Dr Ian Kenvyn Physical Activity, Wellbeing and Mental Health

This is what we want, it’s a question of how we get here.

Wellbeing and Mental Health; taking steps towards the goal.

 Primary responsibility is to ourselves; without personal health, you cannot effectively help others. Without the resilience of personal health you run the risk of making a bad situation worse. Think about the oxygen- mask rule

You need to find the factors that bring you resilience: Feeling valued, Feeling in control, Family and friends, Effective communications, Empowerment, Spirituality or faith, Physical and mental energy.

Could be summarised as; ‘Self-Efficacy’

So what does that look like?

Activity. Diet. Sleep. Engagement (employment, social, emotional).

Dose/response: 4 minutes brisk walking = measurable mood elevation for up to 20 minutes. Improved circulation. Improved digestion. Etc. Etc. Activity: ‘Any form of movement that increases breathing and circulation’.

Diet; a complex area, but there are some simple guidelines: Eat regularly. Consider portion size. As far as possible eat as fresh as you can. Chew well. Hydrate – as little as 1% dehydration can equal 10% drop in physical and intellectual function. (Also people often confuse thirst with hunger and eat when they should drink).

Sleep Are you getting enough? Is it the ‘right’ kind ? Sleep deprivation very bad for our health and wellbeing. Negative impact upon higher intellectual functions. Negative impact upon personal resilience. Practice sleep ‘hygiene’. Consider relaxation/mindfulness/ meditation.

 Engagement. Employment (can you ‘job- craft’?). Social engagement – communities, clubs, interest-groups. Emotional – we are social animals, connect and reconnect with others (be an active listener).

If success looks like this, you need to take steps.

 Starts with the individual,  Self-efficacy,  Activity,  Diet,  Sleep,  Engagement,  Employers facilitate the wellbeing ‘environment’,  Proposition exchange;  reduced sickness/absence,  Greater engagement,  Productivity,  CSR,  Health,  Wellbeing,  Energy.

Health Energy Wellbeing

Questions? Observations? Resolutions?