Dame Kelly Holmes calls on nation to ‘Find Five’ and prioritise mental and physical health amid cost-of-living crisis | Athletics News

Two-time Olympic champion Dame Kelly Homes is calling on people to spend five extra minutes a day focusing on their well-being; the cost-of-living crisis is damaging people’s health, with 34 per cent saying their mental or emotional well-being has worsened

Dame Kelly Holmes is calling on people to spend five extra minutes a day focusing on their physical and mental health in a bid to improve well-being during the cost-of-living crisis.

More than a third of people say their mental and physical condition has worsened during the crisis, and two-time Olympic champion Holmes believes more accountability should be taken by people to exercise more often.

The NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity a week – or 75 minutes of vigorous activity – for 19 to 64-year-olds, but the average person only manages 79 minutes of moderate activity a week.

Whether it’s spending five minutes less on your phone before bed or getting off the bus one stop earlier, Holmes believes five minutes a day can make a big difference

Holmes, who is working with the Find Five campaign in partnership with Nuffield Health, told Sky Sports News: “I just think people don’t realise they are not doing much [exercise]. It has to have an impact on us, it has to have an impact on our health – the way we move, our muscle density, our balance, our strength.

“If you are feeling more sluggish, not how you want to be, you’re looking in the mirror and looking at yourself [negatively], that always has an affect on how you feel about yourself, the way you’re motivated and your energy to do things.”

“I don’t think people are taking accountability for their own lives. We very easily can say ‘we don’t feel good’, when our health deteriorates, and we have to start to go the doctors more or we look in the mirror and don’t like what we see.

“It’s because we haven’t thought about it beforehand. I just want people to think a little bit more about their fitness and their health.”

Holmes has consistently used her platform to advocate for the importance of mental health, recently opening up on her breakdown ahead of the 2004 Olympics

Alongside exercise, levels of sleep and screen-time are also big factors on our mental health.

The NHS recommends seven to nine hours sleep a night, but statistics show the UK population struggles to hit those targets.

“We all do it, I have the worst habit as well. You get into bed; you think you’re just going to put your alarm on, you have a quick flick through Instagram and that couple of minutes turns into half an hour later,” said Holmes.

“There is so much stress in our lives that we actually do not sleep effectively, but if sleep is one of those great free medicines, that actually helps us feel better, then we should be looking at that.”