Do you really know?

It’s not news that if you don't get a good nights sleep you will probably not be your best the next day, but while you are snoozing, particularly in deep sleep, your brain is not just powered down, it is busy cleaning out the days toxins, almost like it is ‘washing your brain’ and getting it ready for the next day.   “Sleep is not just a state where things turn off.  Sleep is a very active state f...

Following on from “quiet quitting” and “quiet firing”, conscious quitting is another work-related term that’s gone viral in recent times. It’s based on the results of prominent surveys which have shown that people are increasingly prepared to walk away from a job if they feel their employers’ values don’t match theirs. For example, in February 2023 former Unilever chief executive Paul Polman repor...

Since January 2023, hundreds of thousands of people have been gathering in the streets of Jerusalem. They’re protesting in response to a package of judicial reform bills which would bring in drastic changes to Israel’s legal system. In late March Defense Minister Yoav Galant spoke out about the dangers of the reform and in favour of the protests. He was subsequently fired, sparking turmoil. Even t...

You might be the kind of person that meticulously fills your fridge with your groceries ensuring that every item is in the correct spot or perhaps you just shove them in wherever there is space but there is actual science behind how to best fill your fridge to keep things fresh and avoid waste. But everything you thought you knew may no longer be valid as the UK food authority has just updated its...

On paper, fish have everything required to be an excellent staple to many diets. They’re rich in protein, vitamins, trace elements, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, and aren’t too high in calories. The only downside is that fish live in an increasingly polluted environment. What with heavy metals and plastic waste invading the oceans, more and more people are concerned about the pitfalls of eating...

Shortsightedness or myopia affects long distance vision, preventing people from seeing objects over a few yards away. You may remember we covered the subject on Do You Really Know? a while back and that it has been labelled an epidemic due to ever increasing prevalence worldwide. It’s estimated that a third of all people suffer from myopia, and the World Health Organisation has suggested that half...

According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, there are as many as 430 deaths per year due to wrong-way crashes in the United States alone. That might be hard to believe as for most of us driving on the “right” side of the road is as automatic as brushing your teeth. But there is of a course a divide between countries that drive on the left and those that drive on the right. In ancient times...

Ever since Covid-19 lockdowns, many people have developed a taste for interior design and regularly take to Pinterest for inspiration. But as you may well know from experience, buying a few furniture items can quickly add up in cost. As a result, clever internet users have been coming up with solutions to repurpose items bought from Ikea, whose items are available in many different parts of the wo...

Trying to come up with a translation for the Finnish term sisu is a bit of a lost cause. Rotten Tomatoes described it as “a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds.” while the BBC has defined it as “strength, perseverance in a task that for some may seem crazy to undertake, almost hopeless”.  It’s not exactly resilience, because that comes aft...

As you may well know, astrology involves looking at the position of planets and stars when we were born, and using that to interpret their influence on our lives. Mercury happens to be one of the planets which is supposed to have the most influence and that’s particularly true when it’s in retrograde, which happens several times a year. Planets in our solar system orbit around the sun. If you thin...

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...

Covid allowed many people to work from home for the first time and created a world where more flexible, hybrid working, mixing office work and working from home is now possible. But there are things to keep in mind to optimise this type of experience According to Prof Jonathan Trevor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School he suggests that it is better to match the task to the environme...

If you go back to early social media days, it was somewhat rare. But nowadays the practice of sadfishing is widespread, among celebs, influencer wannabes and average Joes alike. Since the advent of social media, we’ve gotten used to seeing highlight reels of people’s lives on our newsfeeds. But in recent years, people have been more and more willing to share posts about moments of sadness, rather...

You might not be familiar with the term ‘kinkeeping’, but the chances are you’ve benefited from it at some point in your life, in particular as a child but also in adulthood if you’re a man. It refers to the household or family tasks that are subconsciously assigned to women due to their gender. Of course, it’s pretty much equivalent to unpaid labour, and a lot of the time is taken for granted, go...

On average, we remember just one dream per week, and around 5% of us never remember any. But in reality, we all dream; it’s just that some of us never have any recollection of doing so. So why is it then that certain dreams stay with us, while others fade away immediately? It’s important to be aware that over the course of a night, we go through various phases of slow sleep, including deep sleep a...

What’s your favourite Tarantino film? Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Inglorious Bastards or perhaps Django Unchained? Every last one of his releases have had a huge impact. They’ve often been big hits among critics and popular opinion. So in 2022, his confirmation of plans to retire following his next film has understandably drawn a lot of attention in the world of cinema. Tarantino’s ci...

In some cultures, being well at home is all about making sure that others feel well when visiting, by welcoming them in the right way. In Japan, for example, hospitality is like an art form, and even has a name: omotenashi. You can’t really translate the concept into English; the meaning of the term goes a lot deeper than “hospitality”. It also has connotations of mindfulness. In Japanese culture,...

The word nomophobia means a fear of being without our smartphone, and it’s affecting more and more people with each passing year. After all, we’re rarely separated from our phone over the course of a day, and even use them at nighttime.  Back in 2021, a phone addiction study by researchers from King’s College London was published in the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal. It was based on a five-quest...

Money can buy a lot, but can it buy happiness? This is a question that philosophers, economists, scientists and storytellers have puzzled over for some time; and if it can then does more money make you even happier?  According to Prof Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, director at the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre there is a definite link between money and happiness, especially at the bottom o...

Until a little under two weeks ago, Silicon Valley Bank was the sixteenth largest bank in the United States, the favoured choice of tech startups due to the tailored services it provided. But by 10th March 2023, American authorities were taking control of SVB following its collapse. It had assets of over $200bn, making for the second biggest bank failure in US history. There were a number of facto...

The term might sound like a bit of a joke, but sushi terrorism been no laughing matter for Japanese diners in recent weeks. In a country which is famed for its high standards in cleanliness, a series of viral pranks have been causing disgust and outrage. One of the most viewed sushi terrorism videos has been seen over 100 million times. A Japanese teen licks the top of a bottle of soy sauce and pu...

For over five years now, a mysterious illness has been hitting US intelligence officers stationed in various overseas locations . As of mid-September 2021, over 200 cases had been recorded, which would seem far too many to be a coincidence... It all started in Havana in 2016, which is how the Cuban capital ended up giving its name to the syndrome. Symptoms include migraines, tinnitus, vision probl...

Nitrous oxide, which is also known as laughing gas, is sold in metal canisters and is one of the most commonly used drugs by teenagers and young people. However, heavy use can lead to a host of problems. Prof Alastair Noyce, a consultant neurologist at Queen Mary University of London, told BBC News: "These are young people we are seeing - teenagers and people in their 20s. What's striking now is t...

If you’ve ever seen horror movies, you’ll know that when you see a zombie, you should start running! Well, the term is also used in the world of business to describe companies which are hugely indebted and only able to pay their fixed costs and interest, but not actually able to reduce the debt itself. The phenomenon has been on the rise since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with some zombie c...

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...