Do you really know?

Many of us feel completely disoriented at times, and are afraid of getting lost, whether in the middle of the city, in the forest, when travelling or in the car. In an age where GPS reigns supreme, many of us have become overly reliant on technology. Yet, there’s a growing desire to hone our natural navigational skills and understand the brain’s role in guiding us. What we call our "sense of direc...

Research by productivity software provider Asana showed that 70% of knowledge workers experienced burnout in 2021. Now we’ve talked about the symptoms of burnout before on Do you Really Know. It's typically characterised by physical and emotional exhaustion at work, and considered a psychiatric condition. But in recent years, the younger generation has been reshaping workplace norms. Many young wo...

According to the most recent figures from the Association of British Travel Agents, the number of people going on holidays alone has soared over the last decade. In 2011, the proportion was just 6%, but in 2023 it had risen to 16%. The organisation’s media release said it showed people have a “strong appetite to go it alone”. And you could say the solo travel trend is part of the wider "self-love"...

Ah, the G-spot... An often cited but frequently elusive erogenous zone which has a reputation of being able to unlock intense female orgasms if you know how to stimulate it the right way.  The G-spot was first discovered by German gynecologist Ernst Gräfenberg - hence the G part of the name - back in 1950. But the term was only coined in his honour in the 1980s, by a group of researchers who were...

Many of us have a ritual of falling asleep to our favorite tunes or a comforting podcast. It’s no surprise we find solace in this routine; after all, music is known to dial down blood pressure and heart rate, ease anxiety, and reduce cortisol levels. The benefits don’t stop there – music can also boost oxytocin production and sweep away those pesky negative thoughts, setting the stage for a peacef...

According to The Sun, scientists say that “the average person in the UK now consumes more than eight kilograms of chemical additives every year.” Of course with that being an average figure, it can shoot up even further for those who eat a lot of ultra-processed foods.  If you’ve ever looked closely at ingredients lists on the packaging of food you buy in your supermarket, you’ll have noticed the...

As of March 2024, the UK inflation rate stood at 3.2%, well below the record levels that had been seen a year prior. But still the cost of living crisis is biting and grocery shopping is one of the areas in which prices rose the most across 2022 and 2023. Thinking of ways to save on groceries has become really important and we’ve got a special tip for all of you listening today. The 6-1 method com...

Clowns are supposed to make you laugh, but often can make you shudder. What is supposed to be a figure of fun is for many the stuff of nightmares. Coulrophobia —the irrational fear of clowns that’s surprisingly common. This has been reinforced by popular culture, and many horror film-makers know that a scary clown is the perfect recipe for thrills, resulting in them becoming an icon of terror. A s...

Hypersexuality, overactive libido and sex addiction are just a few of many terms used to describe those who simply can’t seem to get enough when it comes to sex. According to UK-Rehab.com, it’s estimated that somewhere between 3% and 6% of adults in the country are addicted to sex.  It might be a hot topic these days, but the concept only really surfaced in the late 1970s. The rise of the internet...

April 2024 saw a couple in the south of France handed a one-year suspended sentence, and a ban from having pets, after they were discovered keeping 159 cats and seven dogs in their 860 sq foot apartment. According to BBC News, the “animals were discovered last year living in filth, many dehydrated, suffering from malnutrition or infected with parasites.”That shocking animal hoarding case seems to...

A funeral is one of those rare occasions where you don’t really need to think too much about your choice of outfit. After all, everyone wears black to funerals as a sign of grief, don’t they? Well, that might be true in the Western world, but it’s not necessarily the case everywhere, which is what we’re going to talk about today.  In the Western world, funeral customs have long been intertwined wi...

For many, slipping into socks before bed is as natural as brushing their teeth. It’s comforting, like a warm hug for your feet. But not everyone’s a fan—some can’t stand the thought of socks at night. Preferences aside, there’s more to this bedtime debate than comfort. So, is snoozing in socks a secret health hack? But does it really help you drift off quicker? Sounds a bit contradictory, right? I...

Members of Gen Z, when you were kids, you might well have had grand plans for your twenties – owning a house, landing a job, getting hitched, and having kids. But where are you now?  Are you a keen saver eyeing up homeownership, perhaps abiding by some of the methods we've talked about in the past on Do You Really Know?, like loud budgeting, cash stuffing or the 50/30/20 method? Or do you feel pow...

According to the British Association of Urinological Surgeons, somewhere between 20 and 30% of men experience premature ejaculation. But of those men, less than a quarter actually seek medical advice. That’s despite it being an issue that often takes a toll psychologically on the man and the relationship they have with their partner. If it's always been an issue, it's termed primary premature ejac...

After clocking out, who doesn’t crave a hearty meal after a hard day's work? But here’s the thing: your dinner choices could be tipping the scales. You’ve likely heard the old saying, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.” And yes, that pauper’s plate might skip the starches. Why? How so? So, can you cozy up with carbs at night? In under 3 minutes, we answer yo...

Anyone who uses Tiktok knows that you can stumble across some pretty random stuff on there. I mean, all of us have our own algorithm-tailored For You page, but still the latest wacky trends tend to get served to us whether we’ve viewed similar content or not. The Broccoli Freckles trend is a case in point. Iif you haven’t already heard of it, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s got something t...

All personal development coaches emphasise the importance of setting goals, even ones that may seem out of reach at first. Doing so not only boosts motivation but also enables gradual achievement.  Nowadays a lot of people find this kind of approach almost second nature, but others struggle with it. A fear of failure, workplace anxiety, and a lack of self-confidence can make ambition seem unattain...

A lot of people think that morning erections are triggered by erotic dreams, or a need to pee, but in fact they're a physiological reflex linked to sleep. That’s right - they’re not dependent on sexual arousal at all. And in a somewhat similar way,  women actually also experience increased blood flow to the clitoris during the night. Now, the scientific term for a nighttime erection is nocturnal p...

You have surely felt butterflies in your stomach before a big event or had a ‘gut’ feeling about something. You might even say you need to ‘digest’ some big news. Our stomach is sometimes dubbed the ‘second brain’ and it's more than just a metaphor.   The term gained traction in the West in 1999, thanks to Dr. Michael Gershon’s book “The Second Brain.” However, the concept isn’t new. Ayurvedic med...

Today we're going to talk about a 35-year-old American man who's taken an unconventional approach to his country's upcoming presidential election.  Dustin Ebey, as he used to be known, is a maths teacher and military veteran from Dallas, Texas. And lately, he's been stirring up quite the buzz. That's because he went and changed his name to "Literally Anybody Else", as a bold statement against Amer...

Caring for yourself involves more than just tending to your nails; it's about making sure they're well-groomed, especially those on your toes. Trimming them properly is also key to avoiding painful ingrown nails, but on the other hand going overboard with your clippers can cause problems too. So let’s discuss how to find the right middle ground. According to the East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, t...

Every January, many of us set ambitious resolutions for the year ahead. We jot down our aspirations, fueled by goodwill, and promise ourselves that this time, we won’t give up after just a month. But somehow, as the year unfolds, our motivation wanes, and those once-clear goals seem increasingly elusive. If you’re tired of this cycle, it might be time to consider a fresh approach: the twelve-week...

Coffee purists tend to look down on the likes of the latte, cappuccino and mocha, suggesting that only black coffee is the real deal. They often double down by saying that drinking coffee with milk causes bloating and messes with digestion. But a recent study from the University of Copenhagen found that it might actually be beneficial for our health, after all. How so? Is the link proven then? It...

Here at Do You Really Know, we’ve talked over and over again about the importance of getting good quality sleep. So of course, you don’t want your evening meal to disrupt it, and that’s a cause of uncertainty for many people. Bear in mind that to drift off to sleep, your body temperature needs to gradually drop. Given that digestion tends to raise our body temperature, that poses quite the conundr...

Feeling disconnected from a partner is a common problem in romantic relationships. According to a survey by McCain Foods in 2018, it affects 60% of all people in a relationship. Even worse, 15% of respondents admitted to spending more time interacting with celebrities on social media than with their partner.  This sense of disconnection often stems from a lack of communication within the relations...