About Big 5 Norway - Five Healthy Actions

Over the past several years, researchers in Australia and Canada have developed and tested a new model for promoting better mental health known as The Big 5 or Five Healthy Actions. 

The model is based on research involving more than 20,000 participants which has identified five everyday actions (the “Big 5” or “Five Healthy Actions”) that are particularly important for mental health:

1. Meaningful Activities
2. Helpful Thoughts
3. Goals and Plans
4. Healthy Routines
5. Social Connections

Studies show three main findings:

1. There is a strong relationship between how often people do these actions and mental health: People who regularly do these actions report better mental health and higher satisfaction with life.
2. Cause and Effect. Increasing how often people do these actions results in an improvement in their mental health. Restricting how often people do these actions triggers symptoms of depression and anxiety and leads to lower satisfaction with life.
3. Tipping Point. People who do these actions at least 4-5 days of the week report better mental health.

Forhelse, based at Helse Bergen, has received funding through the Research Council of Norway's Talented Researchers Programme to establish an international research collaboration with Professor Nick Titov, a leading researcher in digital mental health at Macquarie University, Australia. During a two-year research period in Norway (2026–2028), Professor Titov will contribute to the development and evaluation of new knowledge on the relationship between the Five Healthy Actions and mental health. The project will investigate whether these findings also apply in the Norwegian context.

Why is this important?

Mental health challenges are increasing across the world and are now among the greatest public health challenges of our time. At the same time, there is growing interest in how individuals can support their own mental health through everyday habits and behaviours.

Most of us understand that our daily actions affect how we feel mentally and emotionally. Despite this, we still know relatively little about which specific actions are most important for maintaining good mental health, and how frequently these actions need to be practiced to achieve meaningful benefits.

A better understanding of the activities that matter most for mental health could contribute to:

• a better understanding of why mental health problems develop and persist
• the development of new, simple, and cost-effective interventions
• stronger preventive mental health efforts across the population
• improved mental health literacy among citizens, healthcare professionals, and policymakers

By generating new evidence on the Five Healthy Actions, the project aims to support better mental health and well-being at both the individual and societal levels. By achieving improvements in population level mental health, we believe we can help our society navigate current and future challenges.