A team of researchers from Brigham Young University conducted a meta analysis of almost 150 studies which looked at survival odds and social networks.

From the results they calculated that having very few friends is actually as damaging to survival as smoking 15 cigarettes per day or being a heavy drinker.

Julianne Holt-Lundstad led the study and has said she believes that the results are related to the fact that caring for others makes us better care for ourselves.

“When someone is connected to a group and feels responsibility for other people, that sense of purpose and meaning translates to taking better care of themselves and taking fewer risks.” She said.

The study looked at over 300,000 people from four continents over a period of seven years. It was those who had a strong network of friends that fared best in terms of lifespan and were found to be almost twice as likely to be alive at any given age than those who were lonely.

Participants of the study included those of all ages and background, but the findings remained the same and regardless of initial health status.

If you are suffering from loneliness then try to find out about activities going on in your local area which you can get involved in. Good places to try would be local websites, doctors surgery’s, local shops, library’s and the citizens advice bureau for leaflets and information and if you have a community centre and or a church near by these are also great starting points.

If you feel like you may be suffering from a more serious condition such as depression it is important you visit your GP who will able to give you the appropriate help and support.

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Demand for life coaches within the education system has grown at such a pace that one company has ten times the amount of business they had this time last year.

Life coaching organisation Positively MAD (Making A Difference) is currently working with around 1,000 primary and secondary schools throughout the UK.

Directory of the company, Mark Stafford has said requests from schools are pouring in as they believe the holistic approach could help to support children and improve their self image.

Stafford explains the framework for coaching, which revolves around three core skills, setting goals for success, taking responsibility and raising self-esteem and self image.

‘Often it stems from their parents divorcing and other common issues include low self-esteem, bullying, problems forging friendships, concentration, anxiety and aggression.’ He said.

Though the schemes are receiving some criticism from those who believe parents should be handling their child’s issues directly, generally many believe it to be very effective.

It would also seem that it is not exclusively schools contacting life coaches but parents too. Children face a huge amount of pressure when they go to school, personal issues, bullying, anxiety, self-loathing. These are extremely intense problems that many parents do not know how to tackle alone and this is where they turn to professional coaches.

Gladeana McMahon, chairman of the Association for Coaching UK, which has more than 3,000 members, said: ‘The more the coaching gets used, the more people realise the value of it.’

The Okinawa Game, which is being called the pocketsize wellness coach is an easy to use APP which will soon be available to use on your iphone. The game is targeted at all ages and it aims to provide a fun way of teaching people the good habits which could mean a longer and healthier life.

There are a total of 4 game modes which aim to help you learn and eventually adopt a balanced diet and sport habits etc, eventually could drastically improve your life. The game is named after the famous Okinawa island which is famous for its world record in centenarian population.

If those who decide to have a go at this APP find that it is helping them to improve their overall well being then they may well take things a step further and consult a non virtual wellness coach, who could provide additional advice for optimum health.

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The former Lancashire Police chief constable who retired back in 2002 has now retrained as a consultant specialising in working with top business executives and holding life and team coaching sessions.

Mrs Clare aims to work with individual’s and businesses teaching them how to make the best out of themselves and their employees and she is using much of the things she learned whilst on the beat to help people to do so.

The 10 minute tips blog was created in order to help women by giving them bite sized tips which can be implemented in their everyday lives and include snippets of advice on anything from beauty and hair right through to relationships and style tips.

The blog is also an area where women can voice their opinions and concerns and can be viewed here: www.10minutetips.co.uk

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According to researcher and psychologist Professor John Weinman, the more anxious the patients were the longer their wounds would take to heal. The patients who experienced little to no stress healed at twice the speed.

The researchers measured levels of the stress hormone cortisol in 25 volunteers before cutting minute pieces of skin from the arms of the volunteers. The healing of their wounds was then observed using ultrasound and it was found that the least stressed healed at roughly double the speed of the most stressed.

The wounds of those who aired their troubles in personal diaries were found to have the quickest recovery times, suggesting that unburdening ourselves boosts us physically.

It is hoped that this research can be used to help patients make speedier recoveries.

Read more here.

Last month we took a look at the keyword search figures and saw that a huge 27% of visitors were searching for career coaching. This month has seen a drop in searches performed on career coaching but we have however seen an increase in searches performed on other areas. Perhaps the drop in career counselling is a reflection of the number of jobs rising and perhaps the rise in stress searches is a reflection of many people working longer hours with a higher workload. Ether way we like to publish content on the site exploring all of the issues which people are searching for. The top five searches are as follows:

Stress 19%
Relationships 18%
Confidence/Self-Belief 17.3%
Work/Life Balance 16.2%
Career 15.9%

Relate is now offering advice to parents on how to cope during exam time after finding that they are also suffering with stress caused by irritable teenagers and jealous siblings.

The charity have produced a leaflet detailing advice such as trying to tolerate bad behaviour during the exam run up by reminding themselves that it is the stress that is causing the irritable behaviour. Other advice warned against treats for doing well such as money or gifts and this only adds to the pressure and often causes a rift between siblings not receiving the same amount of attention.

Relate for parents stresses that it is anxiety doesn’t just fall on the students but also on the rest of the family. Relate counsellor Lin Griffiths highlighted how exam stress makes teens irritable and they may very well do some door slamming or storming out. Instead of shouting in these situations try to remember that it is a stressful period for them and this is not their normal behaviour.

Griffiths also pointed out that its essential parents be aware of all children. Other siblings will also be affected and if they notice you making exceptions for the bad behaviour of a brother or sister this may cause them to start acting up.

As the exam season in now well under way the issue of anxiety and stress in parents has become the topic of many parental chatroom’s online. These are really helpful resources where parents can swap tips and make suggestions.

Identify your goals
Make sure you have your personal goals in mind every time you try to work towards one. It’s easy to get so caught up in the moment that you forget what you set out to do in the first place. For instance, if you have an issue you would like to bring up with a work colleague then it is a great idea to bullet point what you want to say and why, keeping things short and simple.

Ask for advice
Sometimes seeking the counsel of an outside party can be the helpful perspective you need in order to decide on the best approach to take.

Realise your ability to be confident
We all have the ability to be confident and imagining this can be a really useful step. If all you do is imagine negative outcomes then all you are doing is reinforcing this negative image over and over again. Instead try to visualise all of the positive outcomes that can be achieved from a more confident you.

Stop stalling
If a lack of confidence is something that is really effecting you in a negative way then don’t just sit and mull over it, actually plan to act. Plan what you are going to do and structure your approach.

If you do still feel like you need to seek help from an outside party then a life coach could provide valuable advice and tips on how to boost your confidence in both your personal life and in the workplace. If you would like to contact a qualified professional in your local area you can do so using the homepage of this site.

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A team from the University of London talked to a number of women who gave birth during the 1970s, 1980s and 2000s and found that modern women from the noughtie’s are more likely to take on board a mixture of advice but even so are still likely to follow family tips.

Women who had babies between 2000 and 2010 were found to examine a wide range of information and advice from doctors, midwives, books, magazines and the internet as well as receiving advice from family members. Although when it came to choosing between advice many would choose the latter especially when dealing with a specific symptom.

It was the mother’s of the 1970′s that were the most likely to take family advice and though this can be of great help its also important for mothers to seek medical advice if they do have worries ether during or after pregnancy.

Leader of the study, Professor Paula Nicolson, said: “When it comes to the crunch – if women feel sick for example – they will take their mother’s or their grandmother’s advice.

“They wouldn’t necessarily recognise how important it was to them, but it would override the science.”

Read more here

This month there were numerous searches conducted and listed below are the five most popular keywords searched for.

27% of searches were for ‘Career’
24% of searches were for ‘Confidence/ Self-belief’
18% of searches were for ‘Work/ Life balance’
7% of searches were for ‘Spirituality’
5% of searches were for ‘Relationships’

If you would like information about any of the areas listed above then this can be found on multiple areas of the site. To find out how hypnotherapy can help in specific areas simply visit the Life Coaching Areas section. Additional information can also be found in the News section, refine your topic by using the search tool in the corner of the page. Alternatively if you are searching for a Life Coach who specialises in a specific area then type in your postcode to the search box featured on the homepage and this will then generate a list of professionals in your area. You can then refine your search using the Life Coaching Area tool.