Wellbeing research
In previous newsletters we've looked at evidence showing that feeling happy is good for our physical health. But what are the conditions for happiness? In our next few newsletters we will look at particular aspects of our lives and examine how they can enhance – or detract from! – psychological wellbeing.
An obvious place to begin is with the workplace – after all, most people will spend a significant proportion of their lives at work. And whilst statistics suggest that that levels of absenteeism due to stress now number 13 million working days each year and are on the rise, unemployment has consistently been shown to have a devastating effect on people's wellbeing, over and above the impact of earning loss.
More than this, however, good work can be one of the most positive drivers of wellbeing. Firstly, jobs provide opportunities to mix with other people and can help to give us a vital sense of identity. Secondly, one of the key strengths of working environments is their ability to engage our interests and abilities, which in turn leads to a sense of purpose, self-worth and satisfaction. US psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has coined the term “flow” to describe the experience of being so immersed in an enjoyable activity that we lose track of time; at its best, work can provide these experiences.
Of course, finding a job exciting and challenging is most likely to occur when there is a good fit between the tasks set by an employer and the skill level of the employee. Results of a recent survey have shown that employees who have a positive view about their managers are “those who are most engaged with their work, perform better and less likely to quit their jobs”. Leadership styles that are supportive, offer constructive feedback and encourage autonomy are important for wellbeing at work.
So, the research indicates that work can make us happy. But it is a complex cocktail of job characteristics and management styles that, in reality, holds the key to our wellbeing.
How is your mood - May
How is your mood today? How is your wellbeing? Could you be a wellbeing winner? Take our daily mood index to find out more about yourself and your wellbeing. It may not be what you think!
Our moods change daily and our overall wellbeing is affected by many factors. Click on the link below to receive your wellbeing score for today!
http://www.yearofwellbeing.com/moods/
BEAT THE BELLY BULGE AND MAKE YOUR
BODY A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE - May
As we get older we tend to notice a little extra fat developing around our middles. Where we store fat (surplus calories) is largely a combination of gender, age and genetic inheritance. Men tend to store fat around their middle (apple shape), whereas women typically store fat around the pelvic region, hips, bottom and thighs (pear shape). However, women are prone to develop an apple shape in mid-life, after menopause. This is because the female hormones are present in smaller amounts and so their shape tends to become more 'male'.
What you may not know is how dangerous the fat around your middle really is (more so than fat on your thighs or bottom
According to the British Nutrition Foundation, having fat deposited around the waist (‘apple shaped’), rather than the hips and thighs, is an important risk factor for poor heart health. A simple way to measure whether you are ‘apple shaped’ or not, is to measure your waist circumference. It should be less than 37 inches (94 cm) in men and less than 32 inches (80 cm) in women.”
If you are prone to store fat around your middle, the healthiest solution is to try and match your calorie intake to your calorie needs to help promote a healthier weight.
However, if you already have a bit of a tum, the best option is to follow a healthy weight loss diet, combined with fitness exercises such as aerobics (to burn extra calories) and a stomach-toning workout to help tighten and strengthen abdominal muscles.
One website that may help you ‘beat the bulge’ is www.weightwise.com and for more helpful hints stay tuned to the Year of Wellbeing for more tips! Click here to request our brochure - healthy eating for a healthy body shape.
Wellbeing research - March
Everyone likes feeling happy. But is happiness actually good for you? Many researchers believe that it could be and there is an emerging body of evidence that health and happiness are directly linked. It is easy enough to see how feeling in top physical condition is likely to enhance your psychological wellbeing – and on the other hand, it is equally apparent that being in poor health is likely to be detrimental to your happiness.
Interestingly, however, it seems that causation may operate in both directions. Frequency of happy feelings have been shown to predict working days lost through illness five years later, the likelihood of stroke six years later, and of cardio-vascular disease ten years later. One recent review of literature on physical health and wellbeing concluded that subjective wellbeing in healthy populations is an extremely strong predictor of longevity, with an effect size comparable to that associated with smoking. In one famous longitudinal study, nearly 700 Catholic nuns in Minnesota wrote short autobiographical stories on entering the convent in their early 20s. Astonishingly, the amount of positive emotional content in these stories was strongly associated with significantly decreased risk of mortality between the age of 75 and 95 - six decades later.
The implication of these results for health policy is striking, to say the least. They strongly suggest that raising levels of mental wellbeing across the population would have a very large pay-off in terms of physical health outcomes in later life.
We will continue to explore further topics of wellbeing in future newsletters. Be on the lookout for our next newsletter focused on nutrition and advice to help you to shape up for summer!