Today's theme is Healthy Lifestyles!

We love this theme as finding ways to lead healthier lives has such an impact on our overall wellbeing -  through accessing the right information and resources, we can find ways of lifting our mood, self-esteem and confidence, changing aspects of our life that make us unhappy, feeling better in our bodies, living longer and reducing the risk of illness and disease!

How much do you know about leading a healthy life?

Take a look at a few resources that we know are relevent for many of our students here at the University of Bolton - from your food, to staying active, to managing relationships.

Why not give the following quiz a go and see how much you know about healthy eating? 

If you want to find academic research around healthy lifestyles and the impact of sport- why not use SPORTDiscus?

SPORTDiscus contains content from nearly 500 journals in the fields of sport and sports medicine. You can find research any any particular discipline of sport  whether that be basketball or hockey.

A search for healthy lifestyles in SPORTDiscus generates over 870 results from academic journals such as Sports Management Review, Health Education Journal and many others. 

 The Sports Centre here at University of Bolton have shared the following resource from Sport England.

It contains tips, advice and guidance on how to keep or get active in and around your home. It contains free online video content aimed at everyone whether that be families, older adults, pregnant women, general fitness, disabilities or long term health conditions. 

Why not 'Join the Movement' and try something new such as Pilates or Strength and Conditioning? 

If you try something new tweet us and let us know! 

For many, reading for pleasure is a way of stepping out of your own life and stepping into the shoes of someone else.

Reading for pleasure boost your mood and help you find new ways of thinking! It can be funny, intriguing, mysterious, emotional, thought-provoking and can help us tap into whole new ways of viewing our worlds!

We love this Mood Boost reading list provided by Bolton Council!

It offers some great reads that you can pick up locally, allowing you to pass time and dis-connect from your world, even for free!

Take a look!

What we put into our bodies can massively impact how we are feeling, and because the outcome isn't always instant, we don't always notice the impact it is having on how we feel.

Maintaining a healthy diet gives us energy, and can reduce feelings of anxiety, sluggishness and low mood, which changes how we approach our entire day. 

If you're looking to improve your diet, we think its really important to not make changes too radically. It can be harder to make big changes and we could end up feeling like we have failed when things don't go to plan. 

Our Mental Health Advisor Antonia Dewsbury suggested making small swaps that are achievable. Over time, these will help contribute to a healthy lifestyle, without feeling overwhelming.

Read Toni's guidance on Food and Mood below:

Relationships play such a critical role in our wellbeing.

Reaching out to the right people can have great benefits to our Mental Health.

It's really important to be aware that not all relationships are positive, and that domestic abuse can often be difficult to spot, even if it's happening to you. You can find out much more on the Life Lounge's NEW Domestic Abuse Resource Guide (CLICK HERE TO TAKE A LOOK)

Domestic abuse can happen to anybody.

We know that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men are affected by domestic abuse with 16-24 year old woman identified as the most at risk.

It is often hidden and can be difficult to see, even when it is happening to you.

People experiencing abuse can feel lost and not know where to go for help, the shame and fear of the situation can make it even harder to seek help and advise.

Support is available to people who are concerned about their own behaviour in intimate relationships too.

You are not alone.

We found Celia's story very powerful: take a look.