A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Does physical activity reduce depression, or does depression reduce physical activity? It's a quintessential chicken and egg scenario — and a question that's plagued scientists for some time. Now, thanks to the power of modern genomics, a new study published in JAMA Psychiatry provides the "strongest evidence" yet that exercise has a protective effect against [...]
Adolescence is a critical time for the development of mental health problems. In fact, depression is most likely to occur during adolescence and young adulthood. It’s the leading cause of disability in young people worldwide. At least one‐quarter of young people will experience an episode of depression before 19 years of age. By year 9, [...]
Far from wrapping children in cotton wool, a growing number of WA public schools are doing the opposite, giving their students the opportunity to race around on rollerblades, fly off ramps in crates and slide down trees. They are setting aside injury concerns to help children build resilience and squeeze in much-needed physical activity, in [...]
When it comes to body image issues, the struggle is equal for men and women. The feeling of low self-confidence, being judged for your weight, not fitting into clothes and the pressure to live up to society's standard of a body type can be all too crippling. It’s normal to be insecure, to compare ourselves to [...]
Mental health is becoming a more widely discussed topic. It’s apparent that maintaining positive mental health can contribute to stronger overall well-being. However, there is a stigma commonly associated with mental health issues that often prevents those from seeking help. Where do we begin? Our children. 14 percent of Australian children between the ages of [...]
Resistance training's benefits go way beyond building big muscles: A new scientific paper demonstrates it might also be a great treatment for depression. The mental health condition has far-reaching impacts: it's estimated 1 million Australians have depression in any one year, and around one in six will experience it at some point in their lives. [...]
What’s your one hour a week? The Black Dog Institute is challenging Australians to complete at least one hour of physical activity a week to help improve their physical and mental health as part of ‘Exercise Your Mood’ week, until May 6, 2018. The campaign follows a recent study led by the Black Dog Institute [...]
If you find yourself easily distracted throughout the day, you might want to consider tweaking some of your morning habits. They probably won’t eliminate all distractions, but you’ll at least start your workday strong building a good foundation for the rest of the day. 1. Take a walk If you read a lot of health and fitness [...]
Exhausted after Christmas and the new year? Are you craving a few more hours in bed? Are you a parent whose sleepless children are leaving you a sleep-starved wreck? These days in early January are claimed as the darkest days for sleep deprivation. The modern barometer for such moments - the number of Google searches [...]
As too many of our youth spend more and more hours in a zombie-like trance on their video games and electronic devices, parents are beside themselves. Our kids don't want to exercise, let alone do their school work. A phone or computer screen is their best friend as they contact whoever knows who on the [...]
