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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?
“Get out of my room.”
“You’re so embarrassing.”
“You just don’t understand.”
“You’re running my life!”
“I hate you.”
If the thought of your son or daughter becoming a teenager fills you with dread, you’re not alone. Research suggests that many parents agree their child’s teenage years are by far the most difficult.
The great divide
''New parents live in dread of the 'Terrible Twos'. But parents of teenagers will tell them that the worst is yet to come,” spokesperson for TheBabyWebsite.com Kathryn Crawford said in The Telegraph.
Back in 2010, TheBabyWebsite.com conducted a survey that included more than 2,000 parents of children over the age of 18 to determine what the toughest point of raising their children was. The consensus was the teenage years.
The reason?
Parents noticed their sons and daughters changed dramatically. They became more moody and sullen, and found it difficult to express themselves, which resulted in strained communication.
But what if there was a way you could prevent this? A strategy you could implement in your child’s earlier years to prevent this communication breakdown or even change the relationship you have with your teen if they have already developed some of these traits.
The power of song
In 1986, American musician Billy Joel in an interview with Rolling Stone said, “I think music in itself is healing”. And he was not wrong. Extensive research has demonstrated the power of music in various realms of health, but how exactly can it ‘heal’ relationships with your children?
For one, music promotes prosocial behaviour.
Take the experiment on a group of 14-month-old infants, for example. During the study, published in Developmental Science in 2014, one group of infants were individually bounced on the knee of an assistant to the beat of a song while the experimenter faced them and synchronised their movements. Another group of infants were put in the same situation, but the experimenter was out of sync with the child’s movements.
Afterwards, each group of tots were given the opportunity to take part in a task with their experimenter. She would ‘drop’ a toy and then have the infant hand it to her. Those who were bounced in sync were far more willing to ‘help’ than those who were out of sync.
According to the researchers, this demonstrated how music might help develop children’s interpersonal motor synchrony. While that may sound like a mouthful, it’s basically a marker of social interaction, cooperation and altruistic behaviour.
But how does this translate into a parent-child relationship through their lifetime? More importantly, how does it help you with your teenager?
Music is an important part of teenage development
As children move into their teens, music may become somewhat of a crutch to them. In a 2012 paper, Michael Schurig and his team from Germany's University of Bremen write that music is highly important during puberty, and that it “appears to fulfil many functions” for children as they go through the changes experienced during these years.
A separate study suggests adolescents use music to associate with similar people. It allows them to form values, a culture, their own behaviours around their chosen music type or types, and in many instances, express their emotions, according to the findings published by the University of Luxembourg in 2014.
And it may be the reason you either fit in or fall out with them.
Schurig and his colleagues report that youngsters who begin choosing their own style of music lose an ‘openness’ for that which they feel is unfamiliar. Play your favourite country song when your teen is into hip-hop and it could mean they – even unconsciously – move to distance themselves from you.
While you do not have to allow your teen to blast their music 24/7, an acceptance and engagement on your part may help your association. A gaze, smile or posture-matching while your teen listens to music can increase their acceptance of your presence, and have positive relational outcomes, suggests a 2018 paper published by the Journal of Family and Communication.
With so much research to corroborate the positive outcomes of relationships between parents and their children with the addition of music, there’s no reason you shouldn’t become a more music-orientated household.
While it is possibly easier to start incorporating music into the family unit when a child is young and to build on that bond as they get older, if those gruelling teenage years are already upon you, there’s still hope.
It’s definitely still worth a try to connect with your distant teen through their favourite music genre; you never know, you may learn a thing or two about yourself at the same time.
