Some Myths Around Well-being

- eight hours of sleep (forget 8 hours. It is best to see how you feel around 11am each day. If you feel okay, you are getting enough sleep. If you feel sleepy, you're not getting enough sleep. Also, if you regularly need an alarm clock to wake-up in the morning, it suggests that you need more sleep.)

- 10,000 steps per day (forget 10,000 steps. A Harvard University study found 4,400 steps a day leads to a 41% reduction in mortality; instead, you should exercise for around 4 days each week to the point you feel out of breath and sweaty)

- 5 serves of fruit and vegetables (forget 5 serves. WHO recommends a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables daily as it helps in major disease prevention, including heart and cancers; while 800 g per day reduces the risk of cancer by 13% and heart disease by 1/4)

- 8 glasses of water (forget 8 glasses of water. Urine colour and thirst are the only indicators. If urine colour is dark and/or you are thirsty, drink more water)
(source: Maria Lally, 2019)