Do you really know?

Latest Episodes:

Is shaving too often bad for you? Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

There’s a lot of popular ideas out there about body hair removal. Shave too much and the hair becomes thicker. Wax, and it will gradually start thinning out. It can be hard to know who or what to believe. Both women and men increasingly spend a lot of their time and money removing body hair, even though it acts as a barrier to bacteria, and sexually transmitted diseases in the case of pubic hair.

Shaving with a razor, using an electric epilator and waxing all have their own pros and cons. But let’s take a moment to consider the rarely discussed topic of whether any of them pose health risks. Shaving for example is perhaps the most popular hair removal method due to how quick, easy and cheap it is. Using a razor is actually quite harsh on the skin though, and tends to dry it out in the long run. Depilatory creams are a gentler alternative, but they also contain certain hair-softening chemicals which can irritate the skin or worse, trigger an allergic reaction.

Are there any risks associated with waxing? It is said that bikini waxing can be particularly harmful. Is that true? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why is sugar bad for our memory?

Does the law of attraction really work?

How can I stay trendy buying only second hand clothes?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we less fertile than before? Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

According to the British Fertility Society, between 9% and 15% of couples will encounter fertility problems, while Fertility Network UK says that “over 3.5 million people in the UK go through some kind of fertility challenge.”

Interestingly, the total fertility rate in England and Wales actually increased slightly in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics. But that was the first increase in a decade, with the general trend being towards lower fertility, a pattern also seen elsewhere in the world, and in developed countries in particular.

Why are more people facing fertility challenges then? What about environmental factors? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why is sugar bad for our memory?

Does the law of attraction really work?

How can I stay trendy buying only second hand clothes?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why are we having children later and later? Feb 27, 2024

Show notes

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of births in the UK continues to fall. Experts are even talking about a “baby bust”, the opposite of the “baby boom”, to describe these statistics, which have reached the lowest level since records began in 1938. One explanation for this could be that people are having children later than previous generations, leaving them with a reduced fertility window.

In 2020, the Office for National Statistics notes that the average age at which women become mothers is 30, compared with 26 in 1975. In addition to this, the latest ONS birth data, released in 2020, reveals that 28% of women have their first child after the age of 30 and 5% after the age of 40.

How so? Can you run into problems if you want to get pregnant after the age of 30? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why is sugar bad for our memory?

Does the law of attraction really work?

How can I stay trendy buying only second hand clothes?

A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why is sugar bad for our memory? Feb 26, 2024

Show notes

We're well aware of its negative impact on our waistlines and heart health, but sugar also takes a toll on our brains. And it's not just found in the obvious sources like refined sugar from sugarcane or sugar beet – it's lurking in fruits as fructose and in dairy as lactose.

Back in 2015, the World Health Organisation released guidelines recommending adults and children “reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake”, to remain at a healthy weight. The agency also said additional benefits could be yielded by going below 5%. That translate to around 25g, or six teaspoons, of free sugars per day, for a person consuming 2,000 calories.

Why do we crave sugar so much despite the associated health risks? And how exactly does sugar affect brain function then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does the law of attraction really work? Feb 25, 2024

Show notes

Over on TikTok, the #idontchaseiattract hashtag is nearing in on 20,000 publications at the time of recording. It really took off in late 2023, especially after Kendall Jenner said the following in an interview with Enews.

Behind the simple statement are young women advocating that with enough belief, you can manifest whatever you want in life. You might have also heard of "Lucky girl syndrome" and "manifesting," which have also gone viral on Tiktok in the past, and are based on similar principles. And these trendy ideas are essentially a modern spin on an age-old principle: the law of attraction, which gained popularity in the early 2000s within the realm of personal development.

How exactly did the "law of attraction" come about then? Is there any scientific basis to these ideas? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's the best alarm to wake up to? Feb 24, 2024

Show notes

Did you know that the alarm clock actually serves a greater purpose than simply rousing us from sleep? Whether it's the buzz of your smartphone, a breaking news update, or a soothing classical tune, your alarm sets the tone for the day ahead. And it can be quite the dilemma choosing between a jolting alarm which is guaranteed you wake you up or nature sounds that might end up lulling you back to sleep—or worse, not wake you up at all.

Sydney Aten is an American neuroscientist who specialises in circadian rhythms and sleep. Talking to HuffPost.com for an article on alarm sounds which was published in 2023, she pointed out that waking up abruptly can be quite jarring for the body. It triggers a real surge of adrenaline, a hormone which is typically released in response to intense emotions or sensations. Basically, waking up to a loud or piercing sound can spike our heart rate and induce stress.

What about using more neutral sounds then? What about hitting the snooze button - is that a good way to snag a few extra minutes of sleep? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why do couples often look alike? Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

You may remember we talked about whether or not opposites attract in a recent episode of Do You Really Know. As it turns out, more often than not, couples tend to share a lot of characteristics, and it’s relatively rare for them to be substantially different. When you think about it, it kind of makes sense. After all, it's often easier to be in a relationship and share your life with someone who sees the world in a similar way.

But did you ever consider that on top of that, couples may even share physical characteristics? For example, you may well have heard someone in the past say that a similar-looking couple are a good match, and there are even scientific studies to back that idea up.

What kind of physical traits are we talking about then? Do couples tend to look more and more alike with time? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blue hands: what can you do about the cold? Feb 22, 2024

Show notes

When it comes to cold weather we're not all in the same boat. Some of us can cope with low temperatures, while others are super sensitive, especially on their hands and feet. For some people extremities can become numb, painful, change colour or even develop into frostbite.

Usually, when it's cold, vasoconstriction helps to protect us against low temperatures, by prioritising blood flow to vital organs at the expense of the extremities. However, this can be exacerbated in certain cases, and as a result the small vessels that are supposed to irrigate the body's extremities no longer supply enough blood to the hands, feet and sometimes the nose and ears leaving them extremely cold.

What causes these microcirculation problems? And what can you do? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is submarining in the dating world? Feb 21, 2024

Show notes

Many of the shady or downright forms of toxic forms of behaviour seen in modern relationships are actually nothing new, but the emergence of specific terms has helped us to pinpoint them better. Once you're in the know, it's much easier to spot them. With that in mind, let’s move on to the topic of today’s episode.

As a single guy or girl, it's not uncommon to have someone you flirt with on and off, without things getting too serious. But it can sting if that person then disappears without a word, only to shamelessly re-emerge after a significant amount of time has passed, as if nothing ever happened. This kind of behaviour is now known as submarining, a term which several sources have credited Metro.co.uk for coining back in 2017.

Isn't that just like ghosting? Why do people submarine? And what’s the best way to deal with it? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is using cotton buds bad for your ears? Feb 21, 2024

Show notes

Polish-American man Leo Gerstenzang is credited with inventing the humble cotton bud in the 1920s, an item which has since gone on to be used for many different purposes, having originally been thought up as a baby hygiene product.Yougov research from 2019 found that 62% of Brits use cotton buds to clean their ears, and 22% of us only use them for that purpose. That’s particularly true for men, given women are more likely to use them for touching up nail polish mistakes, or applying make up.

But you may well have heard warnings that cotton buds can be bad for you. 2019 also saw the unlikely case of a man who developed a severe bacterial infection, which sprread to the lining of his brain, after the tip of a cotton bud got stuck inside his ear. He ended up having a seizure and had to be treated at University Hostpital Coventry, according to Livescience.com.

How can I clean my ears then? Are there any safe ways? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

To listen to the last episodes, you can click here:

Why do some men get ill after they orgasm?

Is nostalgia good or bad for us?

How can the unisex condom improve my sex life?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices