Healthy Plate, Healthy Mind isn’t about dieting. It’s about feeling better.

In this timely episode of ConnectForHealth, a Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa initiative in partnership with mentl, host Scott Armstrong (Founder of mentl) and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy (Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Communications, Cigna Healthcare) sit down with Dr Shefali Verma to explore how the food you eat, and when you eat it, can shape your mood, focus, energy, and mental clarity, especially during the Holy Month of Ramadan.

From brain fog and headaches to sleep disruption and cravings, the conversation focuses on the changes that make fasting feel steadier, and the habits that can carry beyond Ramadan.

💬 Topics include:

• The mindset shift that makes Ramadan feel less like deprivation and more like a sustainable lifestyle change
• Meal timing, digestion, and why eating close to bedtime can sabotage sleep quality
• Hydration and electrolytes: why water alone is not always enough
• Breaking the fast: dates, sugar, and small choices that make a big difference
• When to train while fasting, and how to choose what fits your routine
• Constipation during Ramadan, and why it can affect mood, irritability, and anxiety

🎧 Whether you’re fasting for the month, supporting someone who is, or simply curious about the link between nutrition and mental wellbeing, this episode is designed to leave you with clarity you can use immediately.

📌 ConnectForHealth is a podcast and live webinar series from Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa in partnership with mentl, helping you thrive through every stage of life.

Chapter List:

03:35 Ramadan eating window, digestion and sleep basics
05:07 Mindset going into Ramadan (lifestyle vs “diet” thinking)
13:50 Meal timing before bed and improving sleep quality
16:22 Audience questions begin (live Q&A thread kicks off)
22:53 Electrolytes, hydration, headaches and mental clarity
26:56 Breaking the fast: dates, sugar, and practical choices
28:31 When to train during Ramadan (before or after iftar)
33:07 Constipation in Ramadan, mood, and what to do
58:15 Closing and wrap

Failure is uncomfortable - especially when it’s our children experiencing it. But what if failure is one of the most powerful teachers we can give them?

In this episode of ConnectForHealth, host Scott Armstrong, Founder of mentl, and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa, explore The Power of Failure and what setbacks can teach our kids about resilience, confidence, and emotional intelligence.

Joining the conversation are two powerful voices:

• Sebastian Bates, Founder and CEO of The Warrior Academy and The Bates Foundation, whose work in character education is shaped by personal experience - from childhood bullying to a life-changing accident - and who has mentored over 50,000 families across seven countries.
• Lee Ryan, Manager of Sports Excellence and Athlete Development for Cognita Schools Middle East through the Enrich ME programme, bringing a coach’s perspective on how challenge, loss, and failure in sport can shape stronger, more resilient young people.

Together, they unpack:

• Why shielding children from failure can do more harm than good
• How setbacks build confidence, emotional intelligence, and self-belief
• The role parents, coaches, and schools play in reframing failure
• How sport and physical challenge help kids process disappointment
• What failure teaches children that success never can

This is a must for parents, educators, coaches, and anyone involved in shaping young people’s lives.

Chapter List

00:00 – Welcome & episode context
Introduction to Connect for Health and why resilience and failure matter for children.

03:06 – What is resilience really?
Sebastian Bates and Lee Ryan define resilience as coping, recovery, and repetition.

05:24 – The parental instinct to shield children
Why protecting children from pain can unintentionally weaken resilience.

09:02 – Reframing failure
Failure as unmet expectations, learning loops, and the foundation of success.

12:37 – Lived experience and bullying
Sebastian shares his childhood bullying story and how it shaped his work today.

17:47 – How bullying actually works
Body language, empathy, confidence signaling, and practical tools for children.

22:54 – Cyberbullying and digital resilience
Why online bullying is different and how parents can reduce harm and build self-worth.

30:43 – Working parents and quality time
Non-negotiable connection, presence over perfection, and daily rituals that matter.

39:39 – Supporting children through failure
Practical advice for academic pressure, exclusion, and confidence after setbacks.

55:00 – Final reflections and key takeaways
Courage, character, and why failure is a teacher, not a threat.

In this episode of ConnectForHealth, Scott Armstrong and Maissa Al Khafajy are joined by chartered accountant and money coach Carol Glynn of Conscious Finance Coaching to explore one of the most universal sources of stress: money.

Drawing on years of coaching experience and audience insights, Carol explains why financial pressure affects every part of our lives - our sense of safety, our relationships, our wellbeing and how we make daily choices.

The discussion looks at why people across all income levels experience money anxiety, including those in senior, high-earning roles. Carol breaks down how mindset, self-esteem and inherited beliefs shape our relationship with money, and why earning more rarely solves the underlying problem.

They examine how men and women often view money differently, why couples can struggle to understand each other’s financial behaviour, and how arguments about money usually stem from emotional meaning rather than numbers.

Carol shares practical tools for getting clarity, understanding spending patterns, building a cash-flow plan, and aligning money with your values. The conversation also explores how financial stress affects families and how children absorb money behaviours from the adults around them.

Later in the episode, Carol explains the foundations of financial wellness, from budgeting and needs versus wants, to saving with purpose, building a cash cushion, managing debt and approaching investing with confidence and understanding.

This session is part of the ConnectForHealth series from Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa, supported by mentl.

Chapter List:

00:00:10 – Welcome to Connect for Health

00:02:03 – Why money impacts every part of our lives

00:03:55 – Mindset, self-esteem and stress around money

00:04:46 – Two families, same income story, different outcomes

00:08:27 – How men and women think differently about money

00:11:10 – What money means to you: audience perspectives

00:17:01 – Values, clarity and purpose: the core money mindset shift

00:20:24 – Are we living our values or the ‘hamster wheel’?

00:23:34 – What causes financial stress: clarity, planning and debt

00:43:37 – Building financial skills: budgeting, investing and long-term goals

In this special edition of ConnectForHealth, we take you inside the Cigna International Health Study (CIHS) 2025 - UAE Edition - the most comprehensive look at the state of well-being, vitality, and workplace health across the Emirates.

For the fourth consecutive year, mentl has authored the UAE white paper, tracking the nation’s wellbeing story as it rises year after year - even as global well-being softens. And this year’s findings are nothing short of remarkable.

Joining host Scott Armstrong, founder of mentl, and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare MEA, are two powerhouse voices:

• Leah Cotterill, CEO, Cigna Healthcare Middle East and Africa (excl. KSA)
• Hana Agil, HR Director, MEA, International Organizations, Strategy, International Health, Cigna Healthcare)

Together they unpack:

• Why the UAE is now a global leader in well-being and vitality
• What’s driving unprecedented gains in mental health, optimism, and quality of life
• The paradox of progress: rising vitality alongside persistent stress, loneliness, and financial pressure
• Why 67% of employees are actively job-hunting yet 80% say they’d work harder for their employer
• What Gen Z is telling us about unmanageable stress and loneliness
• How company culture - and manager behaviour - directly shapes well-being, retention and productivity
• Why healthcare benefits have overtaken flexible working as the number one most valued employee benefit
• How AI and digital health are transforming expectations
• The urgent call for employers: one size no longer fits all

This is essential listening for business leaders, HR professionals, policymakers, and anyone shaping the future of work in the region.

Chapter List

01:10 - Why CIHS matters
02:00 - UAE well-being and vitality outperforming global trends
03:20 - What makes the UAE different
05:10 - Stress, financial pressure and loneliness emerging as key tension points
07:00 - The UAE’s unique demographic resilience
09:00 - Government investment in well-being and mental health
10:10 - Mental health becomes the UAE’s number one priority
12:00 - Why ambition, mobility and personal development drive wellbeing
13:20 - The surprising rise of job-hunting (67%)
14:40 - Gen Z stress, unmanageable stress and loneliness
17:05 - Hybrid work, disconnection and the loss of workplace community
19:00 - The 53% manager-understanding problem
20:40 - Healthcare benefits become the number one preferred benefit
21:50 - Stress levels, family priorities and emotional load
24:00 - Social media, perfectionism and digital stressors
26:00 - Loneliness as a health risk (as harmful as 15 cigarettes a day)
28:30 - Why employers must take loneliness seriously
30:15 - Productivity, ROI and the business case for well-being
31:30 - Menopause, perimenopause and the cost of ignoring women’s health
34:00 - Manager training, empathy and psychological safety
36:00 - Gender wellbeing gaps and workplace realities
40:00 - The tension between ambition, parental guilt and family priorities
42:10 - The economic cost of disengagement in the UAE
43:40 - Why well-being is a business fundamental
45:00 - Leadership vulnerability and building trust
47:30 - Digital health, AI, telehealth and EAP adoption
53:00 - Trust as a barrier to digital and mental health support
54:00 - The employer–employee trust equation
56:00 - Final advice: the number one thing employers can do tomorrow
58:10 - Closing remarks and where to find the CIHS 2025 report

Men’s health is at a crossroads — and this conversation is one every man (and every employer, partner, teammate and friend) needs to hear.

In this episode of ConnectForHealth, host Scott Armstrong, Founder of mentl, and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare MEA, sit down with

Dr Ed Cody, Consultant Family Medicine at Mediclinic Middle East, to explore the hidden drivers shaping men’s physical and mental wellbeing.

From chronic stress to disrupted sleep, low mood, burnout, digestive issues and the symptoms men tend to hide - this is a practical, honest and surprisingly relatable look at what’s really going on in men’s lives today.

Dr Ed also opens up about his personal journey with stress, fear of getting help, and the realities men face when navigating modern pressures. This is one of the most impactful, human episodes yet.

Topics include:

•Why 84% of men in the UAE report high stress

•Why men delay seeking help until “something is leaking or falling off”

•How stress physically affects weight, digestion, energy and performance

•The link between cortisol, burnout and chronic health issues

•Why men struggle with emotional expression

•Mental health stigma in the workplace

•The pressures facing fathers, partners and working men

•How companies can support male wellbeing

•How to recognise the early signs of trouble — in yourself or someone you care about

This episode is part of ConnectForHealth, a well-being initiative by Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa in partnership with mentl, recorded live for Cigna members and available afterwards on podcast and YouTube.

⏱️ CHAPTER LIST

0:00 – Welcome to ConnectForHealth

1:08 – Introducing Dr Ed Cody

2:54 – Why vague symptoms often come from stress

4:57 – The mind-body connection for men

6:22 – Why men wait too long to seek medical help

11:52 – “Men don’t come in until something is leaking or falling off”

14:28 – Scott’s ADHD diagnosis & men’s fear of seeking help

17:36 – How stress shows up physically

18:54 – Cortisol, weight gain & stress-related symptoms

22:07 – Recognising when stress becomes chronic

24:25 – Pressure on men in work & family life

28:40 – How employers can support men’s mental health

33:10 – The truth about burnout

37:45 – What men can do to support their emotional health

41:50 – The role of sleep in men’s wellbeing

45:40 – Breaking stigma & normalising conversations

48:55 – Final advice from Dr Ed

50:50 – Closing comments

Menopause isn’t the end - it’s a new beginning.

In this powerful episode of ConnectForHealth, a Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa initiative in partnership with mentl, host Scott Armstrong (Founder of mentl) and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy (Head of Government Affairs & Strategic Communications, Cigna Healthcare) sit down with two trailblazers transforming how we understand menopause:

• Dr. Fiona Rennie, Family Medicine Consultant with a special interest in Women’s Health & Menopause at Genesis Healthcare Center (@menopause_doc_dubai)
• Donna Howarth, Founder & CEO of the Middle East Menopause Organisation (MEMO)

Together, they unpack the myths, the science, and the emotional realities of menopause - from the medical to the personal, and even the professional.

💬 Topics include:

• Why menopause is not the end - but the start of a powerful new phase of life
• The connection between hormones, mental health, and confidence
• How workplaces can better support women in midlife
• The role of partners and male allies - and how understanding can transform relationships
• Real strategies for energy, sleep, balance, and vitality

🎧 With World Menopause Day on October 18, this episode shines a light on a topic that deserves open, informed conversation - for women, their partners and families, and their employers.

📍 Chapters:

0:00 – Introduction
2:14 – Menopause as a new beginning (Dr. Fiona Rennie)
5:13 – Donna’s journey and founding MEMO
10:34 – Misdiagnosis and the hidden toll of menopause
18:00 – Mental health, relationships, and “meno-divorce”
28:45 – How men can be allies and support better communication
37:00 – Building workplace support and retaining female talent
48:30 – Lifestyle, exercise, and self-care for long-term health
55:00 – Closing reflections and World Menopause Day message

📌 ConnectForHealth is a podcast and live webinar series from Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa in partnership mentl, helping you thrive through every stage of life.

#ConnectForHealth #CignaHealthcare #mentl #WorldMenopauseDay #MenopauseAwareness #WomensHealth #MidlifeWellbeing #WorkplaceWellness

Flu season is approaching — are you and your family prepared?

In this episode of ConnectForHealth - a series by mentl in partnership with Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa - host Scott Armstrong, Founder of mentl, and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare, sit down with Dr. Rania Ayat Hawayek, Founder & Medical Director at Circle Care Clinic LLC.

Together, they explore how to keep flu at bay with practical, immunity-boosting actions. From the importance of flu vaccination to everyday lifestyle choices - sleep, hydration, nutrition, stress management, and even mental health - Dr. Rania shares evidence-based advice for both children and adults.

Whether you’re a parent navigating back-to-school season or an adult balancing work and wellness, this conversation offers powerful insights to help you and your loved ones stay resilient through flu season.

⏱️ Chapter List

• 00:00 – Welcome to ConnectForHealth
  Introduction to the series and today’s topic.
• 02:15 – Meet Dr. Rania Ayat Hawayek
  Background and approach to whole-child wellness and prevention.
• 05:00 – Is Flu Season Really a Concern in Sunny Countries?
  Why viruses still thrive in the UAE despite year-round sunshine.
• 09:30 – Flu Vaccine Myths & Realities
  Separating fact from fiction — how vaccines actually strengthen immunity.
• 14:15 – How to Tell the Difference Between Cold and Influenza
  Key warning signs parents should never ignore.
• 20:00 – The Domino Effect of Influenza on Families
  Why one flu case can disrupt weeks of school, work, and family life.
• 27:30 – Everyday Immunity Boosters
  The role of sleep, hydration, nutrition, and vitamin D.
• 33:45 – Can You Rely Too Much on Supplements?
  Drawing the line between healthy support and overuse.
• 38:20 – Stress, Sleep & Immunity
  How mental health directly impacts physical resilience.
• 45:00 – Audience Q&A
  Dr. Rania answers member questions.
• 55:00 – Key Takeaways
  Final reflections on boosting immunity and preparing for flu season.

Doomscrolling, digital addiction, and the constant buzz of screens - how do we find balance in a hyperconnected world?

In this episode of ConnectForHealth - a podcast partnership between mentl in and Cigna Healthcare Middle East & Africa - host Scott Armstrong, founder of mentl, and co-host Maissa Al Khafajy, Head of Government Affairs and Strategic Communications at Cigna Healthcare, are joined by Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani, Clinical Psychologist at Human Relations Institute and Clinics Dubai.

Together, they explore the hidden ways our relationship with technology is shaping our health. Too much screen time is often dismissed as just an “eye strain” problem, but the effects are far deeper: changes in posture, breathing patterns, digestion, and of course, mental health, from anxiety and low mood to social withdrawal.

This conversation is not about demonising technology, but about recognising its full-body and psychological impact, so we can set healthier boundaries. Dr. Kanafani shares insights from her clinical experience, while Scott and Maissa bring perspectives from workplace culture and corporate well-being.

Whether you’re a parent worried about your child’s screen use, a professional who spends hours behind a screen, or simply someone glued to your phone, this episode will give you practical strategies for building a healthier digital relationship.

⏱️ Chapter List

• 00:00 – Welcome to ConnectForHealth
  Scott introduces the series, produced by mentl in partnership with Cigna Healthcare.
• 02:10 – Introducing Dr. Thoraiya Kanafani
  Clinical insights from one of Dubai’s leading psychologists.
• 04:00 – Just How Big Is the Problem?
  Scott asks: how much do we all need to disconnect?
• 08:20 – More Than Eye Strain
  Dr. Kanafani explains how prolonged device use impacts posture, breathing, digestion, and mental health.
• 13:45 – Doomscrolling and Anxiety
  The psychological toll of endless scrolling and how it feeds low mood and withdrawal.
• 19:30 – What Patients Are Showing Up With
  Clinical patterns and behaviours linked to digital overuse.
• 24:15 – Recognising Digital Addiction
  How to spot the signs in yourself, loved ones, or colleagues.
• 30:00 – Building Digital Boundaries
  Practical tips to reduce screen overload without rejecting technology completely.
• 36:10 – The Workplace Dimension
  Why mindful tech use matters for productivity, collaboration, and well-being at work.
• 41:30 – Key Takeaways
  Scott, Maissa, and Dr. Kanafani reflect on healthier habits and the path toward mindful tech use.