The Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) organised a public lecture on mindfulness interventions and the importance of sleep for health and wellbeing on 9 March 2024, providing the wider community with access to evidence-informed perspectives on mental health and healthy living.

The lecture featured Dr. David Creswell, who spoke on mindfulness interventions, and Dr. Kasey Creswell, who discussed the importance of sleep for health and wellbeing. The event was coordinated by Mariyam Ifshan Ahmed.

The sessions explored two important areas of health and wellbeing: the potential role of mindfulness interventions in supporting mental health, and the importance of healthy sleep as part of overall physical and psychological wellbeing.

By bringing specialist knowledge to a public audience, the event provided an opportunity to increase awareness of evidence-informed approaches that individuals can consider as part of broader strategies for maintaining wellbeing. The public lecture also supported knowledge sharing between academic experts and the wider community.

Public engagement activities such as this contribute to FHS’s commitment to extending health education beyond the university and making relevant knowledge accessible to the community. They also provide opportunities for continued engagement with international experts and the exchange of knowledge in areas relevant to health and wellbeing.

The initiative reflects FHS’s commitment to promoting health literacy, lifelong learning and evidence-informed approaches to wellbeing while strengthening connections between the university, professionals and the wider community.

The event contributes to Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being) through its focus on mental health, sleep and wellbeing, SDG 4 (Quality Education) through public knowledge-sharing and lifelong learning, and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through academic and professional collaboration.