What Are the NHS 5 Ways to Wellbeing?
The NHS 5 ways to wellbeing are five simple, evidence-based actions — Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, and Give — developed by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in 2008 for the UK Government’s Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing. Since then, the NHS has adopted them as one of its core self-help frameworks, and you’ll find some version of this list in nearly every NHS trust’s mental health resources.
Unlike a lot of wellness advice that asks for an hour at the gym or a complete lifestyle overhaul, these five steps are designed to slot into an ordinary day. That’s precisely why they’ve stayed relevant for well over a decade — and if you’ve been reading our piece on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health, you’ll notice a lot of overlap. The five ways to wellbeing are really the practical, day-to-day version of that bigger picture.
The Five Ways to Wellbeing, Explained
1. Connect
Social relationships act as a genuine buffer against poor mental health. This doesn’t have to mean a packed social calendar — a short phone call, a proper conversation with a colleague instead of a passing “how are you,” or reconnecting with someone you’ve lost touch with all count. People with stronger, broader social networks consistently report better wellbeing than those with limited social contact, regardless of how introverted or extroverted they are.
2. Be Active
Physical activity is one of the most consistently evidenced mood boosters available, and it doesn’t require a gym membership. Walking, gardening, dancing in your kitchen, or taking the stairs instead of the lift all count. The research is fairly forgiving here: even short bursts of movement, as little as ten minutes, show measurable benefits for mood and focus. If you spend most of your day at a desk, this ties directly into the ideas in our guide on mindful morning routines for coders, where a few minutes of movement before the screens turn on sets the tone for the rest of the day.
3. Take Notice
Also described as mindfulness, this step is about paying attention to the present moment — your thoughts, your surroundings, even small sensory details like the weather or the taste of your coffee. It sounds almost too simple to matter, but noticing rather than autopiloting through your day has been linked to reduced rumination and better emotional regulation over time.
4. Keep Learning
Learning something new, whether that’s a formal course or picking up a hobby like photography or a musical instrument, builds confidence and gives you a sense of progress. It doesn’t need to be ambitious. Trying a new recipe or learning a handful of words in another language both count, and the goal is engagement, not mastery.
5. Give
Acts of generosity, from volunteering to simply thanking someone or doing a small favour, are strongly linked to a person’s own sense of wellbeing, not just the recipient’s. Giving connects you to a wider community and reinforces a sense of purpose, which research consistently flags as one of the more overlooked ingredients in long-term mental health.
Why These Five Steps Work Together
None of the five ways to wellbeing are especially groundbreaking on their own — most people already know that exercise and social contact are good for them. The value is in treating them as a set rather than picking one and ignoring the rest. The original NEF research found that social relationships, physical activity, and learning primarily protect against poor wellbeing, while taking notice and giving actively boost it. Combined, they cover both sides of the equation: reducing what drags you down and actively building what lifts you up.
A Simple Way to Build the Five Ways Into Your Week
Rather than trying to tackle all five at once, most people find it easier to anchor one action to something they already do daily.
- Connect: Add two minutes of real conversation to a call you already make, instead of rushing through it
- Be Active: Pair a ten-minute walk with a habit you already have, like your lunch break or a podcast episode
- Take Notice: Pick one daily moment — your morning coffee, the walk to the car — to genuinely pay attention rather than scroll
- Keep Learning: Set aside fifteen minutes a week, not a day, so it doesn’t compete with everything else on your plate
- Give: Choose one small, low-effort act each week rather than aiming for grand gestures
If you’re specifically looking to sharpen focus and mental performance alongside your general wellbeing, it’s worth pairing this framework with the strategies in our article on brain performance hacks backed by neuroscience — the two approaches complement each other well, since “Take Notice” and “Keep Learning” both tie directly into cognitive function.
Where to Find the Official NHS Resources
The NHS publishes its own guide to the five steps to mental wellbeing on nhs.uk, alongside downloadable materials that many local NHS trusts adapt into posters and workbooks for community and workplace use. If you’d like a printable version, searching “5 ways to wellbeing PDF” alongside your local NHS trust’s name will usually turn up a free resource tailored to your area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created the 5 ways to wellbeing?
The New Economics Foundation developed the framework in 2008 as part of the UK Government’s Foresight Project on Mental Capital and Wellbeing. The NHS later adopted it as a core self-help resource.
Are the 5 ways to wellbeing the same as the 5 pillars of wellbeing?
They’re closely related and often used interchangeably, though some organisations use slightly different terminology or add extra pillars like sleep or nutrition. The NHS’s official five — Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning, Give — remain the most widely referenced version in the UK.
Do I need to do all five every day?
No. The framework works best as a weekly rhythm rather than a daily checklist. Consistency over time matters far more than covering all five in a single day.
The five ways to wellbeing were never meant to be revolutionary — they’re meant to be sustainable. Building even one or two of them into a normal week tends to compound over months into a noticeably steadier sense of wellbeing, which is really the entire point. For more on how this fits into the bigger picture, see our complete mental health guide.