Why looking after your heart in your 20's helps your brain as you get older
Brain Health

Why looking after your heart in your 20's helps your brain as you get older

Healthy Heart Happy Brain? Researchers have confirmed over recent years that looking after our heart health is important for our brain health. Avoiding high blood pressure, exercising and reducing stress are all factors that are important to reduce the risks of heart disease and it seems helps our brains too. But this week we saw some emerging research on this that suggests we are never too young to start looking after our brains A study looking at 189 people with the average age of 24 were followed for 30 years as part of a large research project  What they found that those people studied with better measurements for heart health at the beginning of the study ( such as non smokers, having a healthy weight and blood pressure ) were more likely to have better results on their tests of memory and thinking skills 30 years on.  This is a starting point for yet more research but what it does suggest that what we do and how we live in our younger years may make a difference to our brain health in later years.  Small changes do make a difference to how we feel and the health of our brains. And it seems the earlier we start making these small changes the more we we may benefit in later life.  What are some of the things that matter for heart and brain health- even in our 20’s?  Keeping active, maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking and finding ways to manage our stress- small changes really do make a difference to how we feel and our brain health, at any and every age.  https://home.bt.com/news/science-news/heart-problems-in-your-20s-may-affect-brain-health-decades-later-11364433719196 Dr Clara Russell 
Can just 2 minutes of fast walking help your brain?
Brain Health

Can just 2 minutes of fast walking help your brain?

Walk faster for a healthier brain. Movement and exercise are 2 of our key building blocks to Brain Health at Noggin the Brain People. Keeping active is an essential part of looking after our brains and studies have shown time and time again how exercise can help reduce our risk of heart disease and dementia. But how much exercise? And what type do we need to be doing to get the most benefits? 
5 reasons why its good to look after your gut
Nutrition

5 reasons why its good to look after your gut

We’re learning more about how important it is to look after our gut. More than just feeling the odd tummy pain, or a bit bloated, this long tube that winds from our mouth all the way though our bodies is more than just about what happens when the food goes in and the food comes out.
What happens when you close your eyes at night?
Sleep

What happens when you close your eyes at night?

I always used to judge how well I’d slept initially by how well I remembered my dreams and what type of dream it was. It seems that dreams are only one part of a four stage puzzle. 
7 things I’ve learned about sleep and health
Sleep

7 things I’ve learned about sleep and health

Sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our overall health and sense of wellbeing. How well we sleep plays a role in how we feel on a day to day basis as well as having an impact on our immune system & our ability to fight simple illnesses and how we make choices especially in relation to our food choices (and it isn’t always positive).
Nutrition

“An apple and artichoke a day keeps your stroke risk at bay?”

Yet more evidence this week about the importance of fruit and vegetables in our diet- this time specifically related to risk of the most common type of stroke. 
As the nights draw in, it's the most important time of the year to take Vitamin D-here's why....

As the nights draw in, it's the most important time of the year to take Vitamin D-here's why....

The role of vitamin D and its importance for childrenVitamin D deficiency is now recognised as pandemic. As very few foods naturally contain vitamin D, it is recognised that the major cause of deficiency is the lack of appreciation that sun exposure in moderation is the major source of vitamin D for most of us. 
Does time really fly?
Brain Health

Does time really fly?

Where does the time go? Hasn’t this year gone quickly? How is it almost July? I blinked and its summer. Have your heard or said any of these in the last few days, chances are you have. Certainly the concept of time - its pace, never having enough, us having a lack of control over it - is something that we talk about often. But what is it that we really mean? Why does it ‘go so quickly’ and can we get more of it?
Screen time and kids- does it matter?
Brain Health

Screen time and kids- does it matter?

A report released by Common Sense Media in 2017 states that 8 to 12-year-olds spend an average of 4 hours and 36 minutes every day on screen media.
Vitamin D in the headlines

Vitamin D in the headlines

With stories in the news last week about the super powers of the sunshine vitamin we wanted to explain a bit more about the role of vitamin D and its importance for children.
Brain Health and MS -how we learnt that small changes matter
Brain Health

Brain Health and MS -how we learnt that small changes matter

Having a relative with Multiple Sclerosis was one of the inspirations behind Noggin. MS is another one of these conditions with a funny name that affects both brain and body, often in many unseen ways. MS is often diagnosed in young people and with a massive range of symptoms affecting each person differently on any one day is a very challenging condition for doctors to treat and for people and their families to live with. 
Brain Health

Can sleep help our memory?

Sleep and Memory is a big area for those researching risk factors of for dementia but what about on a day to day basis- how does sleep affect your memory of what you did today or yesterday?