Get yourself summer ready

GET YOURSELF summer ready Focus on minding your mental health

The ‘Be Summer Ready’ campaign is a whole-ofgovernment initiative which is led by the Department of Defence’s O ce of Emergency Planning, on behalf of the Government Task Force on Emergency Planning.

It is supported by the HSE’s Emergency Management Team. The campaign’s messages will be delivered through internet and social media across Government and by the provision of the ‘Be Summer Ready’ information booklet and a ‘Minding Your Mental Health’ leaflet which will be both available after the launch at www.gov.ie/summerready.

MINDING YOUR MENTAL HEALTH

The focus of this year’s Be Summer Ready leaflet is on ‘Minding your mental health’. It was compiled by the HSE’s Mental Health Service, highlights practical ways to maintain good mental health. It’s important to mind your mental health all year round but the summer can be busy and it can be easy to fall out of good routines. The message is that keeping active can help protect both your physical and mental health and summer is a great time to try something new. Making the most of the good weather and longer evenings will be so valuable this year and you are advised to meet up with a friend for a walk, get out your bike and explore a new area or try a new activity, such as swimming.

SKIN CANCER

Skin cancer is the most common type for cancer in Ireland, accounting for over 13,000 cases annually. The number of people being diagnosed with skin cancer is rising rapidly, with figures set to nearly triple by 2045. Yet most skin cancers can be preventable. Skin cancer develops when cells are damaged and grow uncontrollably. Exposure to UV rays, from the sun or sunbeds, is the most common cause of skin cancer. UV radiation from the sun is measured using a UV index –this is highest in Ireland between April and September even on cloudy days. Stay safe by limiting time in the sun when UV is strongest, typically between the hours of 11am to 3pm. You are at higher risk if you spend a lot of time outdoors, due to your work or leisure activities. It is particularly important to protect the vulnerable skin of babies and young children. Children’s skin is very sensitive to UV from the sun. Plan ahead and check the UV levels near you at the Met Éireann website at www.met.ie/uv-index

SUMMER HEAT

During the summer months, the HSE advises people to protect their skin from UV (ultraviolet) radiation, maintain cool living environments and take care of their health during extreme heat. Each HSE service area needs to ensure that a safe, climatecontrolled environment exists for the delivery of care to patients and service users and sta are advised to report the emergence of challenges to line managers.

Helpful links:

HSE Exhaustion and Heatstroke information HSE Melanoma information UV Index information and weather forecast can be found at www.met.ie Irish Skin Foundation HSE Severe Weather information

NO EXCUSES - EXERCISE SESSIONS ANY DAY OR ANY TIME

To help keep sta active and well, HSE Health and Wellbeing produced a suite of exercise videos to encourage sta to take time out to improve their health and wellbeing. Self-Care is so important at any time of the year, so if you have not yet tried out some of these videos, maybe now is the time. You can choose from 8 x 30 minute sessions of Pilates, Yoga or Strength and Conditioning or 4 x 10 minutes sessions of chair-based Yoga.

One of the most important things to do, in order to help you stick to a regular routine of exercise is to plan ahead. Ideally you should pick an evening or day and time that you are free to exercise each week. Try to keep that time just for ‘you’ and commit to doing one of the many Exercise sessions available through here.

It’s up to you now – any day or time – you decide, but try to stick to the weekly plan.