Television for babies

Recent reports and forum letters question the promotion of an ipad baby seat (e.g., “Infant iPad seats raise concerns about screen time for babies“, Washington Post, 11 Dec 2013; “Some unanswered questions“, Straits Times, 17 Dec 2013; see Psychology Today for some answers). These highlight a growing concern about using ipad games and youtube video programming as babysitters.

Research findings are clear about the benefits of real human interactions for language development. As this TED talk demonstrates, learning from a human being is different from listening to the same words overheard from an audio-video source, such as TV (here’s the science behind it all).

Numerous studies show that precocious language development in infancy is associated with parents who speak often to their babies. In contrast, there appears to be only moderate benefits for language acquisition from watching an educational programme like Dora the explorer. In fact, TV is strongly discouraged for toddlers and infants (AAP).

It has been suggested that longterm exposure to TV programming at an early age is associated with shorter attention spans (“Limit your child’s TV time“, Straits Times, 29 Dec 2013; NY Times, 9 May 2011). But that evidence is correlational in nature. Children who have shorter attention spans tend to watch more television. It may not be the case that TV shortens their attention span. Instead, attention deficits are recognised to have other causes (The US CDC has this useful factsheet).

Social interactions are also opportunities for learning. Which is what makes play an important element for children’s learning, as this commentary in The Independent (12 Jan 2014), “Give childhood back to children: if we want our offspring to have happy, productive and moral lives, we must allow more time for play, not less” explains. And time spent watching TV is not time spent playing.

On the other hand, playing together with young children on the iPad provides similar benefits to that gained with a picture book, as others have suggested (“Parenting in the age of apps: Is that iPad help or harm?“). iPads aren’t all that bad as long as they’re not the babysitter.

Ways to motivate your employees

Ways to motivate your employe

A 6 Dec 2013 news article in the Straits Times (“S’pore staff ‘not engaged’ at work“) reports “three in four workers” in Singapore to be disengaged at work. Based on results from a recent Gallup poll, the findings highlight the need to provide workers with recognition for work well done and career advice, among other things (see these five tips from Gallup). And there’s also much to be said for having fair bosses (“Who Goes to Work For Fun?“, New York Times, 11 Dec 2013) and a work culture which encourages employee autonomy (“Fashion own model of work efficiency“, Straits Times, 21 Oct 2013).

We offer a few more ideas for motivating employees at the workplace (some being a bit more unusual than most):

1. Get a coffee machine

You’ve heard the news. Caffeine is good for memory (“Caffeine pill ‘could boost memory'”, BBC News, 12 Jan 2014). The ability to remember and recall things was superior for after having caffeine. (We might think we would perform better at a memory task if we, habitual coffee drinkers, drink coffee. For example. But that’s not the case because participants in this recent study were given a caffeine pill. So it’s purely the effect of caffeine not our perceptions about the benefits of caffeine which boosted memory abilities.)

2. Decorate the office with a sofa

We know from bitter experience that drinking too much coffee after noon can keep us from falling asleep at night. And there’s research to support this idea (“Late afternoon, early evening caffeine can disrupt sleep at night”, Science Daily, 14 Nov 2013): The study shows that drinking coffee even as early as 6 hours before bedtime lessens sleep duration by an unperceptible extra hour of sleep. A powerful 10 minute snooze could potentially help the genuinely soporific employee continue his or her productive day: But first, one must of course know how to nap.

3. Incorporate green spaces at work

A new study reports better mental wellbeing among those who relocated their homes in a greener urban area (“Green spaces deliver lasting mental health benefits”, Science Daily, 7 Jan 2014). Those rooftop gardens and squares of lush greenery won’t just benefit residents in high-rise flats. They could have benefits for office workers too.

4. Encourage employees to switch off

According to a recent study by Expedia, employees in America, Korea and Japan don’t take full advantage of their personal leave, while an overwhelming majority among employees in Malaysia, Thailand, and India who do take their personal leave, spend a substantial amount of their vacation time checking and responding to work emails. Because making time to destress has positive benefits for our mental wellbeing, it’s helpful to have a work culture where employees can go on vacation without checking their work inbox. Better still, encourage them to aim for a destination (see The Guardian for suggestions) with limited wifi or mobile phone reception!. And not surprisingly, this is already corporate policy at some workplaces: “Companies act to avoid costly burnout” (Straits Times, 9 Dec 2013).

5. Keep meetings to the point

Have employees do less. Gasp. Not more. That’s the current school of thought. It says we should resist adding more things to the To Do list of skilled workers (read this Economist article, “In praise of laziness“, 17 Aug 2013). We could be so much more productive if meetings were facilitated by a moderator mindful of time and the agenda. And if emails were restricted to convey information rather than a day-long ping-pong match which could be boiled down to a 15 minute conversation over coffee or tea. And we could be leading rather productive lives without email ping-pong. It’s old-fashioned, but talking does have its place.

6. Work hard, play hard

While technology allows us to work anywhere, it may have damaging consequences. A recent UK study reported in Daily Science found that work overload was closely related to compulsive use of the internet (and signs that they were experiencing high levels of anxiety and depression, as well as isolation), while another recent report (“Smartphones may harm productivity at work, study finds“, Today, 27 Jan 2014) indicates that checking mail after office hours disrupts our ability to attain adequate rest, which in turn affects our performance at work the next working day.

If we had a reason to leave work on time (because we need to get to that social dance event, french grammar class, blues-jazz jam session, wine tasting date), we would probably be more efficient during our work day. If our co-workers were hanging out together for dinner and after-dinner drinks (or dessert), we would have shorter lunches. If our manager or team leader were to be also going to the same gym class or badminton game, we might check facebook less, spend less time planning holidays and shopping online during work hours, and be more punctual at clocking out.

7. Green Fridays

It’s easy for employees to exercise on the way to work in non-tropical climates. Even though we have climate-controlled buildings and the weather’s been impressively cooperative (in the low 20°s Celcius) in the more recent weeks, it’s still not really conducive for a brisk walk to the office. Unless there are shower facilities there. Casual Fridays is far from rampant, and Sweatpants Fridays seems unlikely to take off here (“Working wear on Friday? No sweat, boss!“, Washington Post, 3 Jan 2014). But for those still open to the idea of being healthy at least once a week, Fridays could be the day to have everyone go for a walk after office hours and the day for eating one’s own pack lunch of fruits and vegetables.

A recent study shows that corporate wellness programmes help those with a chronic illness, and a lower rate of absenteeism. But having a workplace wellness programme (particularly one that incorporates an employee assistance programme to address employee mental and emotional wellbeing) is only the first step. Cultivating a corporate culture which helps employee engagement benefits the employer and stakeholders in the longer term. 

Confidentiality is key

There is increasing awareness about the need to support the mental wellness of employees at the workplace.

NEA and CPF were reported to be the “…latest to offer counselling services to staff” (Straits Times, 28 Oct 2013). Their efforts to provide their staff with access to paid-by-company counselling services are to be lauded. But as the author of a letter to the forum points out, the telephone as a platform for counselling is far from ideal (“Limitations of telephone counselling”, Straits Times, 29 Oct 2013).

There is a reason why the best practices guides (e.g., Buyer’s Guide by EAP Association, Buyer’s Guide by EASNA, Buyer’s Guide by the UK EAPA) recommend face-to-face counselling as an integral component of a comprehensive employee assistance programmes (EAP). While workplace telephone counselling provided by masters-level mental health professionals has been shown to have some effectiveness, it is noteworthy that telephone counselling was less helpful than face-to-face counselling for individuals experiencing poor psychological wellbeing (read this APA review for details).

There may be relatively less stigma for employees to access telephone counselling services, but “it has serious limitations as a clinical tool, including the absence of the ability to ‘see’ nonverbal cues from a client” (APA Monitor). Counsellors in a face-to-face session, in contrast, have the opportunity to show interest, concern, respect, receptiveness and support through direct eye contact and open body language. Indeed, research indicates that counsellors need to adjust their strategies for establishing rapport for a televideo conferenced counselling session (e.g., appropriate and careful placement of the videocamera, the use of gestures for taking turns to speak, increased use of nonverbal cues such as nodding and smiling).

Employee assistance programmes (EAPs) are designed to “improve and/or maintain the productivity and healthy functioning of the workplace, through the application of psychological principles, including specialized knowledge and expertise about human behaviour and mental health”. That is to say, EAPs support the mental wellness needs of employees by providing them with access to confidential counselling services, as well as education and awareness activities such as mental wellness talks, all of which are paid for by their employer.

And EAPs can only work if employees know about them. Knowing that one can seek help from a professional mental health professional is essential, if employees are to use EAP and if employers are to benefit from having employees who are more engaged at work.

But there is one thing even more important than telling employees that there is an EAP at work. Knowing that counselling services are completely confidential is the most important aspect of the EAP. Providing employees with assurance about the confidential nature of the counselling service is key to employees using their EAP.

Employees should know that all information shared would only be released with their written consent (see the limits of confidentiality from this APA FAQ). Even the fact that an employee has consulted with EAP should not be disclosed to his or her employer. Responsible employers will want to know how many employees used the service (to ascertain if it is useful) and the employees’ satisfaction with the service (to find out if employees felt counselling was helpful to them), not which employees used the service.

 

What counts as a supportive workplace?

Close to a quarter of workers in Singapore reported themselves to have experienced workplace bullying last year, according to figures from a 2012 JobCentral survey which sampled over 2,200 local respondents.

Going by the www.bullyingstatistics.org definition that workplace bullying involves receiving unreasonable, embarrassing, or intimidating treatment from one or a group of co-workers, manager/supervisor, or employer, it would appear that employee experiences documented in the JobCentral survey—verbal abuse, personal attacks, being ignored—can be deftly grouped as workplace bullying. But there is also the concept that the behaviours are repeated and persistent (HRM Asia, 1 Oct 2013; cf. the definition of bullying in the context of school-age children).

Clearly, a workplace which tolerates bullying is highly unlikely to win the award for most supportive workplace environment. In contrast, having a zero-tolerance policy and a workplace violence prevention policy (here’s a sample policy from SMEToolkit), as well as workplace training programmes for managing aggression (here are some tips from Yahoo! News, 23 May 2013), are signs that your employer is working towards providing a supportive environment. Having clear guidelines and an explicit zero-tolerance policy at the workplace regarding sexual harassment (this article in SimplyHer, March 2011 suggests a plan of action) and online harassment (nobullying.com suggests a firm policy against cyberbullying) are essential components of a supportive workplace.

A supportive environment at the workplace is more than receiving free fruit, having exercise balls instead of chairs, pocket money to buy yoga mats, badminton rackets and shuttlecocks, shower facilities, and a staff canteen ever ready to dish out chor bee (unpolished rice) and whole-grain-beehoon for lunch (though these are nice to have). It’s a social environment in which we’re free to focus on the job at hand without having to worry about psychological cold war at the office and unfair distributions of workload and responsibilities among team players.

And we’re only going to be engaged at work if our work environment is safe. Remind your bosses of that on this International Day of Happiness…in case they forgot.

Unsuitable behaviour

It’s the story of “the suitor who won’t take no for an answer” (Straits Times, 11 March 2014).

Boy meets girl. They go on a couple of dates. On date #3, they discuss marriage and children. Jealous, possessive, and manipulative behaviours surface. She stops answering his calls. But he continues the incessant phone and text campaign. She closes her facebook account and opens a new one—twenty times. He calls her at the office, turns up at her workplace, verbally abuses her family on the phone and online, sends her flowers at her home to let her know that he knows where she lives. She makes numerous formal complaints. But the damage is done.

At what point should we do something about it? Let’s rewind.

Boy meets girl. They go on a couple of dates. On date #3, they discuss marriage and children. Sharing one’s views about marriage and children. Yes, one expects to have that discussion at some point. But talking about getting married at date #3? Jealous, possessive, and manipulative behaviours surface. Alarm bells start to ring. One would think about not having any more to do with this person. That’s exactly what happens. She stops answering his calls. But he continues the incessant phone and text campaign. She closes her facebook account and opens a new one. Wait. Doesn’t this sound a lot like bullying?

The official definition of bullying is “a situation where a powerful bully intentionally harms a vulnerable and isolated victim through repeated hurtful behaviours that can result in damaging consequences” (Singapore Children’s Society). Said another way, it’s when someone does something with the intention of hurting someone else, more than once. In fact, online bullying is up for discussion today—”Let’s start an open conversation about bullying” (Today Online, 11 March 2014). So it’s not a story about a “suitor”, but about a “bully”.

Legal protection is one thing. But the real issue is the mental health and emotional wellbeing of the person who has been bullied and/or been the subject of harrassment.

There is much consensus that bullying has negative consequences in terms of poor physical and mental health: Bullied children are at risk for depression and have poor self-worth (CNN, 17 Feb 2014), while harrassment puts adults at risk for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (www.livescience.com).

So what can we do about it?

Writing a letter to the bully to communicate that the behaviour is unwelcome, is an important first step. Writing down all encounters factually (supported by audio-video documentation and copies of any written correspondence) with dates, times, witnesses, and location details, in chronological order, is equally important.

In the meantime, we can reduce the negative effects of bullying and harrassment by taking some extra steps:

1. Change your mobile phone number and give it out to your close friends and family. They have your interests at heart. So they will understand that you need to do this.

2. Carry a second mobile for work and activate caller ID. You could redirect your direct dial office phone to your new mobile number and use voicemail to screen your calls.

3. Request that your telco block your telephone numbers from being displayed on the called party’s phone (e.g., the Caller Number Non-Display option).

4. Ask everyone to email you rather than call you (you can call them back).

5. Set up a new alias email address at work with your initials instead of your full name.

6. Set up a new personal email account. Give it out sparingly, as least initially.

7. Open a new facebook account, choosing the privacy settings which allow only friends of friends to search for you and only friends to message you and access your newsfeed, pictures, and posts. Choosing a profile picture and profile name which conceals your identity, declaring fewer pieces of information about yourself (e.g., contact details, your social networks, the city you live in, the schools you’ve attended), and adding friends judiciously are all key to playing a successful cat and mouse game. 

8. Allow only trusted friends and family to access your contact details and online status on messenger platforms such as  whatsapp.

9. Change your routines by choosing a different route to work or by leaving home or the office at different times.

10. Ask your extended family to call before coming to visit. Make arrangements so that you’re not the first to arrive when you meet your friends on social occasions.

Coping With Crisis

Since the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared off the radar, media reports include a press briefing by Malaysia Public Service Department Psychology Management Division director Dr Abd Halim Mohd Hussin, who said that, “We know that it is extremely difficult and distressing for the family to wait for the updates but as of now they are handling their emotion well through the help of our 37 caregivers and counsellors” (New Straits Times, 11 March 2014). Our local news channel, Channel News Asia, interviews Dr Marlene Lee about the psychological trauma faced by the families affected.

Sleep is key to doing well in school

We think of being exam smart, having the right study techniques, studying for longer hours and more frequently as being the key to academic success. But one of the ways to boost school performance is rooted in doing the opposite: nothing. More exactly, sleeping.

A study on medical students in 2012 showed that those experiencing more stress and poorer sleep before exams, performed more poorly than their peers, while a 2010 meta- analysis of 17 studies found that children and teenagers who reported feeling sleepy were those with poorer academic performance. In short, inadequate sleep either from not sleeping adequate durations or having interrupted sleep can spell trouble for maintaining learning performance at school.

And sleep quality has a profound effect on our daily functioning. Studies suggest that getting adequate dream sleep (also known as rapid eye movement or REM sleep) maintains our mood, mental wellbeing and problem solving abilities. These websites offer a detailed explanation of how sleep is crucial to our cognitive functioning: NIH, Harvard Medical School, American Psychological Association (APA), WebMD, Harvard Business Review, the Guardian, Huffington Post, Mayo Clinic.

In keeping with the existing literature on the importance of sleep, as this article explains, recent studies show this to be true. Sleep research published in last year demonstrated that sleep is critical to maintain a healthy lifestyle – specifically, not having adequate sleep impacts us both physically and mentally (Science Daily, 15 Oct 2013).

A recent Swedish study found that missing just one night of sleep is associated with signs of brain tissue loss (Science Daily, 31 Dec 2013) – a conclusion shared by other researchers. A literature review published this year explains that sleep allows the the brain to strengthen neural connections (“SHY hypothesis explains that sleep is the price we pay for learning”, Science Daily, 9 Jan 2013).

In short, not having enough sleep impairs our ability to make decisions, remember things, and learn new things. And school’s about learning new things and remembering them.

Here’s a few things you can do:

1. Cultivate good sleeping habits

Discovery Health has 10 useful tips. Not every tip may be appropriate or useful to everyone but we need to start somewhere. And a dark room can help: here’s why. And here are few more ideas for boosting your sleep efficiency.

2. Read about sleeping

Try the book Why We Sleep: The Functions of Sleep in Humans and Other Mammals. You might find yourself soon extolling the virtues of sleep to other busy bees.

3. Sleep the sleep

Children will do as they see. Parents who don’t practice good sleeping habits or play an enabling role for their children to have poor sleeping habits, probably aren’t going to have children who get enough rest (to do their bestest at school)!

4 Things Every Woman Should Do And Know

It appears that we currently lack information about the effects of medications and dosage recommendations which are appropriate for women (see this recent report from HealthDay News). But there are many other aspects of women’s mental and physical health for which much information is available, but for which awareness is often lacking. With International Women’s Day just a day away, we propose four things you can do to get up to speed this weekend:

1. Build your professional and social network

Research supports the role of a social network for mental wellbeing at the workplace and at home. The New Zealand Chamber of Commerce has an “Inspiring Change – International Women’s Day 2014” breakfast networking event aimed at inspiring personal and career growth held at Raffles Hotel on Monday, 10 March 2014, while the Singapore Committee for UN Women has a “I am fabulous and I inspire change” cocktail networking event at the Grand Park Orchard on March 6th. Those seeking inspiration can join a sharing session with Dr Aline Wong as part of the “Be inspired, create positive change” campaign by WINGS.

All this might be a bit much for the person who doesn’t really like talking to strangers. Joining an interest group like the Nature Society will open doors to opportunities for making new friends. Gym membership, signing up for a language, dance, painting, or pottery class, and volunteering with animal shelters will also offer more opportunities to meet like-minded individuals. Here’s a list to help you get started (Expat Living also has suggestions).

2. Make time for yourself

Self-care is the fancy way of saying that we need to look after ourselves in order to stay psychologically healthy. This includes the running, dog walking, park connector cycling, spinning, kick-boxing, trampolining, healthy eating, and spa-pampering that we do every week. It is the mindfulness that everyone’s thinking about these days (“How to fight stress? It’s all in the mind“, Straits Times, 3 March 2014). It’s also the family meals and kite-flying picnics that we’ve been having with our loved ones.

And if you’re not been doing any of these, there’s no time like the present. The iLight festival at Marina Bay (Timeout has the scoop) starts this Friday 7 March 2014, while the Mosaic Music Festival celebrates its 10th year, running for a fortnight at the Esplanade starting 7 March 2014. Looking forward, Shylock, Portia and other Venetians transform Fort Canning for its annual picnic event in April: Shakepeare in the Park.

Clawing back time from work responsibilities may however be a job of its own—it may be time to put your assertiveness skills to the test. Learning to say no is a skill that takes practice. In the meantime, some girlie and parenting life hacks may come in useful. So are these useful links, particularly if you’re new to Singapore.

3. Be aware

Aware celebrates International Women’s Day with a Facebook campaign to promote gender equality. Recent media attention also puts the spotlight on workplace bullying (“Facing up to bullies at the workplace“, Straits TImes, 24 Feb 2014) and ensuing legislation (“New harrassment law could be enacted soon in Singapore“, CNA, 26 Feb 2014; “Stalking now an offence under new anti-harrassment bill“, Today, 4 March 2014).

The impact of bullying on employee mental wellbeing is well documented: “The Richie Incognito Case: Workplace Bullying or Just ‘Locker Room” Culture?‘”, APA, 21 Nov 2013, “Workplace Bullying: Applying Psychological Torture at Work“, “Bullying in the workplace“, Psychology Today. A zero-tolerance policy at the workplace is key to helping employees maintain their mental wellbeing, as well as sustain employee engagement and productivity. It helps too, if employees recognise bullying behaviours and know the steps to take to protect themselves from the negative effects of bullying.

4. Knowledge is power 

Someone who collapses after running a marathon almost always seems to be a man (e.g., 2XU Compression Run). At least that’s what we get from the news. But statistics show that “women are just as prone to heart disease” as men (Straits Times, 7 May 2013; read this article by the Singapore Heart Foundation). Furthermore, women who experience high levels of stress are reported to be particularly vulnerable. Breast and colorectal cancers are among the top cancers for women in Singapore (based on figures from the Singapore Cancer Registry) but there is evidence to suggest that these and diabetes are preventable with fruits, veggies, whole grains, and an active lifestyle.

Newspaper reports about men with depression appear more often than those about women with depression, potentially fueling our use of the availability heuristic. As a result, we may think that depressive illnesses are more frequent in men than women. In fact, it is the opposite (here’s why); moreover, it’s widely acknowledged that mental illnesses affect women differently from men (the US National Institutes of Health has useful fact sheets).

You can do something about it. Even if you’re only reading about it (e.g., from the US National Women’s Health Resource Center; Women’s Health (Department of Health and Human Services); US NIH’s Women’s Health Resources). It’s a good start!

Postscript. There is local funding to promote women’s health at the workplace, though it does not quite provide for all the items on this wish list. Enjoy!

No time to eat right?

Eight meals a week were eaten at a hawker centre, food court, or restaurant in 2010 (figures reported from a HPB survey in this article: ST, 1 Dec 2010), not far away from the 2004 median of 7 meals (more details in a 2004 HPB report). Even those who have fresh produce readily available haven’t got time to make healthy meals, as this report suggests: “Kale, Kale Everywhere, But Only Cheetos To Eat” (Huffington Post, 9 Jan 2014).

There’s research evidence that eating at home is not only a way to eat more healthily—as the findings from a 2012 10-year follow-up study on 1,888 participants from Taiwan indicate (“Eating at home could give you a longer life“, Yahoo! News, 23 May 2012).

But it’s so hard to find time to cook, you say. Actually…slow food need not be slow to cook. The website for the author of the fast recipes Rachel Ray offers a zillion fast recipes. Okay, not a zillion, but there are certainly a lot of things that can be done in no time at all. Here are some more from the foodnetwork and food and wine.

And then, there’s no time to do grocery shopping. NTUC does free deliveries with the OCBC Plus! card, and the delivery charge is only $7 if purchases amount to more than $60. Cold storage and Sheng Siong have online grocery shopping and delivery options. Giant offers free deliveries for purchases above $200 (or $100 if shopping at Sembawang). There’s even wet market e-shopping.

And with supermarkets staying open till 10pm and 11pm (and many NTUCs are open 24 hours), grocery shopping can be a breeze without the crowds obscuring all that produce from your view, grocery carts in the aisle, and queues at the checkout counter. In any case, the speedy option of self-checkout are common at NTUC, Giant and Cold Storage outlets. Apparently quite a few people don’t really like this self-checkout and pack-it-yourself malarkey: But think about all those calories you’d be burning by doing all the packing yourself. And all those plastic bags you’d be saving on with your own grocery bags. Anyway, you can use the force: Delegate away!

Then the problem, you say, all this ang mo chiak is not really you. So cook a batch and freeze it. Take it out in the morning and defrost it in the fridge. By the time you’re home to have dinner, you can zap it in your favourite kitchen appliance. Soups, fried rice and mee goreng, rendangs and stews all survive wonderfully the process of being nuked. Or if you’re into slow food in no time, marinade your chicken or fish fillets in the fridge before you go to work, and watch it cook in the oven when you get back. Pressure cookers and crockpots were invented to make one-dish meals (less washing, hooray!). Let the rice cooker do its thing. Voila! Amazing dinner.

Oh yes, washing the dishes. There’s this invention called the dishwasher. But also you can always fall back on the force: Delegate (the kids will thank you when they’re all grown up later; other grateful recipients of your delicious dinner can be reminded about the calories they will burn from washing up pots and pans).

Have no one to share your amazing cooking with? Invite your friends and extended family over. Posting all your lovely food on facebook regularly should get them coming over in droves and falling over themselves to wash the dishes for you. Emphasizing the healthiness of your meals should scores some points with them (of course, attractive food goes along way). Or you can make your healthful food cute.

The only drawback here is that cleaning up the kitchen surfaces fall squarely on you. But look on the bright side: kitchen cleaning and dish washing (should you have mostly free riders) help you fulfil your weekly 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity. And if you can’t delegate, there are ways to do this efficiently.

Such a lot of effort lei, says the small voice in your head. Cooking and thinking up different things to make for dinner does take up brain power. But after doing it a few times, it will become a more automated process. Anyway, it’s good for fending off dementia. And if you’re too tired to do any of the above, it might time to review the stressors in your work and home life.

Why bother? Well, there’s a good reason for getting into cooking. Research suggests that interest in cooking as well as gardening cultivates healthy food habits and food consciousness. Yao et al. (2013) found that those given the recipe for a whole- grain-pasta-and-chicken dish to try at home after sampling it, perceived whole grains more positively than those not offered the same opportunity. A cooking and gardening programme in Los Angeles (LA Sprouts) also resulted in healthier BMI among 10- and 11-year-olds. Similarly, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden project Green Reach produced more food conscious youngsters (Libman, 2007).

Lots of ways to eat right, right?