Physical Activity
Regular physical activity is an important part of living well. People who lead an active lifestyle are more likely to live longer and research suggests that regular physical activity can improve:
- General mood
- Self-confidence
- Sleep quality
- Energy levels
- Reduce stress levels.
Physical Activity and Health Inequalities
The amount of physical activity a person does is influenced by a number of factors. This includes social and personal factors such as
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Disability
- Where a person lives
- Whether they have a job and if so what it involves
- Financial circumstances
The Scottish Government's vision for a more active Scotland aims to increase physical activity and to reduce health inequalities.One of the key messages from Scottish Government is: ‘be active, feel the difference’.
For more information about getting active, health benefits and the recommended guidelines for your age group please visit NHS Inform.
NHS Borders Human Resources team have developed a nice guide for staff combining links to free virtual physical activity opportunities, living well topics and nutrition information.
NHS Borders is committed to promoting active travel across the workforce, here are some options:
- NHS Borders is a supporter of the cycle to work scheme which is open all year round.
- All bus operators in the Borders are offering a 50% discount to all staff employed by NHS Borders in addition to partner primary care providers including Dental, Pharmacy, Optometry and General Practice staff.
- If you are looking for a gentle start ‘Walk It’ is a well-established project with many groups available across the Scottish Borders.
Here is some help to enable you to promote physical activity:
- Encouraging & Enabling Physical Activity Training
- LIVE Borders
- Wellbeing Service
- How to Have Health Promoting Conversations (Staff Resource):
- Talking About Your Health & Wellbeing (Patient Resource)
- SCBD
- Motivate2move (external website) factsheets provide guidance on how people with specific health conditions can increase their physical activity.
- Moving Medicine (external website) is a resource for health professionals developed by The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine. It provides a step-by-step guide to conversations with patients about physical activity.
- watch this video '23 and a half hours' on the benefits of being active for just half an hour a day.
Visit Public Health Scotland to find out about:
- National Physical Activity Pathway
- Screening for Physical Activity Pathways using Scot-PASQ
- Person-Centred Physical Activity Advice
For more information about health improvement and the work we do, please contact us at Health.improvement@borders.scot.nhs.uk