Author: This Is Your Brain producer

If someone asks you what you are doing to prepare for your retirement, you might mention a 401K or an IRA, but what you might not realize is that you also need to prepare your mind for this major change in your life as well.   Dr. Ross Andel, a gerontologist, who has been studying what happens to our brains when we retire, reveals how it can have serious consequences for our mental health, including cognitive decline and depression.  But he will also offer some easy steps and tips to avoid this “retirement trap” and keep our brains active and healthy…

We all know the importance of a good diet, sufficient exercise and a good night’s sleep, but there’s one more essential thing we all need to be healthy. Social connection.  Simply put, our brains need friends.  Neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein reveals exactly what is happening in our brains when we interact with friends, family, even strangers, and how exactly this affects our physical and mental health… the many benefits of a good social life and the real risks of isolation and loneliness.   He also offers simple tips on how we can be more social and to make better use…

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Phil Stieg Reach out and touch someone isn’t just a slogan from a long distance phone ad. It’s also a powerful statement about human connection. Our guest, Dr. Michael Banissy, is a leading expert in the science of social connection. As a professor of social neuroscience at the University of Bristol, his work explores how we understand and respond to others, particularly through touch, empathy, and emotional communication. In his recent book, “When We Touch”, Dr. Banissy offers insights that are timely in a world where our social bonds are increasingly shaped by screens. Today, we’ll talk with him about…

Whether it’s our shopping habits, Google searches, or Facebook friends, we are all aware that our personal information is being collected and often sold online.  But what about our thoughts, what’s going on in our minds? With all the advances in consumer Neurotechnology and AI, stealing data from our brains is no longer science fiction and at least for now, it can collected and used without our consent.    Can anything be done to stop this intrusion into our most personal information? Dr. Sean Pauzauski, Medical Director at the Neurorights Foundation, discusses how companies collect our brain data, and whether or…

Why do you exercise?  It might be to lose weight, maintain or improve your health, reduce stress, or perhaps a combination of all of these.  But what is actually motivating you is simpler than that.  As Dr. Gary Wenk reveals in his book “Your Brian on Exercise”,  you exercise because your brain needs you to move, and it will do everything it can to motivate you to do it.  He provides fascinating insights into exactly what is happening to our brains when we go jogging, lift weights, swim laps, or take a walk, as well as what happens when we…