Joining Andrew on the podcast is Dr Sarah McKay, a renowned neuroscientist and science communicator, specialising in simplifying brain science to promote health, wellbeing, and creativity.
“For me what’s really cool and exciting is it’s such an enormously rich and continually evolving discipline. There’s always something new to learn, it’s always challenging me and it also gives access to really cool people who are passionate about understanding the biological mechanisms that sort of sit below how we think and feel and behave.”
In this episode Andrew and Dr Sarah discuss:
4:00 What is neuroscience and neuroplasticity.
11:30 Be selective where you get your information from.
13:30 Dr Sarah’s approach to teaching neuroscience.
16:15 How we interpret the information from around us.
20:50 Dr Sarah’s studies into insomnia.
24:30 Teenagers brains going through puberty.
27:00 Creating bio banks of data.
29:00 Reframing the way we frame the word ‘mood’ in relation to female sex hormomes and teenager brains.
33:55 How our opinions on menopause have changed over time.
37:10 Being good role models for your children.
38:45 What can happen if they don’t have those positive role models.
42:15 How the pandemic made people act cruel to one another.
43:20 The neurobiology of napping.
45:30 Basic protocols around how to nap.
49:45 The effect of napping on your cognition and memory.
52:10 Keeping your brain fit into old age.
55:25 Dr Sarah’s study of people of different ages running a hedge maze.
1:03:00 The struggle women face fighting ageing.
1:07:30 The shocking lack of research into women’s health.
1:14:30 The mark Dr Sarah wants to leave on the world.
You can find Dr Sarah at her Website: https://drsarahmckay.com/
At her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsarahmckay/
Or at her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahmmckay/
Additional Resources:
https://www.nature.com/articles/nn.4458
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-90084-y
https://drsarahmckay.com/these-are-the-7-habits-of-highly-healthy-brains-in-order-of-importance/
