With shorter daylight hours, October is a perfect time to re-visit our December 2025 Living Well session and mention the importance of Vitamin D and bone health.

There are relatively few dietary sources of Vitamin D, the main ones being oily fish, egg yolk and liver.

However, unlike other vitamins, our bodies can produce Vitamin D through a photochemical reaction occurring in the skin in the presence of sunlight.

Once activated in our body, Vitamin D increases the absorption of calcium and phosphorous from the diet to promote bone mineralisation.

From October through to March, because sunlight in the UK is not strong enough for the body to make Vitamin D naturally, the UK Government advises everyone to consider supplementation.

This 54 minute video on bone health, featuring Professor Elaine Dennison, is well worth a watch.

A world-leading expert in bone health, Professor Dennison explains how stronger bones are key to living more healthy years, and why declining bone health isn’t inevitable.

After a welcome cuppa and a biscuit (healthy dried fruit and nut snacks were also available) the group had a 'sleepy' discussion.

We considered...

How much sleep do you need a day?

What factors make you want to sleep more?

Do you need more sleep as you get older?

What techniques for getting to sleep work for you?

This 5 minute video from Yale University covers aspects of sleep and ageing.

It was helpful to understand some of the reasons for our changing sleep patterns.