Story at a glance The human gut has a brain of its own. Scientist are now calling it the ‘second brain.’ Gut instinct is a biological function of the ‘second brain.’ 90% of your body’s serotonin lies in your gut. We’ve heard it a dozen times if not a million. Trust your gut instincts; listen…
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…
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…
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…
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 –…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
