Healthy Lifestyle Resolution

Walking to work is good for your mind

Commuting to work by foot or bicycle could help to improve your mental health. The commuters are less stressed and are able to concentrate better.  The same benefits can be achieved when travelling by public transport, compared to driving. This could be due to buses or trains giving people time to relax, read & socialise.

However, the longer people spent commuting in cars, the worse their psychological well-being. In contrast, people feel better when they have a longer walk to work.

Running is good for your heart

Even a short five-minute course of running can reduce your risk of heart disease. Compared to non-runners, those who ran had a 45 per cent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease. The speed and frequency of a person's running routine did not have a significant impact on the result. It was also shown that running brought the same benefits across age, gender and weight. While running could be good for your heart, people who wanted to take up running programmes are advised to consult their doctors first, especially if they have chronic conditions.

Happier Marriage, Happier Man

A new study in the Journal of Marriage & Family reported that a married man's life satisfaction was very much affected by his wife's appraisal of the marriage.If the woman was happy with the marriage, then the man's life satisfaction went up, even if he was actually not very satisfied with the marriage itself. Women typically provide more emotional and practical support to husbands than vice-versa. So even an unhappy married man may receive benefits from the marriage that enhance his overall well-being.

If at first you don't succeed, change the way you set your targets and try new ways to keep you on track. As the year of 2015 is drawing nearer and nearer, we are 1 year older. We should make resolutions for the year ahead. But if you find yourself hesitating over a particular resolution, take some time to ask yourself if this is a change that you want, one that might have a positive, maybe even life-changing, effect on your life. Be realistic and utterly frank to yourself - whether it's your abilities or motivation or fears. 

Focusing on what you want - "I want to get fit" instead of "I want to lose weight" - helps your brain work with you. It's only when your resolutions are true to what you want that you will feel inspired to devote time, resources and effort on working daily towards this transformative change. So everyone, it's time to start afresh in the new year!