Looking after your physical health and wellbeing

General guides

NHS Guides to Living Well

The NHS website is a fantastic first stop for information about how to keep well and when to seek help. A Healthy Weight section offers guidance for adults and children about maintaining a healthy weight, including a BMI calculator. An exercise section explains the benefits, offers guidelines according to age category and a range of exercises to improve fitness and wellbeing. There’s information and advice on eating well, quitting smoking, alcohol and addiction support, and sexual health.

Visit NHS

Dr Rangan Chattergee: Feel Better. Live More

Dr Chattergee’s stated mission is ‘to help 100 million people feel fantastic by restoring them to optimal health’. A practising GP, he believes that many people are suffering needlessly. His books, podcasts, blogs and BBC Radio 2 show explore the many ways we can all improve our health through simple, easy-to-follow plans. Some in just five minutes a day. If you’re serious about improving your health and wellbeing, we recommend you take a look.

Visit Dr Chattergee

Just One Thing with Michael Moseley

These short and incredibly helpful mini podcasts are still available to listen to. We can all be guilty of saying we don’t have time for looking after ourselves better. Whether that’s taking time to exercise, revisiting our diet or learning to meditate, the list goes on. But there’s often ‘just one thing’ you can do to improve your health and wellbeing. Michael Moseley’s BBC podcast reveals a whole host of ‘scientifically proven top tips’ which just might change your life.. These might be as diverse as eating oily fish, dancing, taking a nap, getting some houseplants, playing video games, getting some sun, counting your blessings and taking a hot bath. And each one is tantalisingly under the quarter-hour mark so no excuses for not listening.

Visit Just One Thing

Sleep

Sleepio

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advises GPs to offer the Sleepio app, a six-week digital therapy programme, as the first-line treatment for insomnia. The usual treatment is advice about sleep hygiene, and many resort to ‘sleeping pills’. If insomnia symptoms are unlikely to resolve soon, best practice is to refer for face-to-face Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, but this might be difficult to access. So, if insomnia is an issue for you, may be worth discussing this option with your GP.

Find out more about Sleepio

Men’s health

Movember

Movember is the ‘leading charity changing the face of men’s health’. Back in 2003, two mates in Australia decided to bring back the moustache and create a campaign. They wanted to raise awareness of men’s health and testicular cancer. And they charged ten dollars to ‘grow a Mo’. The idea took off (read more about it here), literally ‘changing the face of mens’ health’. Now, millions of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas all over the world, raising awareness and funds for the cause.

There’s a wealth of information here about prostate and testicular cancer (Know thy nuts), mental health and suicide prevention, and just generally ‘being a man’. For those on the outside looking in, there’s a useful guide to the ALEC model. Learn how to strike up and navigate a conversation with a man who might be struggling. No more dead end conversations.

Visit Movember

Women’s health

Endometriosis UK

In the UK, around 1.5 million women are currently living with the condition, regardless of race or ethnicity. Endometriosis can affect you from puberty to menopause, although the impact may be felt for life. Find here everything you might need to know about endometriosis, the symptoms, causes and treatments.

Visit EndometriosisUK

Cancer

Breast Cancer Now

Breast Cancer Now is ‘steered by world-class research and powered by life-changing care’, there for anyone affected by breast cancer, the whole way through, providing support and hope for the future.

Visit Breast Cancer Now

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan offers support where people need it, both physically and through their online community. Their website offers an A to Z of cancers, the range of diagnostic and treatment options, the drugs used and the potential impact of all this on both the person with cancer and their family. If you’re worried you might have cancer there’s information and support for all the questions you might want to ask.

Visit Macmillan

The Odd Balls Foundation

Founded in December 2015 to raise awareness of testicular cancer, the foundation offers a downloadable ‘Check Yourself’ guide to checking your own tackle.

Visit Odd Balls Foundation

Orchid Fighting Male Cancer

Orchid was set up to raise awareness and educate men of all ages in the signs and symptoms of penile, testicular and prostate cancer. They offer a range of downloadable PDFs with comprehensive guides to recognising cancers, how to check yourself, how to manage your treatment, as well as advice on how to discuss your diagnosis with your children. Other guides are aimed at educating young people about male cancers.

Visit Orchid

Prostate Cancer UK

One in eight men will get prostate cancer, and if you’re over 50, black, or your dad or brother had it, you’re at even higher risk. That said, prostate cancer doesn’t have to be life-threatening, and the earlier you catch it the more likely it is to be cured. This website tells you everything you need to know about prostate cancer and how to get support when you need it from specialist nurses.

Visit Prostate Cancer UK

Dealing with pain

Painscience.com

Painscience.com features over 230 featured articles about common pain problems with more detailed e-book tutorials, about some of the more stubborn problems, available to purchase. There are hundreds of smaller blog posts available free to subscribers, with additional material available to members. If you’re experiencing a pain somewhere, the chances are it’ll be covered here.

Visit painscience.com

Alcohol dependency

Drinkaware

Drinkaware helps you understand how alcohol affects your mind and body — the first step towards increasing your alcohol awareness and reducing your drinking. From the symptoms of alcohol poisoning to how many units a week you should have and the impact of alcohol on your mental health, it’s all here. They offer you advice and support and tools to help you limit your drinking.

Visit drinkaware.co.uk

For useful links to find out more about improving your mental health and wellbeing head here.