August 9, 2016
Story at a glance Denmark rated happiest place to live by UN World Happiness report after rating highest in seven categories. They have strong economic growth that is harnessed by paying high taxes that are used to support the general community at large. They have a national word Hygge that means self-care, cosiness and enjoying life, which underpins their social fabric. No small task to be the happiest place on earth but the Danes seemed to have romped it in, coming first on the UN World Happiness Report for 2016. So what’s so special about Denmark that has all […]
August 4, 2016
Think of BDNF as a high performance protein powder that helps you build muscles at the gym, but for your brain cells. Instead of it influencing the size of your biceps it influences the quality and quantity of your brain cells. Your brain pumps out a series of neurotrophins. Neurotrophins are a family of proteins that are involved in making neurons. Whilst there are a variety of neurotrophins at work in your brain, BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is regarded as the most active and the most important protein in your body. Without it you cannot make new brain cells. And […]
August 2, 2016
Story at a glance: Walking through doorways does really cause us to forget Events are processed one at a time and concentrating on something takes up most of our thought processes Different parts of memory compete with each other Ever had that moment where you walk into a room to get something only to completely forget why you’re there? You’ve probably done it so many times you might even start wondering if you’ve got a dodgy memory! Well there’s two pieces of good news, one, you don’t. Your memory is fine! And two, you’re not alone! In fact you’re […]
August 2, 2016
The quest for health and wellness has many of us heading down the road of the organic or low chemical. It’s a smart choice, as pesticides and herbicides are thought to have some very real effects on health. But often, it’s the little things that sabotage our organic efforts. Ground zero can be cosmetics – the chemical soups that we put on our skin in order to ‘get cute’ of a morning. First up, know beauty comes from the inside. Therefore you’re cute already (insert other beauty-related platitudes here). If you’re still not keen on quitting cosmetics (and we don’t […]
July 29, 2016
Click here to read more about this published study.
July 26, 2016
What is a brain? This might seem like a stupid question – it’s that thing between your ears, the grey matter, the master controller of the nervous system that sits atop the spine and under your skull. Behavioural modelling expert and author Marvin Oka has an interesting claim to make on this seemingly simple issue – that we actually have three brains. They reside in the head, the heart and the gut. All three have massive networks of neurons and very distinct roles. It explains the clash between what we think and what we often feel. Only by understanding the […]
July 26, 2016
There was a time in the history of food when ‘fat’ was the dietary equivalent of a swear word. As monounsaturated fats make up 77% of the calories in the humble avocado, its popularity waned [1]. However, the role of good fats in the healthy human diet are making a welcome comeback and with it comes a surge of research as to the health benefits of foods like the avocado. Among them is the news that avocado consumption may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises a person’s […]
July 21, 2016
Did you have to sing the alphabet song to learn it? Or perhaps recite the times tables out loud. These tasks were commonly met with more than a few eye-rolls, but it turns out the teachers were on to something. A study recently published in the Journal of Consciousness and Cognition revealed that the simple act of repeating something to someone else can help you remember it. Memory loss has been treated as a part of aging for quite some time. But now we know that neural plasticity can offset this. Various strategies like exercise and sleep have been known […]
July 21, 2016
Tall Poppy Syndrome is a cultural marker long ingrained in Australian society. We are a good natured bunch, but our tendency is to cut down those whose successes shine brightly. In fact, the glory of success isn’t often in its attainment but rather in the struggle. If you’re a good Aussie battler, you’re great. If you’re winning then all of a sudden, your friends are going to have something to say about it. It’s true in many areas of life: from business, to purpose, career and family. So what do you do about it, short of putting Taylor Swift’s “Shake […]
July 14, 2016
If you think money can’t buy happiness, you aren’t spending it right. That’s the claim made by Michael Norton, a professor at Harvard and PhD holder in the field of psychology. It might stand in stark contrast to conventional wisdom, but it seems that science backs this claim. Apparently money can buy happiness, it just might not happen quite the way you thought it would. To put this to the test, Norton and his colleagues went out on campus to find students from the University of British Columbia who might be interested in being in an experiment. Of those who […]
July 14, 2016
A recent study has proven the addictive qualities of many popular foods. Unsurprisingly, highly-processed foods, or foods high in sugar, fat or glycaemic load were found to trigger areas of the brain involved with addiction. The actual top ten list varied somewhat from the perceived top ten list, but still the study revealed why certain foods keep us running back to the fridge despite our repeated vows to give them up. The answer appears to be the link between glucose levels and the areas of the brain involved with addiction. The speed at which sugar and fat can be absorbed in the system can trigger […]
July 12, 2016
Here’s a statement you may not expect to read in the Harvard Business Review: “Expressing your vulnerability makes you stronger [1].” It’s wisdom that may have been around for a while, but it’s been popularised by the recent work of researcher Brené Brown. It appears that vulnerability can be a real advantage when it comes to many aspects of life. Brown is a renowned psychologist and researcher, whose work led her to author the book ‘Daring Greatly: how the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent and lead.’ Brown’s work shows that we do best in […]
July 12, 2016
An increasing number of people are looking to decrease the amount of toxins in their immediate environment, and for good reason too – stress can take one of four forms: physical, mental/emotional, electromagnetic and you guessed it, chemical. However, in our search for convenience, we’ve loaded ourselves up with chemicals. Many of them hiding in our kitchens, laundrys and bathrooms. If we really want to live low chemical, what do we need to pitch and what can we replace it with? New to the holistic health blogosphere are chiropractic couple, Kim and Anton. They advise that there are seven things […]
July 7, 2016
Jeff Spencer was not your typical child. Who else would get up at 4:30 in the morning to practice baseball, or spend a childhood dreaming of marching into an Olympic Stadium in the parade of nations [1]? That was Jeff though. Fast forward into adulthood and he is an ex-Olympic cyclist, coach to the elite, advisor to fortune-500 companies and author of the success handbook “Champion’s Blueprint.” This all came from being what he calls “a professional student of human achievement” for some 40 years. Spencer’s observations started young, when he began to look at top level athletes and realise […]
July 6, 2016
Anger is a part of life, just like stress, disappointment, failure, and the plethora of positive emotions that exist at the other end of the scale. However, anger is often an emotion we don’t know how to handle well. What’s the best course of action? Fight anger with anger? Vent? Suppress? Reappraise? Neuroscience has a little something to say on the matter. According to Time Magazine, some typical responses to anger or negative emotion are actually both unhelpful and unhealthy. “Suppressing anger is rarely a good idea,” says Barker [1]. “You can bottle up your feelings and not look angry. […]
July 5, 2016
The weight loss formula is about as simple as it gets. If we consume more calories than we burn, we gain weight. If we burn more calories than we consume, we lose it. Yet for many of us, shifting unwanted kilograms just isn’t that easy. There could be many reasons for this – hormone imbalances, inflammation, or thyroid problems in some cases – the list goes on. Before you go questioning your willpower, or giving up on your dietary resolve yet again, there’s something else you might want to pay attention to: something called leptin. Leptin is a hormone produced […]
June 30, 2016
The hormone that wrecks the most damage on your brain and like a domino effect, on your body, is cortisol. Cortisol is a steroid hormone. It’s made by your two adrenal glands, one each found on top of your kidneys. But cortisol isn’t a bad hormone. In fact, when cortisol is under control, it’s a life sustaining adrenal hormone, essential for your body’s homeostasis. It’s in charge of your body’s anti-inflammatory process, it manages your immune system, it regulates your blood pressure and it works with the hormone insulin to regulate your blood glucose levels. Frankly, it is essential for life. But […]
June 30, 2016
Part 3: Influence literature series As thoroughly evolved humans with fully functioning prefrontal cortexes, we like to think we are in control of our decisions. We like to believe that, even when it comes to the minutiae of life, we’re thinking things through and coming to our own conclusions. Behavioral economist and researcher Dan Ariely has something to say about that though. Many factors, several of them subconscious, play into our financial, medical and purchasing decisions. In fact, he calls the human race ‘predictably irrational [1].’ Upon first reading that term, you might think ‘gee thanks.’ In truth, Ariely’s research […]