A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Scarlett Smout, University of Sydney and Katrina Champion, University of Sydney We know young people in Australia and worldwide are experiencing growing mental health challenges. The most recent national survey from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found nearly two in five (38.8%) 16- to 24-year-olds experienced symptoms of a mental disorder in the previous [...]
Joshua Trigg, Flinders University; Anthony Venning, Flinders University, and Lavender Otieno, Flinders University Vaping is in your news feed for its regulation, impact on public health and effects on young people. So with growing awareness of the effects of vaping on health plus recent reforms to limit availability of vapes to pharmacies in Australia, [...]
Ben Singh, University of South Australia and Ashleigh E. Smith, University of South Australia Many of us turn to Sudoku, Wordle or brain-training apps to sharpen our minds. But research is increasingly showing one of the best ways to boost memory, focus and brain health is exercise. Our new research reviewed data from more than [...]
Ben Singh, University of South Australia and Grace McKeon, UNSW Sydney The mental health benefits of exercise for adults are well known, easing depression and reducing anxiety. Now, emerging research highlights its rising importance for children’s wellbeing. Staying active could be key to safeguarding and enhancing young people’s mental health. Mood-boosting benefits One in seven [...]
Jacob Crouse, University of Sydney; Emiliana Tonini, University of Sydney, and Ian Hickie, University of Sydney This is the next article in our ‘Light and health’ series, where we look at how light affects our physical and mental health in sometimes surprising ways. Read other articles in the series. It’s spring and you’ve probably noticed [...]
Susan Hazel, University of Adelaide Cats have lived with humans for thousands of years. And long before cat memes and viral TikToks took over the internet, they’ve been comforting us with their purrs and making us laugh with their weird antics. But what does the research say – are cats good for us? Living with [...]
John Sommers-Flanagan, University of Montana Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Title of Course Evidence-Based Happiness for Teachers What prompted the idea for the course? I was discouraged. For nearly three decades, as a clinical psychologist, I trained mental health professionals on suicide assessment. The work [...]
Michael Koch, Brunel University of London and Sarah Park, University of Leicester Emily, a finance manager, has been working 60-hour weeks for several months to meet deadlines. She starts feeling constantly exhausted, both physically and mentally. Work that she once found engaging now seems overwhelming, and she’s easily irritated with her colleagues. Despite putting [...]
Gemma Sicouri, UNSW Sydney; Annabel Songco, UNSW Sydney; Chloe Lim, UNSW Sydney, and Jennie Hudson, UNSW Sydney In the movie Inside Out 2, 13-year-old Riley, who has recently started puberty, has a panic attack during a hockey game timeout. Anxiety (the emotion responsible for the panic attack) becomes completely frenzied and there is a [...]
Kimberley Baxter, Queensland University of Technology and Rebecca Byrne, Queensland University of Technology Feeding babies and toddlers can be challenging at the best of times. But when families can’t afford enough food, let alone the recommended range of different coloured vegetables, or iron-rich meats, it’s tougher still. In our recently published research, parents told us [...]
