Mental Health AwarenessMarch 2020

Sweet dreams?Getting a good nights’ sleep is essential to help protect us physically and mentally, boosting our overall health and wellbeing.

The image below shows how much of our lives we sleep. A lot, right?! This is why it’s essential we practice good sleep hygiene to help with all the other aspects of our lives such as work, exercise, and our home lives.

This is your life

Sleep plays a significant role in healing and repairing your heart and blood vessels. It helps us maintain a healthy weight and a good balance of hormones, as well as controlling sugar levels. A great night’s sleep makes our brain function better. It helps us to learn, remember, solve problems and make decisions, as well as safeguarding against stress, mood swings and depression.

What’s Going on This Month

8th MarchThe theme of IWD this year is #EachforEqual; make it your day and do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women. Celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness against bias and take action for equality. #IWD2020

9th – 15th MarchDid you know that no country has reached the World Health Organisation’s recommended intake of less than 5g salt per day? Too much salt in our diet raises blood pressure and increases the risk of stroke and heart disease. The aim of World Salt Awareness Week is to recognise, and reduce the amount of salt in our food.

16th – 22nd MarchNutrition and Hydration Week takes place in March every year – its key purpose is educating people in the health and social care sector on the value of food and drink in maintaining health and wellbeing. Find some great ideas and practical tips atnutritionandhydrationweek.co.uk

Spring into Spring!It may certainly not feel like it at the moment but, with the clocks going forward at the end of this month, we mark a seasonal change and this may impact us physically and emotionally. March promotes National Bed Month which focuses on the importance of good sleep on our wellbeing.

Let’s also not forget about our teenage children and young adults entering exam pressures and how we can best support them to help build and maintain their resilience. The UK children’s mental health charity, Place2Be is a great resource which provides advice and guidance on how to support your child. It also provides content on support for starting primary school to transitioning to secondary/high school – for all the family.

Josephine Bey - Editor

Nutrition and Hydration Week

SALTAWARENESSWEEK

SALTAWARENESSWEEK

SALTAWARENESSWEEK

5 steps to a better nights sleep

Your bedroom – ensure your bedroom is a clean, welcoming and peaceful room.

Your bed – the right support is crucial to a good nights sleep both mentally and physically.

Your lifestyle – Avoid drinking caffeine or alcohol before bed as this will affect your ability to drift off naturally.

Stress and worry – eliminate anxious thoughts by practising a calming or meditative technique before bed.

Relaxation – by relaxing separate groups of muscles, you become more aware of your body and able to wind down mindfully.

79 YEARS28,835 DAYSThe one activity you spend most of your life doing is sleeping. But how does it compare to work, socialising and laughing? The average human spends roughly 79 years, or 28,835 days on Earth.

IN BED WORK SCREEN EATING HOLIDAYS

ROMANCE SOCIALISING EXCERCISE SCHOOL THE REST

Each bead in this jar represents one year.

Wellbeing Solutions Management (WSM), is Medigold’s psychological services partner. WSM provides: Employee assistance programmes, critical incident support, mediation, and HR-led counselling referrals. wsm-wellbeing.co.uk

Mental Health Awareness

Medigold Health is a leading supplier of corporate wellness and occupational health solutions, offering a comprehensive services portfolio, keeping people in work, safe and well. medigold-health.com

Wellbeing Solutions Management delivers a comprehensive range of mental health and wellbeing services to support both individuals and their employers.

Our wellbeing services include:

24/7 Counselling & advice helplines (EAPs)

Managed counselling for return-to-work

Critical incident and post-trauma support

Psychological assessment and clinical reports

Stress management and resilience training Our mission is to help employers improve overall workforce performance, reduce stress-related absence and raise productivity by supporting the wellbeing of employees. 

Mental Health and Wellbeing Services

Mental Health

Money

Wellbeing

Work

Family

Addiction

Law

Older People

Managers

Run around – In the great outdoors!Parkrun is an amazing global initiative that brings communities together and gets people moving. Parkrun organise weekly, 5km timed runs (or walks!) around the world. The events are open to everyone and completely free. All events take place in parkland surroundings and allow you to check your times, whether you are in it to win it or looking to slowly increase your performance.

By accessing the events page, you can select and review course information and browse through the photo gallery.

Travelling or on holiday overseas? Check to see if there is a parkrun in your location and connect with new people in great surroundings!

You can even propose your own Parkrun location by submitting an event description and location.

Think about all the benefits – great views, atmosphere, socialising, releasing those endorphins, keeping fit as well as setting yourself weekly challenges.

Run for your life! Benefits to running:

Better brain performance – running increases the flow of oxygen rich blood in the body, including the brain.

Better mood – you release endorphins when you run, helping to reduce stress and aid relaxation.

Better sleep – running can aid an improved quality of sleep.

Reduces cardiovascular disease – running just 5 minutes a day can cut your risk of the disease

by more than half.