Healthy lifestyle – Raising the Bar workstream
Background healthy lifestyle
There is increasing evidence that we need to look at a wider picture of a person’s health, wellness and lifestyle, including nutrition, movement, sleep and stress.
In MS, we know that:
- stress can trigger relapse,
- movement can improve MS fatigue better than medication,
- quality sleep aids cognition, mood, immune health and autophagy
- eating non-processed, natural food is linked to improved mental and physical health across a range of conditions (e.g. SMILES)
The challenge of how we can share this information well, and encourage people with MS to take control of their lifestyles is becoming an essential aspect of treatment, not solely self-management.
How can I get involved?
Complete the healthy lifestyle survey to help us understand how often general health checks and lifestyle and wellness discussions form part of your work with MS patients.
Establish a ‘disease-modifying lifestyle’ clinic in your locality. All the resources you need to begin either a virtual or in-person clinic are there.
If you decide to use the resources to run a clinic, please let us know.
Meet the workstream leads
Dr Agne Straukiene
Consultant neurologist, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust
Charlie Peel
Health writer, Neurology Academy
Dr Colin Bannon
Retired GP and honorary doctor with MS himself
Other workstream members
Colin Bannon, Grazina Berry, Samantha Josephs, Miranda Sweet, Daisy Cam, Patricia Henry, Andrea Stennett, Anna Hawkins, Leonora Fisniku, Caroline Holbrook, Sarah Dronfield, Dom Thorpe, William Adams, Mathew Sweet, Diana Crowe
