Better Brain, Better You

Women experience three reproductive stages in their lives - puberty, pregnancy, and perimenopause - that change their brain in unique ways. These three critical stages in a woman’s reproductive life are accompanied by huge hormonal changes that have huge effects on her brain. I share how a woman’s brain changes during each of these stages and what she can do to protect her brain health now and for the rest of her life.

Trauma can actually make you feel more resilient and leave you better equipped to tackle future challenges. Although "post-traumatic growth" often happens naturally, without therapy or other interventions, it can be facilitated using five growth strategies: through education, emotional regulation, disclosure, narrative development, and service. I discuss how to use these five strategies to start growing after trauma. You can emerge stronger yourself. And you can help and support others to...

One of the biggest issues for parents of teens is figuring out what’s “normal” teenage behaviour and when their child might need some extra support. I talk to parenting expert, blogger and influencer, Helen Wills, about how parents can support teenagers through the many different challenges that they face during adolescence. We also touch on another big issue for midlife mums, which can be just as confusing and challenging as parenting a teenager: managing the menopause.

When our children begin the slow transition to adulthood, many of them struggle more with anger. It’s important to keep in mind that anger is not the problem - it’s a symptom of a deeper problem or challenge. When we have a deeper understanding of what ramps up rage, particularly spontaneous or irrational anger for our teens, we can better support them during this turbulent and confusing time. I explain why teenagers can be so angry and how to deal with their emotional outbursts without...

Anyone who has ever gone on a run will be familiar with that "runner's high” feeling - that euphoric sense you get after a jog where you feel on top of the world. That post-workout good mood isn't just anecdotal: research has consistently shown that, in addition to physical health benefits, exercise boosts your mood and happiness. I breakdown why exercise is such a powerful mood-booster and how it can make you happy now and in the long-term.

How you act and behave as a parent or carer has a massive influence over your teenager’s attitudes, behaviour and choices. I breakdown why parents are the most important role models for teenagers and how they can be a positive role model in their life. Role modelling works in relation to virtually everything – from how you handle emotions such as frustration and anger, to how you respect and relate to other people, to how you cope with stress and difficulties, to eating patterns and...

All women experience the menopause. Yet many women and health professionals still don’t fully understand the signs and symptoms of peri-menopause and menopause or know how to best treat them. I have a really important and wide-ranging discussion with GP and world-leading menopause specialist, Dr Louise Newson, about how to prepare for, monitor and manage the peri-menopause and menopause.

Do you think your genes are your destiny? Once you’ve inherited the “Alzheimer’s gene” then that’s it, you will get dementia and there’s nothing you can do about it! It’s time to change your assumptions. The way you live your life can actually change your genetic makeup. Your lifestyle choices - the foods you put in your body, the chemicals you are exposed to, how active you choose to be, even the type of people you choose to spend time with - can switch off and switch on different genes to...

Comedy and mental health don’t seem like natural bedfellows, but there is really good evidence that laughter triggers the release of endorphins boosting our mood and mental well-being. I talk to comedian and mental health ambassador Juliette Burton about the relationship between comedy and mental health and how she’s using her stand up shows to educate the world about mental health.

Addiction treatment is failing worldwide because it deals with the effects of addiction which is addictive behaviour, rather than the actual the cause of the addiction which is childhood trauma. I discuss why addiction is an attempt to deal with the pain of childhood trauma and the path to recovery starts with reconnection with your true self. By restoring the connections with your body and the emotions you lost as a child you can start the process of recovery.

Your brain is shrinking, costing you memories and mental sharpness. Brain shrinkage is closely related to symptoms of ageing, including mental decline, cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and even poor sleep habits. You can prevent brain shrinkage by adopting healthy lifestyle habits that boost your brain’s vulnerabilities. For example, lowering blood pressure, lowering your blood sugar, improving sleep can help to stop brain shrinkage and improve your chances for a long, mentally fit...

Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise that strengthens your heart and circulatory system. But it also really benefits your brain and mental health. It encourages the brain to release brain chemicals that elevate your mood and repairs damage to brain cells and grows new ones to improve your memory. Cold water swimming triggers the release of a ‘cold-shock’ protein that slows down the onset of dementia. So swimming in water builds and repairs your brain while your worries drift away.

Experiences from decades ago still affect how you think, feel and behave today. Traumatic events and experiences that you endured early in life as a child or teen have a lasting effect on your emotional wellbeing as an adult. Childhood trauma takes many different forms, including abuse and neglect. And almost a third of young people in the UK experience trauma that doubles their risk of experiencing mental health challenges later in life. I discuss how childhood trauma filters through into...

Emotional ups and downs are are a normal part of adolescence, making it difficult for parents to distinguish between normal teenage moodiness and mental health struggles. Teens might not always be able to articulate what they’re going through, and they might not want to talk to parents about it. So how can parents support a teenager’s mental well-being? I share how parents can make themselves available and what they should say to teens to support difficult feelings and mental...

Wet towels left in their wake, a sea of strewn clothes where there once was carpet, plates of food festering under the bed…why are teenagers so messy? A teen’s untidiness is a real bugbear for many parents and can be the source of ongoing conflict in many families. I explain why a messy bedroom is an easy, safe way for a teenager to declare their independence. And the protracted process of rewiring their brain during adolescence means that they won’t notice the mess for most of the time...

When a child experiences neglect or abuse early in their life, it has a devastating impact on their physical, mental and emotional development. I discuss how trauma during early childhood changes the brain and why the teenage years are an ideal window of opportunity to rewire a traumatised brain by providing a child with the experiences and opportunities that they missed out on earlier in life.

The Mediterranean diet is perfectly suited to women’s health. Partly due to the beneficial effects on the heart, it’s also good for a woman's brain. Women who follow the Mediterranean diet have younger looking brains but, unlike women who eat a western diet, show no early brain signs of Alzheimer’s disease, and experience fewer and milder menopausal symptoms. I share a simple step-by-step diet plan with the right intake of nutrients to help women keep their brain young, reduce menopause...

What happened to the sweet little girl who you’ve loved and nurtured for more than decade? Who is this irrational, untidy and moody young women living in your house, who seems to find everything about you so embarrassing? I have a really interesting and wide ranging discussion with parenting columnist, Lorraine Candy, about how to survive the challenges of parenting teenage girls. We cover topics ranging from why teenage girls are so mean to mums, how to connect with teens, dealing with...

The menopause opens a new chapter in a woman’s life that can take her on roller coaster ride of foreign feelings, lasting easily a decade or more. From hot flushes to low mood to insomnia to forgetfulness, menopause can be deeply distressing for many women. I look at the impact of fluctuating hormones on a woman’s brain health and how to manage well-being during menopause.

It’s hard for people to feel hopeful in these uncertain times. But having hope for the future helps to build resilience and gives people the will, determination, and sense of empowerment to tackle their mental health challenges. I talk to Jonny Benjamin, a mental health campaigner, about his truly extraordinary story and new book, ‘The Book Of Hope’. Jonny was 20 and standing on the edge of Waterloo bridge about to jump. A passer-by, a stranger, noticed his distress and took the time to talk...