In the last five years, in my work as a health journalist, I estimate that I’ve read at least 2000 scientific studies. In all that time, with all that reading, there is one study that has left me utterly gobsmacked. The study involved more than 3000 people and looked at how they used their smartphones. It found that if partipcants didn’t have a wrist watch or an alarm clock, they had significantly less time in their lives to spend on non-smartphone leisure activities. In the study, people who reported using both a wristwatch and an alarm clock had an average... Read full article »

Throughout my life I’ve suffered from a terrible affliction experts call onychophagy. The disorder can cause deleterious effects on my fingers, my mouth and even my stomach. More commonly, the affliction is known as nail biting. I’m a stress-induced nail biter and right now it’s not the menacing bacteria lurking under my nubby nails that I’m worried about. It’s the fact that my nail-nawing habit is a sign that all is not well in my mind and body. Indeed, the fact that I’m biting my nails again is just one sign that I’m not handling my stress very well. You... Read full article »

I was recently invited to MC the world’s largest conference on happiness. It’s an extraordinary event that features pioneers who are dedicated to finding science-backed answers on how we can live happier and healthier lives. It also features ordinary people with extraordinary tales to tell. So it’s little wonder that on the first day I found myself smiling from ear to ear, feeling palpable grief, and meeting new people – all before 10am. By lunchtime, I’d laughed out loud, I’d shed a tear and I’d hugged a complete stranger, who I then ended up having lunch with. Amazing things always... Read full article »

As a health journalist who shares my story of recovery from a chronic disease in hope of encouraging others, it can be tempting to only share the highlights of my whole-health life, and to engage in the hashtag-driven, insta-world where wellness icons and lifestyle gurus post moment-by-moment mythology about their unblemished lives. And although I’d probably sell more books if I did, as anyone who’s been following my blog will tell you, that’s not what I’m about.While my message to those looking for ways to get healthy or stay healthy is that there is a solid foundation of evidence from... Read full article »

In 2007, a 27-year old man known as ‘Mr A’ collapsed on the floor of a hospital emergency department after taking a drug overdose. His blood pressure was crashing, he was hyperventilating and shaking, and nurses sprang into action to insert an intravenous line into his arm to try and flush his system and save his life. The man had been taking part in an antidepressant drug trail. Although he said his mood had improved significantly in the first month, in the second month he had an argument with his ex-girlfriend and became suicidal. He took his remaining 29 pills... Read full article »

I was standing at my kitchen sink, locked in battle with a determined frying pan unwilling to part with the remnants of the evening’s scorched rice paella. It was 9pm and I was exhausted, having been up since 5:30am, then worked a full day, only to face “witching hour” with my 4-year-old and 9-month-old sons while my husband was out at an evening work event. I noticed that my shoulders were tense, my jaw was tight, and my mind was catastrophising thoughts of pending grant applications and unmet work deadlines. All I wanted was a hot bath and to fall... Read full article »