Extended hours on the road: Holiday drives often involve vast distances, especially when you are trying to “avoid the crowds” and reach that perfect stopping place or get to your destination as fast as you can. These journeys can take many hours or even days. The longer you are on the road, the greater the risk of fatigue.

Heat and storms: If you are driving in summer, heat can make you even drowsier, even with the aircon blasting. And severe weather like storms, and driving in a downpour or sudden storm can increase stress levels and make you more susceptible to fatigue.

Traffic congestion: You know the feeling… crawling along in a traffic jam, not knowing when it is going to clear. The kids are getting restless and its adding hours to your trip. These traffic jams can be physically and mentally draining, increasing the likelihood of drowsiness.

How to avoid driver fatigue

Get a good night’s sleep: Before you even start your journey, make sure you have had a proper night’s sleep. Aim for at least seven to nine hours of shut-eye. Sleep is like fuel for your body, and starting your trip well-rested will give you the best chance of staying alert.

Plan your stops: Do not be in a hurry to reach your destination. Plan regular breaks along the way, about every two hours or 200 kilometres (125 miles). These breaks will not only help you stretch your legs but also give your mind a chance to reset. Use this time to enjoy a quick snack, hydrate, and get some fresh air.

Avoid long drives at night: Your body’s internal clock is naturally inclined to rest during the night. Avoid scheduling long drives during these hours. If possible, stick to driving during daylight when your body is more alert.

Stay hydrated: Dehydration can make you feel tired and sluggish. Always keep a water bottle within reach and take sips regularly. Avoid excessive caffeine or sugary drinks, as they may provide a quick energy boost but can lead to a crash later on.

Eat healthy snacks: Pack some healthy snacks like fruits, nuts, and whole-grain crackers. These will provide a steady supply of energy and keep your hunger at bay without causing a sugar rush and crash.

Listen to engaging music or podcasts: Keep your mind active by listening to upbeat music or podcasts that keep you focused and alert.

Recognise signs of fatigue: Know the warning signs of driver fatigue: yawning, heavy eyelids, drifting out of your lane, and trouble keeping your head up. If you notice any of these, it is time to pull over and rest.

You will condition your muscles

Going up and down stairs activates multiple large muscles, including your glutes (butt), hamstrings, quadriceps (thighs) and calves. You are also switching on your core muscles with your abs and lower back.

Plus, you have the extra resistance of gravity. It is called “vertical displacement” and for stairclimbing. It means that every time you step up, you are getting a mini resistance workout as you are working against gravity.

This gives you a greater bang for your buck in terms of a workout, compared to running or walking on a flat surface.

Strengthening your muscles has flow-on effects for countless aspects of your physical and mental health. It helps with weight management, helps manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis, and helps with stress, depression and anxiety, among other benefits.

It is proven you will improve your fitness

Many studies have looked at the benefits of stair climbing, which became more popular during COVID-lockdowns when people in apartments were not allowed to leave their building.

A 2019 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, found that even doing stairclimbing in “snacks”, i.e short bursts of just 60 steps, three times a day, can improve fitness.

A study of older adults, published in the Journal of Ageing and Physical Activity in 2021, found stair climbing had a “fairly large, albeit only marginally significant” impact on cognition.

Another 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health focusing on women found “strong statistical evidence of efficacy” in terms of aerobic fitness and weight, along with improvements in body fat ratios. The study also found that stair climbing at home was “at least as effective as” using a stairclimber machine at the gym.

You will feel in control

One thing many of the studies discovered is that stairclimbing works because people believe they can do it. Most able-bodied people know they can walk up and down stairs – they do it every day. This means there are fewer mental barriers to taking it up, unlike the resistance we might feel to taking up a new sport or a more challenging skill.

Plus, you can easily incorporate it into your day, especially if you take the “snack” approach of short sharp stair climbs. Few of us go through a whole day without coming across some stairs. And because it is part of your day, you do not even have to change clothes, although it is highly recommended that you wear flat shoes with good grip.

Ready for more? Try tower running

Tower running is stair climbing, to the max.

It is often done as a race or competition, but you can just compete against yourself in your own time. The idea is super simple: run up and down stairs in tall buildings as fast as possible.

The international races are serious affairs, with even a Tower Running World Cup. These races are short sharp bursts, often over in 10-12 minutes, but they cover immense heights of more than 90 floors, in the world’s tallest skyscrapers including the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building.

If you want to try tower running in your area, you can ty Googling “tower running near me” or “stair climbing near me” to get a list of stairs in your area.

What do we mean by ‘leaky gut’?

Sometimes the tight junctions between the cells can become weaker, allowing some nasties to sneak across the intestinal wall, explains gut health dietitian Dr Megan Rossi, founder of the Gut Health clinic and author of Eat More, Live Well. Scientists call this ‘increased intestinal permeability’, or more colloquially, ‘leaky gut’.

‘Leaky gut syndrome’ is a popular diagnosis in the world of alternative therapies, says Rossi, and the theory goes like this: toxins enter the bloodstream through gaps, or junctions, between the cells in your gut wall. This triggers a cascade of inflammation which leads to unpleasant symptoms from digestive issues like bloating and cramps through to eczema, autoimmune disorders, migraines, fatigue and depression.

While some of these conditions are associated with chronic inflammation, the link with leaky gut has not been proven.

Common culprits behind leaky gut are said to include sugar, gluten and lactose (the natural sugar found in milk), says Rossi, and you may be told you can heal your gut by cutting out these foods. Scientific studies do not support these claims.

What we know so far

All of us experience a more permeable gut lining from time to time, caused by alcohol, certain medications, a high fat meal, and even stress. Once the trigger is taken away, the junctions between the cells usually tighten back up, says Rossi. Fortunately, she explains, even if a toxin does make it through your gut wall, your immune system is there waiting to deal with it.

Tamara Duker Freuman is a New York-based dietitian specialising in gut disorders. Writing at fodmapeveryday.com, she says researchers who study intestinal permeability have observed it in connection with a small number of conditions, the best-studied of which are the inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s, and coeliac disease. If you have coeliac disease, it is gluten that causes the intestinal permeability, which resolves when you take gluten out of your diet.

How to protect your gut

Duker Freuman warns that the leaky gut diets you will find online may be further damaging your gut, rather than healing it.

Many of these call for the elimination of so-called inflammatory foods, such as grains. But this can result in a lower intake of fibre, she says, which is especially good at nourishing your gut microbiota.

When you deprive your gut bacteria of the fibre they need, they start to eat away at the mucus lining of the gut. This is a problem, says Duker Freuman “because a depleted mucus layer lining the gut makes a person more susceptible to infection by disease-causing bacteria.”

“If you are truly worried about your gut’s leakiness, you may be better off looking to expand the variety of whole, plant-based foods you eat-not culling it.”

If you experience any unexplained symptoms, gut-related or otherwise, do not assume leaky gut is to blame. Start by seeing your doctor, who can refer you to a dietitian or gastroenterologist if needed.

Do not be deceived by miracle cures online. The only guaranteed way of avoiding a hangover is not to drink alcohol. But if you would like a few drinks without the hangover the next day, then there are some things you can do before, during and after drinking that will help.

Do not drink on empty stomach. Eat a meal or large snack before drinking, as this will slow the rate at which alcohol enters your bloodstream. One study in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology found that when compared to men who drank on an empty stomach, those who ate beforehand had a ‘pronounced’ lowering of blood alcohol levels. Eating also increased the speed at which the alcohol was cleared from their bloodstreams.

Stay hydrated. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning it makes you need to urinate more. Dehydration is not the only cause of a hangover but it contributes to many of the familiar symptoms – thirst, fatigue, headache and dizziness.

Increasing your water intake while you are drinking alcohol (try alternating between water and alcoholic drinks) will help keep your blood alcohol level from rising too fast and may reduce some of your hangover symptoms.

Make sure you keep up your water intake the following day too, to help counteract dehydration.

Eat a good breakfast. The first thing when you wake you with a hangover, get some food to help you maintain your blood sugar levels.

Low blood sugar does not necessarily cause a hangover, but it can worsen symptoms such as nausea and fatigue.

Eating a healthy breakfast – eggs on wholegrain toast with spinach, for example, or muesli with fresh fruit and yoghurt – can also give you vitamins and minerals that may be depleted after excessive alcohol intake. Studies have found that zinc-rich foods – such as nuts, seeds, eggs and wholegrains – may help.

Try painkillers. If you need some pain relief, try an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen. It is best to avoid paracetamol. Your liver breaks down both alcohol and paracetamol, and your body is more susceptible to the toxic effects of paracetamol when you drink alcohol.

Here are two expert tools you can use:

1. ALEC

ALEC was developed by R U OK? Day, and is recommended by Movember.

It is a four-step process to help you navigate a conversation with a friend who might be doing it tough.

This explanation of ALEC comes from Movember.

A stands for Ask

Start by asking how he is feeling. It is worth mentioning any changes you have picked up on.

Use a prompt like, “You have not seemed yourself lately – are you feeling OK?”

You might have to ask twice. People often say “I’m fine” when they are not, so do not be afraid to ask twice. You can use something specific you have noticed, like, “It is just that you have not been replying to my texts, and that is not like you.”

L is for listen

Give him your full attention. Let him know you are hearing what he is saying and you are not judging. You do not have to diagnose problems or offer solutions.

Ask questions along the way, such as, “That cannot be easy – how long have you left this way?”

R U OK? adds this suggestion: Remind them whilst the distress they are feeling at this point in time may be overwhelming, it would not be permanent, and having a plan and support network is a great way of handling the distress.

E is for encourage action

Help him focus on simple things that might improve how he feels. Is he getting enough sleep? Is he exercising and eating well? Maybe there was something that had helped in the past – it is worth asking.

Suggest that he share how he is feeling with others he trusts, including his GP or a mental health professional. This will make things easier for both of you.

C is for check in

Suggest you catch up soon – in person if you can. If you cannot manage a meet-up, make time for a call, or drop him a message. This helps to show that you care; plus, you will get a feel for whether he is feeling any better.

2. The conversation practice tool

On their website, conversations.movember.com. Movember offers a tool that allows you to practise a conversation ahead of time. You can use suggested prompts, or practise conversations for particular situations such as a relationship breakup.

Salt is made up of sodium and chloride. Of these two elements, it is the sodium that is the problem. We need a small amount of sodium to stay alive – to conduct nerve impulses, contract and relax muscles, and maintain the proper balance of water and minerals.

But because most of us eat twice the recommended amount of salt, we end up with too much sodium in our blood. The body then holds onto water to dilute the sodium, increasing the volume of blood in the bloodstream. This can lead to high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and premature death.

“High blood pressure is the biggest cause of death in the world,” said Graham MacGregor, a UK professor of cardiovascular medicine and chair of the campaigning group Action on Salt, in the Guardian online.

“Sixty per cent of strokes are due to high blood pressure, and 50 per cent of all heart disease is due to raised blood pressure.”

Even if high blood pressure is not a concern for you, MacGregor explains that a high salt diet can cause you to excrete more calcium. This makes it more likely that your bones will thin as you age, putting you at risk of osteoporosis.

How to eat less salt

• Cut back on overly processed and packaged foods. This is where you will find 75 per cent of the salt we consume. The worst offenders are salty snack foods, packaged ‘ready meals’, burgers and pizza, processed meats such as ham and bacon, and certain sauces and condiments.
• Read labels. Surprisingly, foods we do not think of as salty can contain high amounts too, such as bread and breakfast cereals, so it pays to compare products. Food labels in many countries list total sodium content, so choose products with less than 400mg sodium per 100g, ideally less than 120mg per 100g.
• Cook your own meals. Cooking with fresh, unprocessed ingredients means you can control the amount of salt you use, and eating fewer takeaway and pre-packaged meals will automatically lower your salt intake.
• Use salt alternatives. Herbs, spices, lemon juice and vinegars in your cooking can add flavour with less sodium. You can also buy low-sodium versions of traditional high-salt products, like soy sauce. Over time your tastebuds adapt to less salt, and food starts to taste better.

• Bone strength. A 2022 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating five or six prunes a day helped women past menopause to preserve bone mineral density in their hips, which could translate to a lower risk of osteoporosis and fewer bone breaks. And it is not because of calcium. The researchers speculated that the daily handful of prunes lowered inflammatory chemicals that contribute to bone breakdown.
• Blood sugar. Despite being fairly high in carbs, prunes do not cause a substantial rise in blood sugar levels. The fibre in prunes slows the rate your body absorbs carbs after a meal, and prunes also appear to increase levels of adiponectin, a hormone that plays a role in blood sugar regulation.
• Heart health. A number of studies has found that prunes benefit your heart. Eating prunes and drinking prune juice improved levels of HDL or ‘good’ cholesterol, decreased ‘bad’ or LDL cholesterol and lowered blood pressure. It is thought that the combination of fibre, potassium and antioxidants is what makes prunes heart protective.

World Osteoporosis Day is 20 October. For more information on bone health, visit worldosteoporosisday.org

When you are watching a sad movie, listening to a sad song, or remembering a sad event, how easy is it for you to have a good cry? If you rarely cry because you are uncomfortable, seeing it as a weakness or a loss of control, you could be missing out. Crying, it turns out, is a healthy response, and can benefit you in many ways:

• Releases stress. We carry around a lot of stress and when we cry in response to this, our tears contain a number of stress hormones and other chemicals. Researchers think crying can reduce the levels of these chemicals in the body, which in turn may reduce stress.
• Can improve mood. A surprising finding, but crying may lift your spirits and help you feel better. It is all down to the hormone oxytocin and feel-good chemicals called endorphins that are released when you cry, which, incidentally, can also help reduce pain.
• Soothes your emotions. One study found that crying can have a self-soothing effect. Self-soothing is when you are able to regulate your own emotions and calm yourself. The study explained that crying activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps people relax.

While crying can be a healthy response, if continuing sad thoughts are causing you distress, seek support from your doctor or mental health professional.