The Open University

Teens sleep debate is a health issue, says OU academic

11 February 2019

As MPs debate whether the school day should start later, The OU’s Dr Paul Kelley said there are biological reasons why teenagers do stay up late and lie in longer. A petition of more than 179,000 signatures online has sparked the debate on Monday February 11 in Parliament, focused on schools in England, to consider […]

Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week

8 February 2019

Mental health problems affect 1 in 10 children and young people, with more than half (56%) saying that they worry ‘all the time’ about at least one thing to do with their school life, home life or themselves. As we mark Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week (4-10 February), Dr Jackie Musgrave, Programme Leader for Early Childhood and Primary […]

Time to Talk Day – importance of friendship

6 February 2019

On the 7 February 2019, it’s Time to Talk Day – a day to encourage conversations about mental health and raise funds and awareness for charities, Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Mental health affects one in four of us each year in the UK, with anxiety and depression being the most common problems. Even with so […]

How do junk food adverts affect your children? – new OpenLearn course gives us the facts

4 February 2019

The Open University has launched a free OpenLearn course, which explores children’s food, marketing, eating and health in the context of their rights. Children and young people: food and food marketing, asks what the factors are that influence the foods that children eat – is it children’s or parents’ choices? Family or cultural influences? Or the wider food […]

Millennial burnout: building resilience is no answer – we need to overhaul how we work

21 January 2019

Dr Rajvinder Samra, Lecturer in Health at The Open University discusses millennial burnout for The Conversation. In a popular BuzzFeed article, Anne Helen Petersen describes how millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) became “the burnout generation”. She describes some of the stark consequences of edging towards burnout and identifies what she calls “errand paralysis”, marked by […]

Wellbeing tips for 2019

15 January 2019

‘New year, new you’ has long been a motto for January, as we endeavour to cleanse ourselves after the indulgences of the festive season. Dr Mathijs Lucassen, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health and Dr Jitka Vseteckova, Senior Lecturer in Health, Wellbeing and Social Care at The Open University, talk us through their five top tips for […]

Diverse group of office workers standing smiling

Essential skills to succeed in a multicultural workplace

8 January 2019

Being culturally aware is a necessity in today’s workplace, as we interact on a global scale with diverse backgrounds. Anna Calvi and Mirjam Hauck, Lecturers in Modern Languages at The Open University, discuss the essential skills required to ensure success at work. What is culture? ‘Culture’ is a complex, fuzzy concept that has been defined in many […]

Play, wonder and empathy – the next big educational trends identified

3 January 2019

The future of education isn’t all about pushing technology into classrooms, says the latest report into teaching trends from The Open University. The Innovating Pedagogy Report 2019 identifies strong moves towards more creative, informal teaching methods – such as teaching through wonder, playful learning and even building empathy by bringing a baby in to the […]

Future of nursing – OU nursing students graduate

2 January 2019

For the past four years, The Open University has had a strong relationship with Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Kings Lynn. With the support of Health Education England (HEE), three hardworking Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) were given the opportunity to study for a Degree in Nursing with The OU. Now fully qualified nurses, they talk about their […]

Baking it Better – can baking help tackle anxiety?

19 December 2018

Liz suddenly experienced a series of anxiety attacks, which forced her to stop working for a long period of time. Baking became her outlet, as it was the only activity that would prevent further attacks. The following video is a key part of the Approaches to Mental Health module that can be studied on a variety of […]

OU News

Category: Education, languages and health