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Thursday 26 June 2014

My Daily Record Column: 10 tips to surviving a holiday with your partner





Check out this week's column on the Daily Record website where I reveal the best ways to have an awesome holiday with your partner.

CLICK here to read it!

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Heart conditions affecting over a million people's sex lives

More than one million people in the UK could have stopped having sex lives altogether as a result of a heart condition, a leading charity has said.

Heart patients and their GPs should talk openly about sex issues, the British Heart Foundation said, after its survey found nearly a fifth of people with heart conditions, or 19%, found sex impossible and nearly a third, or 32%, have had sex less often as a result of their condition.

One in five respondents said they were worried about having a heart attack or cardiac arrest during sex.

The survey of 1,511 patients for the BHF magazine Heart Matters found 14% had lost interest in sex because of the emotional impact of their condition. Nearly half the men surveyed, 46%, said medication for their condition had caused erectile dysfunction.

The charity said more than seven million people in the UK suffer from heart and circulatory conditions including stroke and the heart rhythm disorder atrial fibrillation.

Based on the survey results, it estimated that more than one million people could have stopped having sex because of their heart condition.

In spite of the widespread problem, the charity said 30% had not discussed the issue with anyone including their doctor and 8% said they would have liked to get professional help but could not.

Doireann Maddock, senior cardiac nurse at the BHF, said: "Sex is a hugely important part of life, but isn't getting the attention it deserves in the consultation room.

"We're hearing loud and clear from Heart Matters readers that they need better support and information on how to deal with issues affecting their sex lives.

"Problems like erectile dysfunction can often be tackled and rectified, but the first hurdle is identifying people who need that help.

"We'd like patients to feel comfortable and empowered to raise these issues, and for the NHS to proactively offer support in this area to everyone who needs it."



Tuesday 17 June 2014

8 rules on how to be a better girlfriend and banish the bunny boiler within


In this week's Daily Record column I reveal how my fiance proposed to me and how I have eight rules I live by which make me a better girlfriend.

Friday 13 June 2014

Men are more emotional than women, according to new research

MEN are more emotional than women, despite their protestations to the contrary, a "scientific experiment" of British fathers and mothers has found.

Men experience greater levels of emotion than women when presented with heart-warming material, according to the study for Royal Mail, which has used the findings to produce the "definitive" list of phrases for a successful Father's Day card.

A group of 15 fathers and 15 mothers were presented with images and videos categorised into blissful, funny, exciting and heart-warming scenarios, such as a soldier returning from service and reuniting with his daughter, while their physiological reactions were measured using skin conductance electrodes.

Men demonstrated a marginally higher emotional reaction to the blissful, funny and exciting content compared to the women but responded twice as strongly as women when presented with heart-warming content.

An accompanying questionnaire found that even though the men reported feeling less emotion than the women, their physiological changes showed they felt emotion more strongly.

Mindlab founder and chairman Dr David Lewis said: "Gender stereotypes about men being stoic and women being emotional are reinforced by our day-to-day consumption of media and our social interactions.

"We tend to oversimplify and exaggerate the perceived differences between men and women and are more likely to focus on evidence that supports our existing gender stereotypes.

"This study suggests that men feel emotion just as much as women, sometimes more strongly, but are less willing to express these emotions openly due to expectations put on them by society."

Royal Mail's list of phrases for Father's Day cards "that will tug at fathers' heart strings" are 'number one dad,' 'you're my favourite person in the whole world,' 'I love you,' 'you're the best,' and 'thanks for everything you've done for me.'

A survey of 2,000 men to support the experiment found 67% thought they were more emotional than they appeared.

Some 40% of 18 to 24-year-old men said they had cried in the last week and 64% of all those questioned said they were surprised at how much emotion they felt when their child was born.

Stephen Agar from Royal Mail said: "What our research has shown is that underneath a stereotype of a tough exterior, men are really emotional but they don't like to admit it.

"We've created an ultimate list of phrases that have been scientifically proven to move dads and really pull at their heart strings.

Tuesday 10 June 2014

How to stop your partner cheating while on their stag and hen nights


CLICK here to read my Daily Record column on how to stop your partner cheating while on their stag and hen nights, after a new survey revealed a third of people cheat on their last night of freedom.