Walking your dog can prevent depression, but only if you do it in the morning.
Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna studied 26,000 nurses in the US and found that those who got up early to walk their dogs saw big improvements in their mood.
But walking alone in the afternoon or evening did little to improve owners’ mental health, the report in the journal PLOS One found.
Scientists believe that early dog walks, like other walks, help “reset” the human body clock, which can benefit mental health.
Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna studied 26,000 nurses in the US and found that those who got up early to walk their dogs saw big improvements in their mood
Forty percent of British workers say they would take a job that paid less if it meant they received generous benefits such as private healthcare, a poll has found.
And a third believe bosses should routinely offer support packages to staff to help maintain good mental health.
The survey of 2,000 British adults was conducted for insurance company MetLife UK.
More than one in four also said they would like to be offered free dental care as part of an employment package, at a time when NHS dental services are in crisis.
Nearly nine million people in England now have at least two long-term health conditions that seriously affect their quality of life.
Researchers from Imperial College London looked at population data and found that while older people are the worst affected – with two million over-80s suffering from a host of health problems – more than 125,000 children also have at least two disabling diseases, such as obesity and diabetes.
