tools to support healthy minds.

Why?

Youth mental health is a major problem and the incidence of mental illness continues to rise

DID YOU KNOW?

1 in 4 secondary students and 1 in 7 primary school students experience a mental illness and 75% of all mental illness has its onset before the age of 24.

This is why it is imperative we take preventive action to turn these statistics around.

Mindfulness is proven to lead to better attention, memory, regulation of emotions and self awareness. 

In turn, improvements in these areas can lead to reduced stress, anxiety and depression, better academic skills, social skills and self esteem.