It’s been a weird six months for fitness, with Covid-19 restrictions piling on top of the usual summer heat slump. For many people, exercise has fallen to the bottom of the priority list. And as we all know, the longer we go without a visit to the gym, the harder it is to work up the motivation to get back there. But worry not, help is at hand in the form of Simon Niazi, health...
The disruption of 2020 has forced us to look for different hobbies that fit our ‘new normal’ and one past-time that’s growing steadily in popularity is balcony gardening. And why not? It’s safe to do from the comfort of your own home and the sense of achievement and a job well done triggers the release of feel-good chemicals including dopamine. “Confined to their homes due to the Covid-19 pandemic, people have been discovering their green...
Dr. Paul Gelston, Clinical Psychologist at Dubai Community Health Centre shares his advice: What to do if you’re having suicidal thoughts: For people suffering with mental health difficulties, one of the helpful things you can do is to become familiar with your symptoms: how your difficulties usually present, what triggers the difficulties and what helps them. I would advise anyone who has thoughts that life is not worth living or that things appear hopeless, to please...
TRIGGER WARNING: If you are having suicidal thoughts, click here for expert advice and for links to support groups, medical help and hotlines. “I slowly opened my eyes, the place was filled with police officers and one was gently talking to me as I gained consciousness.” Chris Haill, 54, is retelling the story of his suicide attempt earlier this year. After living with depression for almost four decades, he made his second attempt at ending...
Could heading deep into the desert and burying yourself neck-deep in hot sand really be good for those aching muscles and joints? It all started with an Instagram post last year by UAE environmentalist and social campaigner Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Nuaimi, better known to his almost 60,000 followers as the Green Sheikh. A video showed American educator and author Stephen Ritz out in the desert, buried up to his neck in sand. During Ritz’s...
This story is a part of Covering Climate Now’s week of coverage focused on Climate Solutions, to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Covering Climate Now is a global journalism collaboration committed to strengthening coverage of the climate story. The cement industry accounts for eight percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. It is the world’s second most consumed material. UAE-based architects Wael Al Awar and Kenichi Teramoto have been working on an alternative –...
This story is a part of Covering Climate Now’s week of coverage focused on Climate Solutions, to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Covering Climate Now is a global journalism collaboration committed to strengthening coverage of the climate story. It’s a question activists are asking around the world: how do you keep people talking about a topic as overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable as climate change? “Apocalypse fatigue is when the public becomes...
By now, most of us have discovered that self isolation can get boring, lonely and frustrating. Worry not, we’ve rounded up some of the UAE’s top social media accounts that are doing their best to keep us entertained, fit, healthy and, most importantly, sane during the Covid-19 pandemic. Best of all, they’re doing it for free! MothershipDXB Radio host and all-round mummy extraordinaire Helen Farmer is doing her bit for tired parents across the Emirates (and...
Updates on Covid-19 are coming thick and fast from a variety of informants and delivered through a range of platforms including social media. But how do we know what we’re seeing and reading is factual and from a trusted source? Misinformation and rumors about the coronavirus are rampant, so health authorities and government organizations are taking new steps to ensure the public is getting correct information. In particular, they are targeting non-English speaking populations, who often...
Covid-19 has taken over our airwaves, our social media, our conversations and ultimately our lives. Most of the news we receive is bleak and the end of self-isolation seems like a far away land. But could the way we are responding to the Covid-19 threat have any positive impact on us as individuals, as societies and on humanity as a whole? These experts certainly think so… We’ve stopped taking things for granted Who else is...
It’s hard to get away from news about rising cases of Covid-19 patients, related deaths and the shortage of medical supplies, but there are some bits of good news to be found, too. People all over the world are working hard to combat Covid-19 and they’re making some headway; communities and businesses are banding together, and pockets of the world are showing signs that isolation efforts are working. Book sales are booming Staying at home...
