Keeping Active to Combat Loneliness

This year for Mental Health Awareness week the theme has been loneliness. Loneliness is something many of us experience throughout our lives, whether we’re at university or later in life. Feeling lonely can really impact your mental health, as you may feel the absence of meaningful relationships around you. Finding connections is an important part of combatting loneliness – whether that’s with ourselves, others or with the world around us.

Keeping active is often promoted as one of the ways that you can promote good mental health; it can help improve your sleep, boost your mood and reduce stress! Regular activity can also help provide the benefits of a structured routine and help build a sense of community.

Today we’re going to highlight some of the ways you can keep active whilst also combatting loneliness.

(more…)

The Big Sport, Exercise and Health Winter Quiz

You know that point in the day where the presents have been exchanged, the turkey has been eaten and everyone’s a bit sleepy? We’ve got the perfect between-meals quiz that everyone will enjoy!

You will need: 

– A quiz master!
– A pen and paper for each participant

(more…)

5 Alternative New Year’s Resolutions

As we approach the start of a new year, we start reflecting on the year that’s passed (and what a year it’s been!) and how we might approach 2022. If typical resolutions aren’t for you this post might just be!

1) Start small – we mean really small.

We can put a lot of pressure on ourselves at the start of the New Year to make huge, life-altering changes which can cause us to feel disappointed if things don’t quite pan out. Small, realistic changes can make a surprisingly big difference to your everyday routine. Find a new route to uni, choose to walk instead of the bus, try a new coffee shop or brand of tea. Mixing it up will boost concentration, motivation and you know what the say; a change is as good as a rest (but also get some rest too..)

(more…)

5 Tips for Motivation During Winter

It may be getting colder and darker, but moving for your physical and mental wellbeing is just as important as other times of the year – if not even more important! Today we are sharing some of our top tips for staying motivated, safe and well during the winter months.

We will also be giving you a sneak preview of some of the things we’ll be doing to stay active over at University of Bristol Sport.

 1) Exercise with friends

Getting out and moving may seem less appealing at the moment, but meeting a friend will make sure you stick to your plans and boost motivation for your workout too. It’s a great excuse to temporarily escape those Christmas family commitments and boost endorphins in the process.

Making plans with others can also make you more adventurous and can give you the confidence to try new things and push yourself further.

Winter bucket-list: Why not suggest a wintery walk or festive fitness class to try with a friend.

(more…)

Bristol Active Bucketlist

It’s that time again where we begin to welcome new and returning back to Bristol! In this post, we are sharing some Bristol-based activities that we think deserve a spot on your active bucket list. If you do try any of our suggestions, let us know, we’d love to see your paddle boarding pictures or your new favorite trail. 

(more…)