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MIND
claims he has to go the gym every day for the sake of his mental health. The most decorated Olympian of all time, with 28 medals to his name, admitted, “If I miss a day, it’s a disaster.” The 35-yearold has previously opened up about his struggles with both ADHD and depression, which have led him to contemplate suicide. During the summer he featured in the HBO documentary Weight of Gold, where he spoke candidly about his struggles. Now he says he maintains a strict routine to ensure he stays on an even keel. He told ESPN earlier this year, “There are days that I don’t want to be there. But I force myself to do it. It’s for my mind as much as my body.”
VEGANS AND VEGETARIANS
are less likely to experience anxiety, a new study suggests.1 A team of Spanish and Belgian scientists compared mental health and cognitive outcomes for people with a range of different dietary habits, and found that people on a plant-based diet showed a lower lik elihood of being anxious. Anxiety is an ‘umbre lla term’ which includes a range of conditions, and is thought to affect approximately eig ht per cent of the UK population.
Sleep Specs
Struggling for shuteye? Try wearing a pair of Blue Light Glasses for 90 minutes before bed to filter out sleep-blocking waves from your computer, phone, or tablet. A range of health experts have recommended the use of the blue-light blockers, which work by filtering out the short wavelength rays emitted by electronic devices. New research published in the journal Chronobiology International shows that wearing the special specs for that last hour-and-a-half before lights out can help you get a good night’s sleep.
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NOVEMBER 2020
6%
of men suffer from migraines, which can be cripplingly painful, but the causes of the periodic headaches are not well understood. On the bright side, chocolate has long been thought of as a d i e t a r y t r i g g e r, b u t a review by a team of Polish scientists showed that there is insufficient evidence to back that up.
EXERCISE ADDICTION should be understood as a mental illness that may negatively impact your performance, experts say. Compulsive exercising is different to a strong commitment to training, and may sometimes be a symptom of an eating disorder. Studies have shown that lone exercisers are more likely to suffer from compulsive behaviour than those who play team sports, and that those who have an exercise addiction are likely to perform less well than others who take a more balanced approach.
Words Simon Cross Photography Shutterstock | 1. Nutrition Reviews
Phelps
