Catch-up on Men's Health Week 2023 lunchtime talks
Last week we celebrated Men's Health Week (12-18 June 2023) under the banner of this year's theme in Australia, Healthy Habits.
To mark the occasion, the Australian Men's Health Forum hosted a series of online lunchtime talks under the following topics:
- Connect
- Sleep
- Drink
- Move
- Eat
The webinars featured a range of speakers who shared some great information and tips on how we can all develop healthier habits around sleep, nutrition, alcohol, exercise and our social connections. If you missed these talks, you can catch up now by visiting the Men's Health Connected website.
Talk 1: 10 Facts everyone should know about Mateship + Men's Health
We kicked off Men's Health Week 2023 with a positive message from the Know Your Man Facts series about men's health. This talk focused on the unique strengths of Aussie masculinity ... mateship, and explored the positive ways that mateship impacts men's physical and mental health. We looked at some interesting facts about mateship and men's health, and touched on some of the ways men build strong social networks as well as outlining some ways to help a mate who's doing it tough.
Talk 2: Make sleep your friend
Why is sleep so important to our health, how can we tell if our sleep isn't healthy and what can we do if we experience sleep problems?
Geoff Brearley is a registered psychologist who is passionate about the importance of sleep. He established Bayside Sleep Health in the Brisbane bayside suburb of Wynnum to help anyone in the area (and beyond) regain good sleep health and.... "make sleep your friend”.
In this talk Geoff clarified what 'good sleep' looks like and the physical and psychological risks of sleep disturbance to men's health.
Talk 3: Alcohol and men's health
Learn more about the benefits of cutting back on alcohol, from the CEO of the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), Caterina Giorgi.
Alcohol causes too much harm to far too many Australians. With alcohol so available and so heavily promoted, it can be hard to avoid.
Drinking less alcohol can reduce your risk of injury, improve the quality of your sleep and protect you from the long-term health impacts, such as cancer and liver disease. If you drink alcohol, the Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend you have no more than ten standard drinks in a week – and no more than four standard drinks a day.
Talk 4: 10 Facts everyone should know about Exercise + Men's Health
On average, men are more likely than women to stay healthy by being active. But most men aren’t active enough to stay healthy. Being unfit is bad for our health. Research shows that 10 Australian men a day die as a result of being physically inactive.
A lack of exercise kills more men each year than prostate cancer or suicide or road traffic accidents. In his talk we shared the information you need to know about exercise and men’s health. This includes:
Why being inactive is bad for our health
How staying fit and strong fights off disease
What active men need to do to stay healthy.
Talk 5: Nutrition and Men's Health
This talk was presented by Clare Keating and Naomi Fitzgerald from the Western Bulldogs Community Foundation.
The Western Bulldogs Community Foundation runs a men's health initiative called Sons of the West. The free 10-week program empowers men to make health and wellbeing a priority by giving them the tools and knowledge on health topics such as nutrition, mental fitness, health screenings and more.
In this talk, dietician Clare Keating gave us an insight into some of the great information they share with men in the Sons of the West program, with a focus on nutrition and healthy eating habits.
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