Do you really know?

“Time and tide waits for no one”, the old saying goes, but it’s fair to say that some people are affected by symptoms of ageing earlier than others. And the latest study to come out of the University of Rotterdam suggests that there may be a link between how old we look, and how likely we are to develop certain age-related conditions. The team of researchers published their findings in the British...

According to new research a mediterranean diet could lower the risk of dementia by a quarter regardless of a person's genetic risk. “The findings from this large population-based study underscore the long-term brain health benefits of consuming a Mediterranean diet, which is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats," said Joint lead author of the study, Dr Janice Ranson, a senior...

The term is a bit of a mouthful in more ways than one, but eatertainment has been growing rapidly in recent years. Of course, it’s the contraction of “eat” and “entertainment”, and refers to when eating out is more than just a meal; it has a unique entertainment aspect too. A cinema that allows visitors to enjoy a meal during a film showing, or an indoor mini-golf course which you can play on whil...

We often assume that fresh is best, but the reality is more complicated. It all depends on how vegetables are stored, how long they’ve been in transit, and even how they’re cooked. While fresh vegetables are packed with nutrients right after harvest, they can lose a significant amount of vitamins and minerals by the time they reach your plate. According to a 2023 study on UK consumer habits, nearl...

The brain plays a central role in desire, arousal, and sexual pleasure, but we don’t always realize just how much it influences our sex lives. While hormones and physical attraction are important, it’s the brain that processes emotions, triggers pleasure, and coordinates physical responses. According to neuroscientists, every part of the brain is involved in sexuality. The hypothalamus regulates h...

What’s shaping Europe today? How does it impact your life? And what’s the bigger picture? Long Story Short is Europod’s new daily podcast, cutting through the noise to bring you the facts, the context, and why it all matters in just 5 minutes. Tune in Monday to Friday for sharp, no-nonsense breakdowns of the news that’s shaping Europe. Perfect for your coffee break, your commute, or whenever you n...

Not being able to fall asleep at night can be incredibly frustrating. You’re tossing and turning, exhausted but unable to drift off. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone—millions of people struggle with insomnia, making it difficult to get through the next day. While medication is an option, experts often recommend non-drug approaches as the most effective solutions. Light therapy, weighted b...

We all know that eating a balanced, nutrient-rich diet is one of the best ways to support healthy aging. While aging is a natural and inevitable process, the foods we eat can either slow it down or speed it up. Some protect our cells, while others do real harm, accelerating aging both inside and out. Sugar, for example, is one of the biggest enemies of your skin. It triggers a process called glyca...

We all know the feeling of not wanting to get out of bed first thing in the morning. It can be tempting to press the "snooze" button on your alarm clock to grab a few extra minutes of sleep. And research has shown that it’s a very common habit. In October 2022, results from a University of Notre Dame study on the subject were published in Sleep journal. The study found that 57% of people snooze, w...

"Dear you, spending painful days pretending to be okay for someone else. You don't need to tell us everything... but how about just a little of it?" Imagine you’re in the bathroom at uni and you notice a message like that printed on the toilet roll. Pretty weird right?! Well that’s exactly the situation students in the Yamanashi region of Japan found themselves in, when authorities rolled out thei...

What do chicken nuggets, margarine and instant noodles all have in common? Well, they may look tasty, but they’re loaded with sugar, salt, fat and chemicals that strip away their nutritional value. That’s due to the heavy processing that goes into making them, which sees them completely transformed from the original raw ingredients.  And they’re increasingly ever present on our shelves and in our...

On march 21 we’re in the middle of Podcasthon charity event. It’s an annual charity event which sees podcasters come together to highlight different organisations, their work, and their impact Drug use among young people is nothing new, but in recent years it has reached record levels, according to research published in 2022 by youth charity. They found that the number of 16 to 25 year olds taking...

Along with account hacking and fake technical support, phishing is one of the most common types of online scam. It can appear in many forms, from emails and text messages to sponsored search engine links and phone calls. But in 2024, a new variation emerged, targeting motorists in particular. Known as quishing—a blend of “QR” and “phishing”—this scam uses fake QR codes to steal payment details. QR...

If there’s one trait nobody wants to claim, it’s stinginess. But being stingy isn’t about how much money you have. Take Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA—despite his fortune, he lived modestly and even shopped at flea markets. For him, frugality was a habit, not an obsession. But when caution with money turns into an all-consuming need to save at all costs, it can impact not just your finances,...

Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, artificial intelligence has transformed how many workers go about their jobs on a daily basis. AI developments are certainly exciting to many people, but there’s also a lot of nervousness out there, due to the inevitability that AI-based automation will end up replacing some parts of human work in a lot of fields. In January 2024, the IMF issued a caut...

According to a study published in Human Reproduction in 2021, there are around 1.6 million twins born each year, with an average of one in every 42 newborn children being a twin. The research also revealed that the global twinning rate had increased by a third since the 1980s. It’s fair to say that twins have long fascinated scientists, and society as a whole. Some people portray twins as kind of...

If you’re a fan of sitcoms, no doubt you've seen episodes in which the characters were celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. It's a big deal in the UK and Ireland of course, as well as across the pond in North America. Each year in the build up to March 17th, bars and pubs, especially Irish ones, deck themselves out in green and shamrocks. But before it became an excuse to sink a few pints of Guinness...

What’s shaping Europe today? How does it impact your life? And what’s the bigger picture? Long Story Short is Europod’s new daily podcast, cutting through the noise to bring you the facts, the context, and why it all matters in just 5 minutes. Tune in Monday to Friday for sharp, no-nonsense breakdowns of the news that’s shaping Europe. Perfect for your coffee break, your commute, or whenever you n...

Whether you’re the one being left or the one doing the leaving, a breakup always presents certain challenges. It’s pretty common to try to learn from the relationship that’s ended, in order to move forwards in a positive way. And those takeaways can help us gain perspective and avoid making the same mistakes in the future.  But when that kind of rumination becomes excessive and persists with time,...

Having an orgasm triggers a cascade of physiological responses, including the tightening of muscles in the pelvic and genital regions, and the release of various hormones and neurotransmitters. It sets the heart racing, ramps up breathing, and sends blood rushing to the penis or clitoris, causing them to become erect. Of course reaching orgasm isn’t guaranteed. Before it happens, there's typically...

For generations, the idea of marrying your first love, living happily ever after, and having lots of kids was considered the ultimate dream. But for Gen Z and younger generations, that vision is shifting. New ways of "making a family" are emerging—like living long-term with friends, co-parenting without being romantically involved, and even entering into a lavender marriage. A lavender marriage is...

When you’re feeling a little blue, eating to feel better can be an appealing proposition. But the reality is we often turn to junk food or sugary treats that are high in calories and packed with salt or saturated fats. Of course, our mood can be impacted by a number of factors and there’s no magic fix that will instantly make us feel better. But there are actually types of food out there that have...

The pursuit of restful sleep is a common goal, especially considering that around one-third of people in the UK experience sleep disorders such as insomnia or even orthosomnia, an obsession with achieving perfect sleep (to find out more about this listen to our episode all about it.) To combat this people try all sorts of methods from meditation to  counting sheep, one new approach is the 10-3-2-1...

When we hear the term dysmorphia, most of us think about body image, the gap between what we see in the mirror and reality. We’ve talked about Snapchat dysmorphia and body dysmorphia on Do You Really Know in the past. But the concept actually goes beyond physical appearance. Just as our brains can distort how we see our reflection, they can also skew our perception of money. This phenomenon is cal...

Nearly one in three adults in the UK experiences symptoms of insomnia. On average, adults in the UK get about 7.6 hours of sleep per night. In recent years, the popularity of gadgets designed to track and improve sleep has surged. However, this growing focus on achieving perfect sleep has given rise to a new issue: orthosomnia. Smartwatches, fitness trackers, and more advanced gadgets like connect...