Simply Health PhD

 Image source: cleanfoodcrush.com     What is stress?   Stress is a biological reaction to anything the brain perceives as a challenge or threat. This can include quick responses, like needing to run away from something or from persistent demands and pressure in day to day life. The exact causes of stress are predominantly dependant on what you perceive as stressful. However, common causes include, physical, social or financial threats where the individual has low control. Pressure at home, work or school, especially if it is persistent and makes you feel out of control, can lead to chronic stress. Fears and uncertainty may cause worrying and negative thinking, or c ognitive dissonance, where your beliefs and actions do not match up. For example, if you believe that helping others is good, but you cannot help someone due to other circumstances, you may feel guilt, which can result in stress. Additionally, conflict with others can make ...

  With the rise of fitness trackers and calorie / macro conscious media, more of us are becoming increasingly conscious of the nutritional values of the food we are consuming. As someone who has a history of eating disorders, I know all too well how time consuming and anxiety provoking it can be trying to calculate all these supposedly important numbers. But, do we really need to be so concerned about the specifics of what we are putting in to our bodies, or is it just another way to control and confuse those trying to adopt a healthier lifestyle? Lets go back to the basics, what are macros and what exactly is a calorie? Macros are macronutrients that the body needs most of, these are Protein, Carbs and Fats. A c alorie is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of 1g of water by 1 degree Celsius. How does your body use these nutrients? CARBOHYDRATE     = 4 Kcal per gram Used as energy by the body (except insoluble fibre) 20% u...

Try this functional circuit targeting legs and shoulders for a quick but effective workout. If you are unsure how to correctly complete any of the exercises, please seek out a fitness professional in the gym who I am sure will be happy to advise. Remember, these are advanced exercises that you can work up to so go at your own pace! If you need to rest for longer periods that's ok, and if you can't complete an exercise, just adapt it or follow my alternatives that is more suitable for you. Equipment  step up box kettlebell barbell hand weights Total time = 20 minutes   Each exercise 1 minute + 1 minute rest at the end of each circuit round. COMPLETE 4 ROUNDS The circuit   Box Burpees in to Press Up . Alternatives - Floor burpee / Floor burpee with press up / Box jump.   Side Lunges with Upright Row. Alternatives - Side lunges / Lunges / Upright rows. Deadlift to Clean and Press. Alternatives - Deadlift / Squats / C...

If you are anything like me cooking a healthy and nutritious meal after a long day is the last thing you want to do. This makes it all too easy to resort to unhealthy convenience meals. Over they years I have created many simple healthy meals that are so quick and easy to make, as well as student budget friendly, they make microwave meals look like effort!  Vegan chickpea curry recipe Time 15 minutes Ingredients 1 Tin of chickpeas  1 Tin of chopped tomatoes  A big handful of spinach and kale (chopped) 2 cloves of garlic Curry powder  Chilli flakes 1 lemon  Rice Method Heat the pan and add the chilli and garlic  Add the greens and leave for a minute  Add the chickpeas and curry powder  Add the tomatoes and other seasonings (I like salt, pepper and soy sauce)  Let it all simmer for 10 minutes whilst you cook the rice  Serve up with a squeeze of lemon and enjo...

How do we reduce the obesity crisis? How can we help people adopt better diets? Why do some people struggle to maintain a healthy weight? How do chronic conditions impact individuals wellbeing? Simply put, health psychology is the promotion of health and the prevention of illness, with the ultimate aim of helping individuals and populations achieve better healthier lives. Health psychologists study how a variety of factors can influence our health, this is known as the Biopsychosocial model. For example, someone may have high blood pressure, making them susceptible to CHD. Along with the standard biomedical explanations for high blood pressure (bio), the individual may also be experiencing high work stress with little support (social) and may have a poor coping style for managing such stressors (psycho). So we can see how many factors are impacting the individuals health outcomes. Thus, Health psychologists explore how different factors can influence ou...