A Million Steps for Better Mental Health

A Million Steps For Better Mental Health: Join our Step Challenge

We provide mental health services to people in and around Bristol, but we need your help to do more.

The Southwest has the highest rates of suicide in all English regions, and we want to help improve the mental wellbeing of people in Bristol through physical exercise.

Physical exercise is proven to help improve positive mental health. Being active releases a chemical in the brain that boosts emotional wellbeing and lowers rates of mental illness.

Join us in helping everyone in and around Bristol achieve the best mental health possible by taking part in our campaign Million Steps for Better Mental Health and doing our 7-Day Step Challenge.

There are no rules. You can start the challenge on whatever day suits you and do it for as long as you like.

What’s the step challenge?

We’re looking for individuals, teams, and companies to sign up and do as many steps as possible in 7 days.

Whether you walk, run, jog, skip, or hop, all steps contribute to our Million Steps for Better Mental Health.

How you can join the challenge

• Register yourself or as a team

Our step challenge is for everybody to take part. You can do it yourself or enter the challenge as a team with your colleagues, friends, or family.

To sign up, you’ll need to set up a JustGiving page and join our Million Steps for Better Health fundraiser.

Click here to set up your JustGiving page, or join a team.

• Set your step target

We want to get you motivated to get moving so choose the step challenge you think you can reach in one week:

• 100,000 Steps (challenging)
  A minimum of 14,300 steps a day
• 70,000 Steps (intermediate)
  A minimum of 10,000 steps a day
• 50,000 Steps (beginner)
  A minimum of 7,200 steps a day

Remember: You’re weekly target can be combined as a team, or by yourself – whichever you prefer! The important part is that you take a step towards better mental health.

• Set a fundraising target & ask for support

Your fundraising page will automatically set a £150 target. You can choose to increase, decrease, or keep it as it is.

If you raise the £150 target, we’ll send you a certificate congratulating your contribution to the Million Steps for Better Mental Health mission and include your name in our list of supporters!

Ask friends, family, and work colleagues to support your step challenge towards better mental health in Bristol.

• Step towards better mental health!

Start walking towards your 7-Day Step Target.

Grab a friend or colleague and head out at lunchtime, choose to walk to work instead of the bus, or head to one of Bristol’s loved parks for a stroll. Our favourites are Ashton Court or Clifton Downs to get the steps in!

You have the option to link your FitBit or Strava account to your Just Giving page to keep track of your steps.

Don’t forget to share your photos, tag us on social media when you’re out and about and use the hashtag #bristolmillionsteps

•  Keep on moving

You don’t need to stop after the 7 days challenge!

Our hope is that you feel the benefits of being physically active and see how it helps people maintain positive mental health. Regular movement can help with better sleep, happier moods, and managing stress or anxiety easier.

It also gives your brain something to focus on and can be a positive coping strategy.