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The following resources have been prepared by the array of health professionals who make up SMG Health. Browse the latest articles, download resources, watch videos or listen to podcasts here.
Staying connected with our wellbeing allows us to make better-informed decisions about our health. Sometimes, small yet instrumental changes are needed to tweak our everyday habits which assist in long term behavior change.
Below you can find further information on a variety of general health and wellbeing topics.
Gym memberships can be expensive and when life gets in the way, or our motivation dips, it can be too easy to skip class. Enter the DIY, budget-friendly home gym that you can create with minimal fuss but plenty of rewards – here, physical health experts show us how to create a budget-friendly alternative to the gym in our own home.
As time has gone on, society’s understanding of mental health issues has improved significantly. Staying mentally healthy at home and at work is just as important as the food you eat or the exercise you do.
Below you can find further information on some of the most common mental health topics.
When someone close to you talks about suicide, it can be deeply troubling and difficult to know how to respond.
Good nutrition is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. The food and drinks we consume provide us with the necessary nutrients to provide our body with energy and maintain our wellbeing.
Below you can find further information on good nutrition from the array of health professionals who make up SMG Health.
Along with a healthy diet, exercise and lifestyle choices, sleep is a very important piece of the wellness puzzle. What we eat can have both positive and negative effects on our sleep quality and quantity.
Instilling healthy habits into children at a young age helps set them up for a bright, happy, healthy future.
Furthermore, children aged 5-12 years old are recommended to do 60 minutes of moderate to intense physical activity per day.
Below you can find further information on how to help with healthy eating habits and physical activity for children.
I give my husband a hard time about his smartphone use around our toddler. Don’t get me wrong; he’s a great dad – one of the best. But that shiny, electronic little sucker has a knack for hogging his attention at the expense.
Getting active throughout the day is a core component of a healthy lifestyle, whether that be time at the gym, or simply taking the stairs at the train station.
Furthermore, getting a good night of sleep can be an understated source of good performance for your day-to-day activities.
Below you can find further information on some of the most popular physical health topics.
Whether you travel for work, have a busy schedule with your family, or have frequent disruptions to your daily routine, life can feel frenzied.
Our sleep habits and hygiene pay a crucial role in our physical and mental wellbeing. Learning and improving our sleep cycles, and the understanding the importance of good sleep hygiene can assist in improving our mood, memory, judgement, and productivity.
Below you can find further information on a variety of sleep and fatigue management resources.
If you have trouble sleeping, you’re not alone. On an average night, 33 to 45 percent of the population have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Even people who usually sleep well may have trouble when they’re under extra stress or away from home.
Our lifestyles are busier than ever before and, as an ageing population, it has never been more important to invest in our physical and mental health so that we can enjoy a healthy, happy life. Checking in with how you’re fuelling your body, booking in for key physical health check ups, making time and space in your life for you, and moving your body in enjoyable ways are all great ways we can give ourselves the best chance at health.
Below you can find some helpful resources and guidance on how to support your mind and body through life’s challenges.
Our lifestyles are busier than ever before and, as an ageing population, it has never been more important to invest in our physical and mental health so that we can enjoy a healthy, happy life. Checking in with how you’re fuelling your body, booking in for key physical health check ups, making time and space in your life for you, and moving your body in enjoyable ways are all great ways we can give ourselves the best chance at good health.
For optimal health and performance throughout life, it’s critical for men to prioritise health and nutrition needs.
Below you can find further information on men's health and self-care.
Health remains one of few areas in life where men have the odds stacked against them, but what exactly are the biggest issues facing Men's Health in Australia?
The Effects of Sun Exposure
Work is back for another year and we’ve hit the last month of summer. Most Aussies have been spending a lot of time outside - at the beach, at the park and by the pool. Unfortunately, a lot of Aussies will also reap the consequences of too much time in the sun. We live in a sunburnt country, and it’s not just the tourists flocking to Bondi to blame.
Understanding UV Light
A lot of ultraviolet (UV) light is filtered out by the ozone layer, but some UVA and UVB light does make it through. While you do need some UV light to stay healthy and help produce Vitamin D, it’s very easy to get the amount of need, particularly in Australia where the levels of UV are particularly high.
UV radiation is bad for us because it damages our DNA. Think of your DNA as shaped like a long zipper, where each side of the zipper codes for genetic information your body needs to function. Your cells carry it around zipped up when they don’t need it, so it’s protected and can be condensed down to take up less space. When your cells do need the information, they unravel the intricate coils and unzip a portion to get to the information they need. Exposure to UV can result in damage and cause a lesion in the DNA, kind of like if two teeth on one side of the zipper fused to each other. Fused teeth on one side means they are then unable to interlock with the teeth on the other side, or properly engage with components that run up and down the zipper. Lesions like this need to be repaired or the body can’t read this portion of the DNA properly, which could mean it’s missing out on crucial information. UV can also bend proteins and other molecules within the cell out of shape, which can then react with DNA and cause further harm.
What are the Consequences of Overexposure?
This can be particularly problematic if a cell containing damaged DNA succeeds in reproducing. During cellular reproduction, cells swell up in size, replicating all the information and components they contain to make sure that the new cell is an exact copy of the old cell. However, mistakes can be made – especially with the intricate process of duplicating all the genetic information held in its DNA. There are a number of checkpoints the cell needs to pass through in order to continue and successfully divide into two. Kind of like a biological auditing process, the cell has fail-safes to repair DNA and correct any “typos” in the information. If the cell didn’t do this, any small mistakes it made would carry over to the daughter cell and potentially impact the way it functions. This is so serious that if there’s too much damage found the cell will kill itself in order not to pass on bad information to future generations of cells. However, much like the important email you’ve proof read a dozen times, just to hit send and realised who spelled your boss’ name wrong – mistakes can slip through the cracks. This is why your risk of cancer increases with age. Most mutations are harmless on their own, but given enough time, their accumulation can align to become the perfect conditions for things to get out of hand.
Understanding Skin Cancer & Getting Checked
Cancer comes about when the mutations in the DNA interfere with the genes that code for the auditing process. If the cell progressively loses information that codes for the checkpoints, cells can start to grow uncontrollably and invade the surrounding tissue. As more generations of badly copied cells are born, the cells take on unfavourable characteristics, diverting precious resources away from crucial bodily functions and spreading to more distant parts of the body. The cells just want to survive and replicate, it’s what they’ve evolved to do, but they’ve lost the information they need to prevent from harming you in the process.
It's an odds game. The more sun you’re in, the higher the chances are that UV damage will eventually hit those crucial areas of your DNA that keep everything in check, particularly over a lifetime of exposure. Trying to minimise your exposure and getting regular skin checks are the best tools at your disposal to stay safe.
SMG Health offer skin check screenings delivered by a medical doctor, on-site for the convenience of your staff members. A simple screening can help identify potential skin cancers before they cause harm, so be sure to book in your regular skin check screening.
For UV forecasts that are updated daily, see the Bureau of Meteorology Website: http://www.bom.gov.au/uv/
For more information on skin cancer, and how to stay safe, please visit the Cancer Council: http://www.cancer.org.au/
