The winter months bring challenges for all of us, be it keeping fit, staying warm or eating healthily. The long nights and cold weather can act as disincentives and conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can make things even harder, but innovative research can help people tackle these barriers.
SAD, often more apparent during winter, is a lived experience that affects a considerable number of people in the UK. People can experience:
- lowered moods
- feelings of anxiety
- isolation
- lack of energy
- changes in sleep and appetite
This can lead to unhealthy physical and mental health conditions.
While the exact causes of SAD are unclear, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded researchers are trying to understand more about SAD. In Scotland, the Living with SAD project worked with public participants over the winter season to understand more about the lived experience of SAD and how wellness support can help improve mental wellbeing through the winter months.
UKRI funded researchers and innovators have also been developing new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to support and improve lives and livelihoods over winter and throughout the year. AI technology can:
- provide personalised recommendations for exercise
- improve mental health
- connect us with community support
- keep us warm
- provide nutritious homegrown food over winter months
Below are just some of the ways UKRI is investing in AI to help improve wellness, with funding through:
- UKRI Technology Missions Fund
- UKRI Healthy Ageing Challenge
- Economic and Social Research Council
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Innovate UK
Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and UKRI AI Champion, said:
Winter is often a trying season. Individually and collectively, we have to deal with poor weather, short days and just keeping things moving. It’s no surprise that many cultures have mid-winter festivals to lighten the mood and celebrate the forthcoming changes.
UKRI is supporting research that is using technology such as AI to help people and businesses through the Winter months. We are investing in projects that help the planning of food production, regulating energy consumption in the home, and assisting people to connect with their local communities.
Personalised music to reduce anxiety
Kevin Moss, CEO, Rescape Innovation, said:
VR Melody is an innovative AI solution that integrates personalised music, scenic settings and active listening exercises to help people experiencing symptoms of anxiety and to build mental resilience.
The new technology creates a range of locations people can visit virtually, allowing them to find and create their own space to reduce anxiety.
VR Melody is being developed by Cardiff-based Rescape, in partnership with Universal Music Group, ethical AI company Bria.ai and Cardiff University’s Centre for Trials Research.
The new technology is currently undergoing trials with members of the public, with results set to be published early this year. The healing power of music is well-researched and Rescape Innovation’s technology DR.VR™ solution has already been helping 1000s of patients across the UK.
Tailored app-based exercises to keep you active
Good Boost is a rapidly growing UK business developing innovative AI-technology to support affordable and accessible health and wellbeing programmes. With funding and support from UKRI, Good Boost has already successfully developed personalised rehabilitation-exercise and self-management services in community-venues across the UK.
AI personalised app-based exercise sessions are delivered on tablets, designed by clinical experts to be beneficial and fun for people with a wide range of common musculoskeletal conditions including:
- arthritis
- back pain
- wider multi-morbidities
Good Boost is working with leisure centres, retirement villages and physiotherapy teams to help everyone look after their musculoskeletal wellbeing by:
- moving more
- having fun
- feeling better throughout the winter months and all year round
In addition to community access, anyone can also access Good Boost’s technology on their own phone or tablet-computer at home too.
Ben Wilkins, CEO of Good Boost, said:
Exercise and peer-support have a huge positive benefit for many people living with long-term health conditions. Working with existing community spaces, and in partnerships with charities, we create local and virtual options to be active with others to create new habits and activities for positive changes in lifestyle.
Winter wellness graphic. Credit: UKRI
Connecting you to local community support
Winter months dramatically increase pressure on health systems and can bring loneliness and isolation to many people, particularly those who need care.
The Tribe Project is an AI innovation with a mission to tackle community care inequality. The platform uses machine learning to predict patterns in community care demand, then acts as a workforce development tool to grow diverse community provision directly meeting projected shortfalls in health system capacity.
Developed by a team in Telford, this digital platform powered by machine learning and AI has already positively impacted hospital delayed discharge in addition to a positive economic impact within areas of deprivation.
Tribe is now being scaled in:
- Essex
- East Sussex
- North Yorkshire
- Rhondda Cynon Taff
- Surrey
Tribe has received national and international recognition from the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for its innovative approach to addressing health inequalities
Richard Howells, Founder of Tribe, said:
The mission of the Tribe Project represents a message of hope. We have proven there is an opportunity to do things differently, for people to be cared for in the place they call home whilst also providing an economically sustainable model for commissioners and wider health provision in the UK.
Improving your sleep
Good quality sleep is critical for health, so finding a solution that analyses sleep and suggests ways to improve it is vital. UKRI funded researchers are developing cutting-edge AI based sleep technology to track and actively improve sleep.
Kokoon Technology, based in London, are on a mission to take the science of the sleep clinic and integrate into day to day lives through technology. With support from UKRI they developed a personalised AI sleep aid platform, designed to help users fall asleep easier and better manage and understand their sleep. In partnership with Phillips they went on to develop the world’s thinnest sleep buds, which integrate the app, to:
- provide in-depth sleep monitoring and insights
- empower you to make informed decisions about your sleep habits
- improve your quality of sleep and wellbeing
Tim Antos Founder and CEO Kokoon Technology said:
UKRI play a vital role in the UK start up ecosystem helping deep technology innovations navigate the longer R&D phases that typically make venture capitalists and angels uncomfortable. These deep technology innovations are often the most transformational and positive in the longer term.
At Kokoon Technology their support has helped us positively transform the lives of tens of thousands of customers struggling with issues with their sleep.
Home-grown strawberries to boost immunity
Strawberries are considered a superfood of the berry world. Scientists at the University of Warwick have shown that strawberries work to increase our in-built defences to keep cells, organs and blood vessels healthy and which can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular problems such as heart disease and diabetes.
Berry Farming Ltd, a primary producer of UK strawberries, grown at Wicks Farm near Arundel, is harnessing the power of AI to boost strawberry yields all year round. Yields of fruit from strawberry plants depend critically on environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels.
New AI technology aims to help strawberry growers determine optimal environmental conditions that will optimise yields, so we can enjoy home grown strawberries to boost our health all year round.
Informing energy use to keep us warm, clean and comfortable
Energy use in homes, particularly over winter, is essential for our health, wellbeing, and comfort, from heating, cooking and lighting to powering our appliances for entertaining and interacting.
The Energy Demand Observatory and Laboratory, led by University College London (UCL) Energy Institute and the University of Oxford is carrying out a five-year project to provide critical data that helps us make better energy choices for a sustainable future.
By developing innovative methods, including the use of AI, they can monitor the energy consumed by different appliances and the different energy-using activities that make up daily life at home so we can better plan and adapt energy usage for the future.
Professor Tadj Oreszczyn, Professor of Energy and Environment at UCL, said:
By better understanding how people use energy we can help households to better manage their energy expenditure, and help governments to tackle fuel poverty, and transition to low a carbon future.