Being physically active means sitting down less and moving our bodies more. Many people find that physical activity helps them maintain positive mental health, either on its own, or in combination with other treatments. Studies show that regular physical activity can help people to recover from depression, lifting their mood, reducing anxiety, improving self-esteem and concentration<\/p>\n
This doesn\u2019t have to mean running marathons or training every day at the gym. There are lots of different things you can do to be a bit more active. Even standing more frequently throughout your day will have an impact as we use 100 muscles just to stand.<\/p>\n
There are a wide range of organisations, not just gym or leisure centre based, which are open to the general public and can help you to move more day to day. We have listed some of these below. For more information about the benefits of moving more please watch this\u00a0webinar<\/a> or consider some of our Courses and Groups<\/a>\u00a0for support.<\/p>\n Active Bucks has been developed to help get more Bucks residents regularly active \u2013 particularly targeting those who do little or no activity at all.<\/p>\n By visiting\u00a0Bucks Council \u2013 Active Bucks<\/a>\u00a0residents can search through a wide range of activities across Bucks, including traditional sports and dance, as well as more innovative activities such as Bush Craft and Dog Agility. Many of the activities are free or low-cost, and users can filter by distance, day\/time and activity type. Visitors to the website can also register to download an activity voucher that allows them a free first session!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n This spring, Breathe Outside are offering a \u2018Movement for Mental Health\u2019 pilot programme in targeted areas in the\u00a0South Bucks<\/strong>\u00a0area, including\u00a0Iver Heath<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Wexham<\/strong>\u00a0&\u00a0Fulmer<\/strong>. This pilot is fully funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, and is therefore\u00a0free of charge<\/strong>\u00a0to participants who have been diagnosed with a mental health condition and that meet the inclusion criteria. For more details please visit the website, where a flyer and a referral form can be downloaded.\u00a0https:\/\/breatheoutside.co.uk\/community-programmes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Buckinghamshire Mind provide\u00a0advice and support<\/a>\u00a0to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, such as depression and anxiety. They are helping to build confidence and improve people\u2019s activity levels by supporting them to find what they enjoy and build upon this. To find out more visit \u2013\u00a0About physical activity \u2013 Mind<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Aim to improve the lives of residents across Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes through physical activity and sport.<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.leapwithus.org.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n More Information<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Be Healthy Bucks offers online and phone support to help you to find the right service for you to help you get more active.<\/p>\n The service can also support you to make other healthy lifestyle changes like losing weight and stopping smoking.<\/p>\n Visit bhb.maximusuk.co.uk<\/a>\u00a0to find out more<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Take a look at some ideas to increase exercise:<\/p>\n Free fitness ideas<\/a><\/p>\n Take your pick\u00a0from\u00a024 instructor-led\u00a0videos across our aerobics exercise, strength and resistance, and pilates and yoga categories.<\/p>\n These workouts have been created by fitness experts\u00a0InstructorLive<\/a>\u00a0and range from 10 to 45 minutes.<\/p>\n Fitness Studio exercise videos \u2013 NHS (www.nhs.uk)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Walking is a fantastic way to get out and about, meet new people, improve your health and wellbeing and help the environment.<\/p>\n The Simply Walk programme provides over 80 FREE led walks across Bucks of different duration\/difficulty. Visit\u00a0https:\/\/www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk\/parking-roads-and-transport\/cycling-and-walking\/simply-walk\/<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Sport in Mind are the UK\u2019s leading mental health sports charity and deliver physical activity (sport, walking, dance and movement, gardening and exercise sessions) projects in partnership with the amazing NHS in order to aid recovery, promote mental wellbeing, improve physical health, combat social isolation and empower people to move their lives forward in a positive direction.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve not taken part in sport or exercised for a while we know it can be quite daunting to join a sports group, \u00a0the truth is getting involved with Sport in Mind isn\u2019t about how good you are at sport or how fit you are, it\u2019s simply about HAVING FUN and giving people a bit of a break from everything else that\u2019s going on in their lives. More information can be found on their\u00a0website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n At NHS Buckinghamshire Talking Therapies we have a strong belief, supported by research, that increasing your daily movement can have a huge number of benefits, not just physically but mentally too.<\/p>\n At present we have 3 main interventions for patients to consider, with the plan on developing these and expanding further in the future:<\/p>\n This programme in Foundations can help your patients plan their activity, work around obstacles, check in regularly and keep them motivated. Often, the hardest part is getting started and this app can make it easier for people to do that, and to keep on doing it.\u00a0This is a FREE app, where it can help prompt and support you through creating more physically active habits in your routine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n People with long-term conditions are often fearful of worsening their condition or experiencing potentially undesired consequences from physical activity. However, we now know the benefits out weigh the risks.<\/p>\n Within this course we work through a number of tools and techniques to help support patients to plan and implement more movement into their days to help alleviate and manage their long term condition. These workshops are not restricted to any particular condition.<\/p>\n They are\u00a0 provided in three 2 hour sessions over three months, which can be done as an\u00a0ADJUNCT to treatment<\/strong> as usual at NHS Buckinghamshire Talking Therapies. This course is a separate group from our LTC lifestyle management group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\n Move your Mood is a 10 week\u00a0Step 3<\/strong>\u00a0depression course which has protected time for physical activity incorporated into every session. The aim is to share with our patients the many benefits of moving our bodies to aid our mental wellbeing whilst providing evidence based treatment. In it you will learn:<\/p>\n Testimonial from a group member: If you would like to find out more about Physical Activity & Your Mental Health, you can watch this 15-minute pre-recorded webinar<\/a>\u00a0(40MB). This will provide an overview of the benefits of physical activity for your mental health, the projects currently running within NHS Buckinghamshire Talking Therapies to support you to increase your physical activity, and what other support is available in Buckinghamshire.<\/p>\n The We Are Undefeatable campaign is a national movement involving 16 of the UK\u2019s leading health and social care charities that encourages and supports people with long term health conditions to be active in a way that works for them.<\/p>\n Living with a health condition can make getting active challenging when how you feel can change day-to-day. But whether you\u2019re working in a stretching routine to your day or getting up from your chair during the ad breaks, a little can go a long way.<\/p>\n Find small ways to move more on the @undefeatable\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0or on their\u00a0YouTube Channel<\/a>.<\/p>\n This series of physical activity videos \u2013\u00a0#MakeYourMove<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 is aimed at people living with long term health conditions, who may experience symptoms including pain, fatigue, stiffness and low moods. The purpose of the videos is to motivate and support people to be active in a way that works for them using simple and varied activities that are designed to improve strength, balance, coordination, energy and stamina and relieve stress. Why? Because physical activity has been proven to help manage many symptoms including pain and tiredness, as well as improve overall well being, mood and sleep.<\/p>\n The videos were developed by The Richmond Group of Charities\u2019\u00a0Movement for All<\/a>\u00a0programme, and the charity partnership behind\u00a0We Are Undefeatable<\/a>, working with experienced instructors Anne, Alex, Sandra and Michelle.<\/p>\n BetterPoints Bucks is a new app that rewards you when you make healthy lifestyle changes. You earn points for being active and making other positive changes such as giving up smoking or getting support to lose weight. Points earned can be redeemed with local shops and businesses or donated to a choice of charities.<\/p>\n There are three simple steps to earn the rewards:<\/p>\n\n Active Bucks<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Breathe Outside<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Bucks Mind<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Leap<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Be Healthy Bucks<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n NHS<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Simply Walk<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Sport in Mind<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
Physical activity and mental health<\/h2>\n
\n App: Move more, feel better<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Workshop: Moving forward with a long term health conditions<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
\n Course: Move your Mood<\/span>\n <\/summary>\n
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\n\u201cI enjoyed the group thoroughly and found the social interaction good. It was really good to see and hear from others going through similar things to me as well as seeing everyone getting involved with the physical side of things. It made me adjust my thinking process around \u2018smiley fitness instructors\u2019 e.g. Joe Wicks. I looked forward to attending the group and the facilitators were excellent. I\u2019ve made a friend out of the group as well which I\u2019m pleased about. I found it all brand new but really interesting, the content was thought provoking and got me thinking in different ways, particularly about my Rules for Living.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/details>\nWe Are Undefeatable<\/h2>\n
Make Your Move<\/h2>\n
BetterPoints Bucks social media<\/h2>\n