Health & Wellbeing

We'll go to the doctor when we feel flu-ish or a nagging pain. So why don’t we see a health professional when we feel emotional pain: guilt, loss, loneliness? Too many of us deal with common psychological-health issues on our own, says Guy Winch. But we don’t have to. He makes a compelling case to practice emotional hygiene — taking care of our emotions, our minds, with the same diligence we take care of our bodies.

What's the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain today? Exercise! says neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki. Get inspired to go to the gym as Suzuki discusses the science of how working out boosts your mood and memory -- and protects your brain against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.

You're not at your best when you're stressed. In fact, your brain has evolved over millennia to release cortisol in stressful situations, inhibiting rational, logical thinking but potentially helping you survive, say, being attacked by a lion. Neuroscientist Daniel Levitin thinks there's a way to avoid making critical mistakes in stressful situations, when your thinking becomes clouded — the pre-mortem. "We all are going to fail now and then," he says. "The idea is to think ahead to what those failures might be."

The findings of a new comprehensive study conducted in partnership between PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the University of Southern California (USC) reveal insights about how corporate wellbeing programs can help reinforce many of the healthy habits employees start as part of their New Year’s resolutions.

In this episode, we speak with Wendy Suzuki, Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at New York University, about how extreme stress affects our brains. We’ll explore simple techniques for calming anxiety, the difference between good and bad anxiety, and steps we can take to improve our physical and mental wellbeing.