Tag: health

Herd Immunity

B1 – Intermediate

There are many infectious diseases that has been affecting all of us. Because it is not simple to fight infectious diseases, in some cases, reaching herd immunity is the only way to manage the said diseases.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to learn more about herd immunity.

Herd Immunity – level 1

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is herd immunity?
  2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of reaching herd immunity?
  3. What is your opinion about giving the disease to all people to make everyone immune to it? Do you agree to this way in order to deal with a health problem like coronavirus?
  4. What are some illnesses that affected people in your country previously and how were they managed?

Asthma from Traffic Pollution

B1 – Intermediate

Asthma is a serious lifelong, incurable condition. When a person has it, they suffer from difficulties in breathing. According to some studies, traffic pollution causes this medical condition and it has affected millions of people.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript to find out more about diseases that are caused by pollution from traffic.

Asthma from Traffic – level 3

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is your reaction to this fact “pollution from traffic connects to 4 million new asthma sufferers”?
  2. Do you know anyone who has asthma or other pulmonary conditions that were caused by pollution? How did it begin and how are they doing now?
  3. How can air pollution problems be solved?
  4. Is air pollution a problem in your city? What are its bad effects on people and the environment?
  5. What do you do to keep your lungs healthy?

How Do Vitamins Work?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There is a famous English proverb that goes, “Health is Wealth” which means the greatest wealth one can have is their good health. Wealth is not about the money you have but your good health.

Vitamins help the body to be healthy, however, most of us don’t really know how vitamins work and if it is highlighted enough as something that is very essential to our bodies.

Let’s learn more about vitamins in this video below.


Discussion Questions:

  1. According to the video, how do vitamins work?
  2. Why are vitamins important to our bodies?
  3. Do you take vitamins? What types do you take?
  4. Do you think vitamins will keep us healthy? Why and why not?

Health Benefits of Gardening

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Greens, colorful flowers, and vegetables, these are some views that will surely give us positive emotions. Feelings like amusement, appreciation, excitement, passion, happiness, and serenity will definitely have a great impact on our mental health.

Would you believe that you can achieve all these positive emotions in one activity? Yes! It’s gardening!

Here are the 8 surprising health benefits of gardening:

https://healthtalk.unchealthcare.org/health-benefits-of-gardening

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are the health benefits of gardening?
  2. Do you like gardening? Why or Why not?
  3. Do you have a garden? If yes, what are the plants that you have in your garden? If not, do you plan to put up a garden?
  4. Would you like to try growing your own food? Why or why not?
  5. According to WHO, good health means the presence of sense of community and happiness. Can you explain this?

Cabin Fever

B2 – Upper Intermediate

After a long while being stuck indoors, we start feeling bored and restless. This is called “cabin fever”. It sounds like an actual disease but it is not. However, when one gets into this state, some effects could be being anxious, irritable, and even depressed caused by the long period of confinement in a tight or a remote, isolated space.

Read the article to learn more about cabin fever and be able to answer the questions below:

https://www.healthline.com/health/cabin-fever#symptoms

Discussion Questions:

  1. Have you ever had cabin fever before? If so, why and what happened?
  2. How did you cope or deal with it?
  3. What situations usually cause people to have it?
  4. What advice can you give to a person suffering from it?
  5. Are you a social hermit or a social butterfly?

Things Healthiest People Have in Common

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The secret of longevity is mainly eating healthy food. However, it is also proven that the world’s healthiest people have the same habits, not only eating healthy food.

Learn the real secrets to healthy living by reading this article.

https://www.rdasia.com/healthsmart/fitness/17-things-worlds-healthiest-people-have-common?pages=2

 Discussion Questions:

  1. What can you say about the saying “health is wealth”?
  2. Do you do all these habits described in the article?
  3. Do you agree that these habits will keep you healthy?
  4. Aside from these habits mentioned in the article, what else do you think is helpful in providing major health benefits?
  5. What do you think of wellness institutions and their programs?
  6. From your own experience, can you give some examples of how the mind and the body are connected?

Trump’s ‘Disinfectant Injection’ Suggestion

C1 – Advanced

President Donald Trump suggested the possibility of an “injection” of disinfectant into a person infected with the coronavirus as a deterrent to the virus during his daily briefing. Following heavy criticism from medical professionals, Pres. Trump said his remarks were made sarcastically.

Watch the video to know more about the news and be able to express your opinion.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How do you feel about the news? Do you think President Trump’s briefings are actively endangering the public’s health?
  2. How powerful are the words of political leaders to their people?
  3. What do you think about disinfectants? Do you use them at home? If so, why and how often?
  4. What do you do in order to protect yourself and your family from the Coronavirus?

Sleep Better To Be Better

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Although there are habits and techniques to sleeping properly that we can all follow, everyone’s needs are different. If we’re serious about preventive health, we need to pay more attention to our sleep.

Poor sleep is a major risk factor for conditions such as obesity, diabetes, mood disorders, and immune impairment. Poor sleep can shorten life too.

Read the article below and be ready to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg23030753-400-sleep-better-be-better/

Discussion Questions:

  1. How many hours do you sleep?
  2. How important is sleep for you?
  3. Do you notice any difference in your performance when you lacked sleep?
  4. How do you deal with sleep issues?
  5. What’s the importance of getting proper sleep?

Massage Health Benefits

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Massage has been practiced for thousands of years. Today, there are many kinds of massage with a wide variety of pressures, movements, and techniques. More and more people recognize the health benefits of it. They choose from among many massage styles to get relief from symptoms or to heal injuries, to help with certain health conditions, and to promote overall wellness.

Read the article to learn more and be able to answer the questions that follow.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/massage/art-20045743

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of massage as a therapy in promoting overall wellness?
  2. Have you ever had a massage? If so, how often do you get one and why do you do it?
  3. What are some of the reasons people get massages?
  4. In your opinion, is a massage only a feel-good way to indulge yourself or a powerful tool to be in control of your health and well-being?
  5. Why do you think such kind of therapy has boomed over the years?

How Do We Cope With Quarantine or Isolation?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

The Covid-19 pandemic has put almost the entire world into quarantine, which means not being able to live our normal ways, the way we all were used to before the outbreak. For most of us, this has been a new concept that we have to get used to at this moment. Quarantine or self-isolation is strictly advised by many experts in order to contain the invisible enemy that we are battling at present time. However, are we all prepared for this emotional battle of not being able to socialize for a month or more?

Some people are prepared and had undergone trainings in order to deal with it.

Watch the video below as experts and well-trained people speak about isolation. Let’s discuss what you think and feel about being quarantined or self-isolated.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Were you prepared for quarantine or self-isolation?
  2. How are you coping so far?
  3. What have you learned from the experts who were prepared for isolation?
  4. What are the activities that you do while in isolation?
  5. How long will you be able to withstand isolation?
  6. Is there a vital lesson learned from this pandemic and isolation?