A new year at school offers a great opportunity to create an improved sleep routine for your child. The key is to plan ahead and to encourage and support good sleep hygiene for the whole family, not just children on their own.  Dave Gibson, WarrenEvans bed makers sleep expert, and founder of thesleepsite.co.uk, shares his top tips.
1)  Work out how much sleep your child needs during the new school year – on average, 3 to 5 year olds need between 10 to 13 hours sleep, 6 to 13 year olds need 9 to 11 …

Improving sleep has just got easier with the launch of a brand new, expert-driven, self-help tool. With parents losing out on more than six weeks’ worth of sleep in a single year of caring for a newborn*, The Sleep Council has created The 30 Day Better Sleep Plan to help people wanting to improve their sleep and prevent more serious and prolonged issues.
The 18 question and answer format available on the website (www.sleepcouncil.org.uk/30-day-plan/) builds a downloadable tailored plan which people are encouraged to follow for 30 days using The Sleep …

Medication is a marvellous thing, life-giving in some cases, pain or symptom-relieving in many others. However, managing medication can be difficult, and it’s important to get it right, especially if a few medications have been prescribed together.
Medications taken incorrectly can lead to further medical problems, with dizziness, confusion and depression just a few of the symptoms that could be experienced when a mistake is made. So, keeping track of medication is crucial, so you can be assured the right amount has been taken at the right time, and that’s not …

From the Doctor’s Surgery, by Dr Alexandra Phelan
Do allergies and asthma mean that prevent you from spending time around animals? In the UK, pets follow dust as the second largest cause of allergy within the home. Any animal with fur can be the cause of an allergic reaction but the worst offenders are cats and dogs. It doesn’t matter if you have previously had a pet and were not allergic to it before, pet allergies can develop at any time.
Couldn’t be fur-ther from the truth
It often surprises people that pet …

From the doctor’s surgery, by Dr Alexandra Phelan
The five-a-day fruit and vegetable rule should be upped to 10 if people want to drastically reduce the risk of serious health conditions such as stroke and heart disease, according to researchers from Imperial College London.
However, there are other ways to eat yourself healthy. Here are my top ten tips.

Eat your greens: the NHS recommends that one third of the food you eat should be fruit and vegetables. Fruit and vegetables are an important source of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre.
Five a day: …

Cardiovascular disease costs the UK £19 billion a year – 46% in healthcare costs, 34% from lost productivity and 20% in family carers.  So, what is it?
Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, is a medical term for conditions which affect the blood vessels and heart.  The four main types of CVD are:
Aortic disease:  this can cause weakening, tearing and life-threatening bleeding in the main blood vessel in the body.
Coronary heart disease (CHD): CHD occurs when the blood flow to the heart is reduced, increasing strain on the heart and leading to angina, …

In a backlash against the trend of being constantly logged on to the internet, 65% of people would like to take time away from the internet.
In today’s world, almost everyone has a digital footprint – 88% of the population uses the internet, and 99% of adults aged between 16 and 24 years are recent internet users[1]. However there has been a retaliation against the almost constant use of smartphones and digital devices. Cartridgesave has looked at the trend of “digital detoxing”, and discovered that 65% of people have admitted that …

From the GP’s surgery, by Dr Alexandra Phelan
We all strive for happiness but it can be hard to find. Magazines, adverts, social media, friends, family – all have different ideas about how to achieve happiness. Feeling happy is important for both your mental and physical health, but what will really make you happier?
In the past few years, scientists have found that although our genes and circumstances play a part in affecting how we feel, a large proportion of our happiness comes from the things we do. Here are my top …

Have you wondered about all the different vitamins Bs, what they do, and why there are so many of them? In this article Dr Alex Phelan explains.
There are eight different vitamins in the B vitamin group and all support vital functions in the human body:  Thiamin (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Niacin (B3), Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine (B6), biotin (B7), folate (folic acid) and vitamin B12. These vitamins are integral to keeping our skin, eyes and nervous system working. They also help us to release energy from the food we eat. Vitamin B6, …

Diabetes is one of the most common long-term health conditions in the UK, and it can require people to use regular medication alongside changes to their diet and lifestyle. Here’s what you need to know…
Diabetes is a serious life-long health condition that occurs when there is too much glucose – or blood sugar – in the blood stream. It is a result of the body being unable to process glucose properly.
If your blood sugar is consistently too high, it can increase the risk of a number of potentially serious health …