At a time when looking after our mental health and well-being has never been more important, health tech brand Moodbeam has forged a partnership with charity The Mintridge Foundation to further the ambitions of both organisations to create a more positive future for all.
The Mintridge Foundation harnesses the power of sporting role models to help and influence young people by increasing sports participation and changing behaviour nurturing sporting talent, enhancing life skills (including confidence and resilience) and increasing awareness of the importance of mental and physical well-being.
Its team of ambassadors includes Olympians, Paralympians and professional sports stars from over 20 team and individual sports who work with young people in schools, clubs and academics across the UK to enhance life skills, active lifestyles, and promote positive mental health.
Hockey player Alex Wallace set up The Mintridge Foundation in 2015 after missing out on selection for the England hockey team led to her own struggles with mental health. She said: ‘Under usual circumstances, our ambassadors begin with visits to give assemblies, coaching clinics or classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s needs. Following this, they can then provide one-on-one mentoring with selected young people in a safeguarded environment – all delivered remotely via technology.
‘Many of our ambassadors have had their own struggles with mental health and well-being and opening these conversations with the young people we mentor has proved to be incredibly valuable. Our work with Moodbeam has seen some of our mentees being given their own wristband as part of our strategy to encourage people to be more in tune with and open up about their well-being.’
Those young people selected for Mintridge’s mentorship programmes receive a welcome kit ahead of their one-on-one sessions, and this kit now includes a Moodbeam wristband.
The Moodbeam One is designed to log mood with the simple push of a button. It is a self-reporting wristband with two buttons, which links to a companion app to create a digital mood diary. The wearer presses the yellow button when feeling good and the blue button when feeling not so good. This is then tracked in the app along with sleep and step data, and patterns can be viewed, shared and, where possible, can help highlight things that are causing unhappiness or stress.
Alex continued: ‘No two people experience mood or mental health in the same way, so the fact that you can set your own definitions for the blue and yellow buttons is a really powerful piece of personalisation. I’ve personally got mine set to calm and anxious, as these are the feelings that keep me in touch with my own mood trends the most.
‘We are thrilled to be working with Moodbeam moving forward as everything about the company and the team is in line with our own values. Changing the way the world sees mood is a critical move in making sure we all live healthier lives – not just physically, but mentally too.’
Christina Colmer McHugh, co-founder of Moodbeam, who came up with the concept behind Moodbeam as a way to stay in contact with her daughter’s well-being at school after she began suffering with anxiety in 2016, said: ‘Right now, the link between physical and mental well-being has arguably never been more important, so we are incredibly pleased to be supporting The Mintridge Foundation and the fantastic work the team and its ambassadors do with young people throughout the UK.
‘Support networks are also of vital importance right now, and the companion app to the wristbands enhances support networks, allowing patterns and trends to be shared with approved, trusted contacts such as family or friends. This all gives people the power of a how and where to open up about how they are feeling, can prompt further discussion with loved ones and lead to making changes to promote positive well-being.’
One of The Mintridge Foundation’s ambassadors is double Paralympic gold medallist Danielle Brown MBE. Danielle spent her entire international career as world number one, winning gold in two consecutive Paralympic Games and three world championships.
She also accomplished something that very few disabled athletes manage when she transitioned onto the able-bodied team. 2010 saw her become the first disabled athlete to represent England in an able-bodied discipline at the Commonwealth Games, where she took the gold medal in the team event.
Danielle said: ‘I’m so pleased to see these two companies working together for a greater good. I’ve always had an interest in mindset and how it affects our lives – and in my case, sporting performance – spending a lot of time during my career researching neuroscience and performance psychology. I’m now using this knowledge and my own experiences to help others strive for excellence, while also ensuring they harness the power of positive well-being too.
‘I’m a Moodbeam user myself, so I understand the power these wristbands can give an individual. My own Moodbeam helps me regularly check in with myself and make sense of my emotions. It acts as a brilliant conversation start and has allowed me to better explain how I am doing to others, and I’m really pleased that our Mintridge mentees will be able to harness that power too.’
You are able to support The Mintridge Foundation and its work further when purchasing a Moodbeam wristband by using the code FIVEMINT5, which ensures a five percent donation to the Foundation.
