Do you really know?

You’ve probably heard of jetlag, the feeling of fatigue and disorientation that occurs when you travel across different time zones, but did you know that you can experience a similar phenomenon without leaving your home?  It’s called social jetlag and is caused by changing your sleep patterns. It happens when you change your sleep schedule on the weekends to fit your social life. Why is social jet...

I don’t know about you but for me not having to set an alarm on a Saturday or Sunday morning is really one of life’s simple pleasures. With my packed work schedule and family life, I often don’t end up getting as much sleep as I need during the week. So it’s really tempting to try to catch up on that sleep debt over the weekend. But then I heard about these studies that have shown that weekend lie...

Did you know that each of us has a truly unique body odour, which is influenced by a mix of genetic, hormonal, age-related, environmental, and lifestyle factor? And your diet plays a role in shaping your natural scent. Some foods have their own noticeably strong odours, like garlic or onions for example, and can in turn cause us to sweat more. The same goes for spices and chili, which makes sense...

No one's proud of being unfaithful, but what if some people’s cheating was actually caused by genetics, rather than selfishness? That might sound like a convenient excuse, but actually there could be some scientific basis behind it. In 2022 researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia analysed the DNA of over 7,300 twins aged between 18 and 49, all of whom had been in relationships for...

If just thinking of spiders is enough to make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck, or you jump any time you see one, the chances are you suffer from arachnophobia. It affects up to 15% of people according to the Cleveland Clinic, making it one of the most common phobias out there. As it turns out, human fear of spiders may well be down to evolution. Researchers from Germany, Austria and Sw...

We usually sneeze to protect ourselves from irritants such as pollen, dust, or chemicals. But there are some people who consistently sneeze when they look at the sun. In fact, this affects from 10 to 35% of us when we move from being in the shade to bright light, according to PBS.org. If it happens to you, perhaps you’ve been wondering if it’s an allergy to sunlight, but actually it isn’t. The rea...

Not getting a good night’s sleep can certainly leave you feeling grumpy and groggy, but can it also make you selfish? Sleep experts at the University of California, Berkeley certainly seem to think so, and apparently even losing just one hour of sleep is enough to make you less generous towards others and that includes friends and family.  The team conducted a number experiments which were publish...

You know how sometimes you might indulge in a bit too much junk food, or maybe the kids aren’t acing their tests, or perhaps you’re navigating the single life? Hold up—before you start to worry, there’s a seemingly scientific explanation for all of it, and it points to one place: our brains. Neuroscience has become the go-to for decoding life’s issues, spanning medicine, economics, politics, and e...

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 s...

Our planet is full of blue things. The sea, the sky. Blueberries, bluebirds, bluebells. If English is your only language, it’s probably inconceivable to you that a language could exist without a word for blue. After all, it's one of the three primary colours according to traditional colour theory. And yet in reality not every language in the world does have a specific word for blue. You see, in so...

If you're aged between 30 and 40, you're part of Generation Y, also known as the ‘millennials’ You may have already said to yourself that the next generation, Gen Z, look much older than their age. Millennials grew up amid the rise of the wellness industry and numerous public health campaigns that promoted healthy living, think about the messaging around eating five fruits and vegetables a day, st...

It's back to school! DYRK is dedicating a special week to sport. Because moving and doing regular physical activity is important for our physical and mental health! Listen again to our episodes about sport! Muscle dysmorphia, also known as bigorexia or reverse anorexia, is an obsession with bulking up by working out. It’s caused by a person’s belief that their body is too skinny or lacking in musc...

According to a 2014 study by the Pew Research Center, people in wealthier countries are happier on average, but only up to a point. Even in so-called "emerging" countries like Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey, there was a correlation between rising wealth levels and the percentage of happy people. Interestingly though, in well-off nations, people don't necessarily attribute their happiness directly...

We've all experienced those gut feelings, hunches, or flashes of insight that seem to come from nowhere. But what exactly is intuition, and can it be explained? Even though scientists haven't yet unraveled all of its secrets, intuition isn’t as mysterious as we might think. One expert definition of intuition says that it is: "the universal ability to grasp information in a non-conventional way, ou...

Digital sobriety is all about reducing the ecological footprint of our daily digital lifestyles. That’s right, using your cell phone, PC or connected refrigerator all contributes to pollution. And it’s on the rise. The transition to digital technology is often presented as being a positive evolution, especially with regards to reducing household energy consumption. But current practices are contri...

It's pretty common these days to have to tackle several things at once, like responding to an email while on a work call. Our constant pursuit of productivity leads us to mix various activities simultaneously, whether it's at work, home, or even at school for kids. This blending of at least two tasks at the same time is commonly known as multitasking. When you focus on something that you’re doing...

We all know someone who talks in their sleep, or occasionally sleepwalks around the house, perhaps even heading to the kitchen to prepare a nighttime snack. These kinds of episodes aren’t especially rare. But some forms are relatively unknown, one of which is sexsomnia. It’s a form of parasomnia, which means undesirable behaviour which occurs while falling asleep, during sleep, or while waking up....

One of the unsuspected consequences of a global pandemic is a re-evaluation not only of how we work but what work means to us. For some the flexibility was a breath of fresh air, others missed the office and even the commute but with employee happiness more important than ever and people feeling overwhelmed and stressed at work the question of how to achieve a work-life balance has never been more...

Let's be honest: being productive at work on Fridays can be a real challenge. A 2019 study by Accountemps found that Friday was the least common choice for American workers when naming their most productive day of the week. The slump is likely down to having worked hard over the first four days of the week, as well as thinking ahead to the weekend. What’s more, your colleagues are in the same fram...

Have you ever picked up clothes or random items on a whim, because you were stressed, bored, or just felt like celebrating? That’s what experts call impulse buying. It feels good in the moment, but it often leaves you with regret, and a lighter bank account. On top of that, it fuels overconsumption and harms the environment. So how do you actually resist the urge? Are there any simple ways to stay...

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...

Have you ever noticed that you tend to have your best ideas in the shower? If so, you’re not alone! A 2014 study conducted by cognitive psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman found that 72% of people get creative ideas while showering. So it’s really not a coincidence. Science has shown that taking a shower is actually a perfect combination of a few factors which allow for optimal creativity. Struggling...

Paracetamol, a staple in UK households, is widely available over the counter and commonly used to alleviate headaches, toothaches, joint pain, flu symptoms, menstrual pain, and fever. In the UK, paracetamol is one of the most frequently used painkillers. The British Medical Journal reports that from April 2022 to March 2023, 16 million prescriptions for paracetamol were dispensed in England alone....

What is the keto diet? The ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet which allegedly helps weight loss and fighting diseases such as diabetes, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s and cancer. This diet is growing in popularity, but not without its risks.  The idea is simple enough. Fats, proteins and carbohydrates are the macronutrients that make up the major part of our diets. With the keto diet, you drastica...

Regular listeners will remember how astrology has undergone somewhat of a revival in recent years. Knowledge of terms like “Saturn return” and “retrograde Mercury” is now actually pretty common, in particular among young people.  The topic of today’s episode actually blends astrology with the modern insights of psychology. The idea behind astropsychology is that the positions and movements of cele...