Nutrition is an essential part of health and development and a fundamental pillar in lifestyle medicine. Poor diet is linked to many chronic health conditions. Globally, it is estimated that 11 million people die prematurely due to dietary factors.

In our fast paced, modern world, sleep is often not prioritised. In fact, a conscious limiting of sleep to the bare minimum is equated with strength, hard work or productivity. People have been conditioned to wear their lack of sleep like a badge of honour. It is our hope that by educating on the importance of sleep we will change this perception and help people to reclaim their sleep! Lifestyle Medicine explores how our daytime lifestyle habits can set us up for nighttime sleep, and how we can optimise this.

The most readily recognisable pillars of a healthy lifestyle are usually regular exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding harmful substances. Yet one of the most powerful drivers of our health relates less to ourselves and much more to the people we surround ourselves with i.e., our social connections can have a dramatic effect on our own health.

The health benefits of physical activity are proven and wide ranging. It is often stated if the effects of exercise could be bottled it would be a “blockbuster drug”. One commonality of the “Blue Zones”, the longest living and healthiest living populations around the world, is that they engage in physical activity as part of their daily routine. Currently in Ireland only 30% of adults and 25% of children meet the minimum requirements for daily physical exercise.

Tobacco smoking remains a leading cause of death and disability. In Ireland approximately 17% of Irish adults smoke, which translates to approximately 665,000 smokers. Half of smokers will die from a smoking related disease, or 100 people in Ireland dying and 1,000 in hospital per week.

Alcohol misuse - which is both amount and pattern of drinking - is a leading cause of hospitalisation and death. More than half of Irish adults are hazardous drinkers and 40% report binge drinking. Alcohol misuse can lead to diabetes, heart disease, cancer, liver disease - and accounts for 1 in 10 of occupied hospital beds. 3 deaths in Ireland daily are related to alcohol misuse.

In 2016, estimated the annual cost to the health service from tobacco use was €460 million, and the total annual costs as €10.7 billion. The estimated annual cost of alcohol misuse to the Irish excequer is over €2.3 billion.

We live in a highly stressful world. Some temporary forms of stress are beneficial to us and help us to survive, however chronic stress is very negative to our health. Chronic stress not only has direct negative consequences on our health, but when we are stressed and overwhelmed we are less likely to engage in healthy habits. Whilst we cannot always eliminate the stresses of life, having a stress management plan can help to lower the effects of stress and prevent the return of stress symptoms. It can mean the difference between having a stress reaction vs a stress response.

The Irish Society of Lifestyle Medicine recognise that social determinants of health will impact all of these domains of Lifestyle Medicine. Lifestyles people lead are related to their environments and to what resources are available to them. We will advocate to address the social determinants influencing health.