Bloggin Noggin

Downtime and taking a break is so important as we continue to navigate the challenges around day to day living as we adapt to the new normal. Many of us are suffering from stress and anxiety and you can check out my tips on how to de-stress here. Whether it’s reading a book, cooking, swimming or gardening, time to switch off is an absolute must. Taking a break has also been found to increase productivity and creativity. Here are some recommendations from Team Noggin on some stimulating and relaxing podcasts. The Travel Diaries Since travelling abroad could potentially be stressful right now due to Covid, why not plug into some escapism via The Travel Diaries podcast. Host Holly Rubenstein interviews a plethora of people including Rick Stein, Jo Malone, Sir Michael Palin, Nadiya Hussain and Tom Kerridge about their travel experiences. Postcards From Midlife Editing powerhouses Lorraine Candy and Trish Halpin have been working in magazine publishing for 20 years and are long term friends.  Their conversations cover everything from handling mansplainers, the menopause and managing a mid-life crisis, parenting kids and providing care to elderly parents.  If you’re of a certain age you will relate. Revisionist History New York Times best-selling author and public speaker Malcolm Gladwell talks with Virginia Heffernan about notorious and intriguing events from the past and re-examones them. This is an intelligent and educational series, over10 episodes. Feel Better, Live More Dr Ranjan Chatterjee speaks to fellow experts about topics like mental health, relationships, sleep, productivity, meditation, mindfulness and more.  Stuff You Should Know Perfect fodder for pub/ zoom chat or to keep up your sleeve for when we can all socialise more freely.  If you’ve ever wondered how miniature golf works, or the story of champagne, LSD, El Nino and Rosa Parks, then you’ve come to the right place. Keep Well Dr Clara Russell

“It is never too early and never too late in the life course for dementia prevention” * Why Dementia risk isn’t all in the genes 

Neurotransmitters- how our brain cells communicate.  Big word, complicated topic- what does this mean and why does it matter for your brain health. 

There is nothing new about the practice of yoga having been around for many centuries particularly in Eastern Cultures. In recent years, yoga has become increasingly popular world wide for its benefits both in physical and mental health.  Yoga is the most popular form of complementary therapy and has been shown to help with relaxation and mindfulness practice as well its many benefits to physical health. 

Between Zoom calls, home schooling, devices and just generally more people in your house than there would normally  be during the day lockdown has been noisy. Whilst the roads remained silent and the shops were boarded up there was an eery silence on our streets - yet indoors things were very different. 

Evidence backed ways to help improve memory and brain function   Latest research published this month has reviewed non medication options to help prevent memory loss and cognitive decline in the 50+ age group. Aerobic exercise, resistance training, creative art, story telling and dancing all shown to have help brain health in a review of the evidence for those over 50.  What the researchers found was this:

5 ways to reduce your risk of Alzheimers disease Can a combination of every day lifestyle changes reduce your risk for Alzheimers dementia even when you are in an age group that is at most risk? From all we’ve read and researched we at Noggin know that lifestyle matters for supporting your brain and mental health - that is why we are so passionate about brain health.

What we eat makes a difference to both how we feel and the health of our brain. This is something that I hadn’t realised was as important as it is until I started researching brain health a few years ago. Why does what we eat matter so much for our brain?

Brain function and the Mediterranean Diet: tackling depression, dementia and weight loss We’ve talked before about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet ( https://www.nogginbrain.co.uk/add-a-taste-of-the-mediterranean-to-your-plate/ ) and it’s worth noting the science behind the recommendations on what to eat as part of a diet designed for health and wellbeing.

Can we teach ourselves to have a more positive outlook?   Headlines last week gave us another possible clue into a risk factor for developing dementia.

Are you doing Tik Tok? The app phenomenon can be good for brain health, and for all ages, but in moderation, mind.TikTok has 800 million active users worldwide. And 41 percent of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24. It has has been downloaded 467 million times in India alone – nearly one-third of its total downloads.

“Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle” Plato We are talking a lot about Kindness at the moment and this is for good reason. Last year, I had the opportunity to be involved with prospective medical students who were practising university interview questions and I was fortunate to be given the topic of empathy to discuss with them.