Podcast Corner: Brisk walks and cold showers feature among Michael Mosley's top tips
Michael Mosley, presenter of the Just One Thing show.
It’s never too late to make a resolution - and what better time to reassess things and make a life change than a summer break? Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley (BBC Sounds) offers 10 15-minute episodes that offer up a new health idea and why experts say it’s good for you. It features ‘guinea pigs’, who keep a gratitude journal for a week or learn a new skill, like a language on Duolingo, and extol the virtues of doing so - but just like a new year’s resolution, it’s easy to do something for a week, but it’s all about building it into your regular habits.
Here’s six of the tips we’ve taken onboard from the series.
We all start losing our ability to stay upright from the age of 35 or 40 - Prof Dawn Skelton says it’s getting worse with each generation, particularly as we’re spending so much time on our screens. Something as simple as standing on one leg while brushing your teeth can help, as can tai chi and using a wobbleboard.
Sea swimming has enjoyed a resurgence in the past decade. Incorporating a cold shower into your day is also good for you. The first time, it triggers a stress response, your heart rate will shoot up, and your body will be filled with adrenaline. Gradually you adapt, and by exposing ourselves to small amounts of stress in a controlled way, we enjoy benefits in our immune systems, not to mention mentally.
Just a couple extra hours a week outdoors can help with levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Prof Ming Kuo says whether forest, seaside, mountain, or tree-lined streets, you’ll see (different) benefits from each setting.
A hot bath before bed can help with our sleep. The heat of a bath, and the cooling down once we get out, mimics the onset of sleep, says Prof Jason Ellis, explaining that it signals that it’s time for sleep.
The likes of fermented food like kefir, sauerkraut, and kombucha are beneficial, even to our mental health. Kirsten Berding Harold from University College Cork explains the reasons why, detailing a study she undertook - and advising that you ease into such dietary changes. Mosley interjects to warn of ‘fartichokes’.
A daily walk is obviously good for you - but it’s also good to push yourself harder, possibly even helping you live longer and cutting your risk of heart disease, says Prof Marie Murphy from Ulster University, explaining just what brisk is: You can feel your heart beating, you feel yourself warming up, you’re breathing faster than usual, but you’re still comfortable enough to carry on a conversation.
