Do you really know?

Latest Episodes:

What are lucid dreams? Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

Lucid dreams are dreams in which you become aware that you are dreaming while you are dreaming. This means that you can recognise that the events and characters in your dream are not real, and that you are actually asleep in your bed.

Some people can even control their dreams to some extent, and shape them according to their wishes. Imagine being able to fly, visit exotic places, or meet your favourite celebrities in your dreams.

But how do lucid dreams happen? And why would you want to have lucid dreams? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

Is it bad to drink water with a meal?

Are Skyr yoghurts really good for you?

Why is physical contact important for our health?

A podcast written and realised by Amber Minogue.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

Is it bad to drink water with a meal? Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

It's often said that drinking water while eating can make the stomach swell, causing bloating. But in reality, there are no studies to back that up. Similarly, drinking or avoiding drinking while eating also has no impact on the effectiveness of digestive juices or on any supposed difficulty in secreting them and therefore on digestion.

We know that that water helps soften food boluses being digested by the body. A bolus is a ball-like mixture of food and saliva that forms in the mouth when we chew. Water also has the advantage of curbing hunger, thereby regulating our appetite.

What do we know for sure about drinking water with meals? When is the best time of day to drink water? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

Why do some people sleep with their mouths open?

How can you avoid bed bugs when you travel?

What is microwork?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

Are Skyr yoghurts really good for you? Oct 15, 2023

Show notes

If you've ever strolled down the dairy aisle of your local grocery store, chances are you've come across these little tubs of Icelandic goodness. Skyr yoghurt has really grown in popularity in the last five to ten years. But is it really as healthy as it’s touted to be, or is its reputation down to marketing hype?

It's a traditional Icelandic yogurt, which is said to have been brought to Iceland by the Vikings when they settled there over a thousand years ago. It's marketed as a yoghurt, but is in fact technically a soft cheese. Skyr's uniqueness lies in its manufacturing process, which gives it that thick and creamy texture, similar to fresh cheese.

How did it become so popular? What are the nutritional qualities of skyr? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

How can you avoid bed bugs when you travel?

What is microwork?

How does pollution affect my mental health?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

How can I influence my dreams? Oct 14, 2023

Show notes

How our brains work during dreams is as fascinating as it is mysterious. Dreams can be hard to predict, and sometimes of course we end up having nightmares. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some control over what happens in our dreams? Well, as it turns out it may actually be possible to some extent.

Well controlling dreams fully is a bit of a stretch. But according to neuroscience researchers from the universities of Freiburg and Tübingen in Germany, simply listening to an audiobook just before falling asleep is enough to have a significant impact on our dreams.

How does it work? What can it be used for? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

Why do some people sleep with their mouths open?

How can you avoid bed bugs when you travel?

What is microwork?

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 some people sleep with their mouths open? Oct 13, 2023

Show notes

Let’s be honest, sleeping with an open mouth isn’t the most graceful of images, but in reality it’s pretty common. If you’ve ever woken up with a dry mouth or a puddle of drool on your pillow, maybe it happened to you.

One of the reasons is because the muscles in our face stay tense throughout the day, but relax when we go to sleep. People sleep with their mouths open when they breathe through their mouths, and there are actually a number of reasons why that happens!

Is it not just down to gravity then? Does mouth breathing have any health consequences? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

How does pollution affect my mental health?

What is the soft evening concept from Tiktok?

What is Hugh Jackman’s 85% rule?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

What is the soft evening concept from Tiktok? Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

Do you ever feel frustrated about work dominating your life? Maybe in your free time, you try to make up for that by enjoying yourself and having a busy social life. You go to the cinema, fit in a workout and so on. But these activities sometimes end up putting more pressure on you than the pleasure you get out of them.

What if I told you you could have a thoroughly satisfying evening, without it needing to be productive at all? Over on Tiktok, a concept called “soft evenings” has emerged to combat society’s obsession with hyperproductivity and hustle culture.

What does it involve? How do I get started then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

What is Hugh Jackman’s 85% rule?

What is burnout?

What is the Werther effect?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

How does pollution affect my mental health? Oct 11, 2023

Show notes

According to the government, air pollution is the “largest environmental risk to public health”, and accounts for between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths each year. But did you know that the air you breathe might be impacting not only your physical health but also your mental well-being?

It's the largest environmental risk to public health because harmful pollutants like fine particulate matter, ammonia and nitrogen dioxide get into our bodies, affecting the eyes, nose and throat, heart and blood vessels and the respiratory system. But there are also risks regarding our mental health. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in February 2023 reported on the link between air pollution and psychological disorders.

What did the study find? Who can be affected by air pollution? And how can we protect ourselves then? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

What is Hugh Jackman’s 85% rule?

What is burnout?

What is the Werther effect?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

What is Hugh Jackman’s 85% rule? Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

You may know Hugh Jackman as the star of X-Men, The Greatest Showman, and Les Misérables, but did you know that he has a secret to success that involves working less, not more?

That’s right, Hugh Jackman follows the 85% rule, an unofficial guide to life that says we should try hard at things, but not too hard. In other words, we should aim to work at 85% of our capacity, rather than 100%.

But why would he do that, and does it really work? Does the science back up this claim? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

What is the Werther effect?

How can I overcome my fear of speaking in public?

What are plant milks?

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 burnout? Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

In January 2021, the European Parliament approved a “right to disconnect” policy which passed relatively unnoticed in the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. This resolution recognises workers rights to switch off outside of working hours, in order to protect their mental health, wellbeing and private lives.

A Eurofound survey estimated that one third of all workers were working remotely last year. Since the pandemic, a sedentary and “always-on” lifestyle has become the norm for many. While remote work clearly has some advantages, staying connected and available around the clock can have negative effects. These include anxiety, depression or even a burnout.

Is burnout similar to depression then? How can I tell if one of my colleagues is experiencing a burn-out? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

What is the Werther effect?

How can I overcome my fear of speaking in public?

What are plant milks?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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

What is the Werther effect? Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

In April 2023, Bloomberg.com published an article entitled "Tiktok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids” in which it explained that Tiktok was facing a “flood of lawsuits” due to teen suicides that the victims’ parents blamed on the social media company.

So if a user interacts with or views suicide-related content, even out of curiosity, the algorithm may suggest more of such material, potentially increasing negative thoughts and contributing to a concerning cycle of exposure. It’s comparable to a phenomenon that was observed in the late 20th century, known as the Werther effect. Another name for it is copycat suicide.

Where does the name come from? What are some recent examples of the Werther effect? In under 3 minutes, we answer your questions!

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

How did Ozempic get so popular?

Will AI steal my job?

What is Pokémon?

A podcast written and realised by Joseph Chance.

In partnership with upday UK.

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