Health Psychology and Human Nature

What is Happiness? Is happiness more than just feeling good? What do different people mean when they use the word happiness? What did ancient philosophers like Aristotle mean when they used the word happiness?   Joar Vittersø is a professor in Psychology and have spent many years studying and researching the ancient concept of Eudaimonia. He is also the editor of The Oxford Handbook of Eudaimonic Wellbeing which I highly recommend if you want to get a better grasp of what Eudaimonia is.   I really enjoyed my conversation with Joar and hope you will too.

Hope all of you are doing well during the circumstances. Unfortunately, there will not be any more episodes 2020. The reason is that I have had too much work with other projects. I will keep on making episodes though and from 2021 I will release 1-2 episodes a month sporadically. Last but not least, I wish you all a Merry Christmas in advance and a Happy New Year.  André

Too much demand? Too little recovery? Stress is something that affects all of us to some degree. But what is Stress? How could a scenario look like from healthy to clinically burned out? Perhaps most importantly, what can you do about it?   Giorgio Grossi is a licensed Psychotherapist and Head of Research at the special stress clinic Stressmottagningen in Sweden.  He is an author of many stress-related books such as Hantera din Stress med Kognitiv Beteendeterapi and Vägen ur Utmattningssyndrom.   For more episodes follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB.   Have a terrific day.

How do we sense if we have eaten or not and how is that linked to how long an organism lives? In today’s interesting episode David tells us about the mechanistic target of rapamycin, mTOR for short.   Professor David Sabatini is a member of the Whitehead Institute at MIT and perhaps more importantly the person who discovered mTOR.    Friends I really hope you will enjoy today's Episode.

How does our Microbiome affect our health and how long we live? How does drugs like Metformin and others affect us through the Microbiome? In today's conversation Filipe shares his views on this and a lot more.    Filipe Cabreiro is the Principal Investigator of the Cabreiro Lab which focus on how the Microbiome regulates the effect of Drugs and Diet on Healthspan and Lifespan.   Have a terrific day.

Mitochondria are often referred to as the powerhouse of the cell. They are important as they create energy which enables us to live our daily lives. Mitochondria also seem to affect our health, aging, diabetes and more. How can we affect our Mitochondria? Exercise.   Professor David Bishop is a world leader in muscle exercise physiology with more 250 publications. David leads the Skeletal Muscle and Training research group, which has two key research areas: exercise as mitochondrial medicine, and human performance.   Davids Twitter: @BlueSpotScience   Hope you enjoy it.  

Making and maintaining a change can be hard. Thankfully something exists called Motivational Interviewing which is a powerful approach to facilitate change. In today’s episode me and Dawn talk about what Motivational Interviewing is and why it works. We also talk about dawns book: Motivational Interviewing in Nutrition and Fitness.   Dawn Clifford, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at Northern Arizona University. She teaches courses in nutrition education and counseling and has experience implementing and directing university-based health coaching programs. She is also a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.   Resources mentioned in the episode   Videos of effective and ineffective MI: https://www.youtube.com/user/MerloLab/   Book of MI for the individual: Finding Your Way to Change   The official MI webpage: https://motivationalinterviewing.org/   Hope you enjoy the episode.

How does our beliefs affect us and our lives? Does it matter if we believe we can or can’t learn and grow? In today’s episode me and Kali talk about The Growth Mindset. What it is; how it affects us; tips on where to learn more about it and suggestions of how to internalizing it.   Kali Trzesniewski have a Ph.D. in Psychology from UC Davis. She is a social-developmental psychologist with an interest in understanding how to raise children to grow up to be healthy productive members of society. She studies how self-perception such as growth mindset and self-esteem fosters thriving lives throughout the lifespan.   Have a terrific day.

What role does Music play when it comes to Exercise? According to new fascinating research, music seems to be one important element of a good workout. Making it more enjoyable and can improve performance.   Matthew Stork PhD have done several studies of how music affects exercise and have also worked as a strength and condition coach at McMaster University. He is also highly interested in getting more people on the exercise bandwagon.   For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB.   Have a terrific day.

Can what we believe affect the outcome of a drug and change the neurochemistry of our brain? What happens when we connect with and believe in our doctors? The Placebo Effect is a powerful real thing which can have a big impact in treatments and everyday life. Today Karin explains what the placebo effect is, the biology of the placebo effect, the mechanisms of the placebo effect and much more.   Associate Professor Karin Jensen is the leader of the Pain Neuroimaging Lab at the Karolinska Institute, a research group focusing on brain mechanisms involved in the experience of pain and placebo effect.   For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB.   Have a terrific day.  

How does our Life affect our genes and in turn our health? Can our wellbeing make us more resilient? How does threat and uncertainty affect our Health? In today’s episode Steve provides his thoughts on these questions and more.   Steve Cole is a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences in the UCLA School of Medicine. He studies e.g. how life events, loneliness, wellbeing and subjective experiences affect our gene expression and health.   Hope you will enjoy today's episode.

How ought one to live? Epicureanism is a Philosophy created by Epicurus who lived 341-270 BC. It is famous for it’s thoughts about the meaning of life/how you should live your life. Epicureanism focus on reducing your mental and emotional pain and satisfying your basic needs such as food, shelter and connection with others. This is believed to create a peaceful enjoyment/tranquility named Ataraxia. Dr. Catherine Wilson is a former Professor of Philosophy with degrees in Philosophy from Yale, Oxford and Princeton. She has written three books related to Epicureanism: How to Be an Epicurean, Epicureanism: A Very Short Introduction and Epicureanism at the Origin of Modernity. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Is it possible to affect how long we live and our long term health? Can you live until you become 100 with the health of a 60 year old? Luigi Fontana have a science based broad approach to both longevity and long term health(healthspan). He also shares his great thoughts about the good life and how we can affect the state of our planet. I highly encourage you to check out his new book named “The Path To Longevity”. Luigi Fontana is a Professor of Medicine and Nutrition and a Leonard P. Ullman chair in translational metabolic health. He is also the director of the healthy longevity research and clinical program. You find him on Twitter at: @LuigiFontana22 For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.  

Can the adult brain change for the better? In todays episode the friendly and knowledgeable Michael Merzenich tells us all about Neuroplasticity (the brains ability to change), the physical underpinnings of the changing brain, what happens to the brain as it gets older, brain training and a lot more. Professor Emeritus Michael Merzenich have published more than 150 articles in scientific journals (some in Science and Nature) and received numerous awards and prizes. An example is one of the world’s top neuroscience prizes named the Kavli prize. He is also the brain behind BrainHQ (a brain training company) and the author of the book Soft-Wired. Have a terrific day.  

How does a week of exercise optimized for health and longevity look like? How does a one minute workout at high intensity compare to a 50 minute workout at moderate intensity? What is interval training and why is it important? Answers to these and many other  questions will be given in todays episode by the pedagogical expert Martin Gibala. Martin Gibala is a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada. His main interest is the physiology of exercise, including the effects of training and nutrition and application to health and performance. Martin have also written the bestseller the One Minute Workout which you will learn more about in today’s episode.        If you want to connect to Martin you can do that through Twitter or his personal website. He and a college also created an online course about exercise which you can find here. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.    

What are emotions? What problems can one get from emotions? How can you handle your emotions in a better way? These questions and other will be answered today by the Swedish clinician Kristoffer Pettersson. Kristoffers have specialized in experience-based methods, such as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Affect Focused Therapy. He is the co-author of two Swedish books on Affect Focused Therapy, the latest one being “I befintligt skick”. He also run the education company Mendeleo which brings together lecturers in the field of applied psychology and offers further education to professionals in human care professions. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

How does calorie restriction, intermittent fasting, exercise, stress, drugs and supplements affect our ageing and health? You’ll learn all about it in todays episode with professor Brian Kennedy. It is highly important to focus on ageing as it is a big risk factor when it comes to many chronic diseases such as Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s, Diabetes and Cancer.   Brian is the Director of National University Health System (NUHS) Centre for Healthy  Ageing in Singapore. He and his lab is directed at understanding the biology of ageing and translating research discoveries into new ways of delaying, detecting, preventing and treating ageing and associated diseases. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Can we live longer due to a healthy microbiome? Dario have done some fascinating work when it comes to how fish age due to it’s microbiome. How much longer do they live and why? You’ll get the answers in todays episode.   Dario Valenzano is a group leader at the Max Planck institute. He is interested in ageing, the microbiome, evolution and a lot more.  He has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and have worked at Stanford University before starting his work at the Max Planck institute.   Darios Twitter: @darissambaya   For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB.   Have a terrific day.

Health really begins at the cellular level according to professor Terry Wahls. Terry is a patient with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, which confined her to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years. Although Dr. Wahls restored her health using a diet and lifestyle program she designed specifically for her brain and is now able to pedals her bike to work each day. Today we talk about her recovery, her current studies and Mitochondria. Dr. Terry Wahls is a clinical professor at the University of Iowa where she conducts clinical trials testing the efficacy of therapeutic lifestyle to treat multiple sclerosis related symptoms. In addition, she is the author of The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles ,and the cookbook The Wahls Protocol Cooking for Life: The Revolutionary Modern Paleo Plan to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions.           For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Interested in improving your life? In todays Episode Massimo tells us about how to practice stoicism, a practical philosophy of life; how to improve upon yourself; How to Exercise the Dichotomy of Control which is the main concept in Stoicism; How to start our practice and a lot more. Professor Massimo Pigliucci is known for popularizing Stoicism with e.g. his TEDx talk viewed more than 400 000 times, his short TEDed video with more than 4 million views and a lot of presentations and books. Two of his books are: How to Be a Stoic and A Handbook for New Stoics. To see more of Massimos work go to: https://massimopigliucci.com/massimo-central/ Follow Massimo on Twitter: @MassimoPigliucci For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature on Instagram and FB.

Does brain training work? What can you do to improve your cognition and why do we have consciousness? In todays episode we get into all of this good stuff. Adjunct Research Professor Bobby Stojanoski is highly interested in both how the brain works and our experience and studies things like memory, attention and perception. He use advanced techniques like fMRI and EEG to measure what is going on in the brain For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Learn a ton about Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) for children and adults. What it is, how you know if you or someone else have the diagnosis, what treatment options exist, how to get an evaluation, the stigma around it and so much more. Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist, Lecturer in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Lexington where he does work regarding ADHD, OCD, eating disorders and body image issues in boys and men. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day and please enjoy. 

Only Tuesdays, no more Fridays. Once a week, not twice a week.  The golden days of two episodes per week is up, at least for now. It was lovely, nice and fantastic, but some times some good things must come to an end, and that time is now for two episodes per week. From now on Health Psychology and Human Nature will only be released once a week on Tuesdays. But I will of course continue to create new great episodes about interesting topics with some of the best scientists each and every Tuesday. Friends, take care and I’ll see you in the next episode.

How do species change over time and why are we attracted to certain things? Today I and Professor Richard Prum get into Natural Selection, Sexual Selection and the Evolution of Beauty. We also get into sexual stuff like why the penis is the way it is and orgasms.  Richard is an evolutionary ornithologist, meaning he really know his birds and evolution. He has written the book The Evolution of Beauty in which he argues for Darwin’s long-neglected theory of sexual selection, in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons – for the mere pleasure of it – is an independent engine of evolutionary change. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Only Tuesdays, no more Fridays. Once a week, not twice a week.  The golden days of two episodes per week are up, at least for now. It was lovely, nice and fantastic, but some times some good things must come to an end, and that time is now for two episodes per week. But I will of course continue to create new great episodes about interesting topics with some of the best scientists each and every Tuesday. Friends, take care and I’ll see you in the next episode.    

How did we get our brain and how is it different from other brains? The answer to those questions are given in todays episode by Associate Professor Suzana Herculano-Houzel. We also get into how many neurons we have, how many neurons we have in our cerebral cortex, how our brain compares to other brains, how we got our brain and how much energy our brain use. Suzana Herculano-Houzel is an Associate Professor of the Departments of Psychology and Biological Sciences at Vanderbilt University. Her TED talk “What is so special about the human brain” has been seen almost 500 000 times on YouTube alone. She has written many books, one of which is The Human Advantage. Friends I really hope you will enjoy today's episode

How does videogames affect our wellbeing? In todays episode Rachel Ph.D. tells us about how Video Games (on computer, console, phone etc.) affect our wellbeing and mental health; how it teaches us a variety of skills; how it gives us a pause from our problems and so much more. We also get into addiction; playing as a child and if if playing makes us more aggressive. Rachel Kowert is a gamer herself with a Ph.D. from the University of New York who’s research focus on games. She has written and edited numerous scientific articles and books. Two of which are a parents guide to video games and Video Games and Well-being. The latter is the first book ever to be published of the positive effects of gaming. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Friends, hope you enjoy the episode. 

Is breakfast the most important meal of the day? Not so according to Professor Mark Mattson who is a leading expert when it comes to intermittent fasting. In todays episode you will learn what intermittent fasting is, what processes it starts within us and how it affects health and disease. Mark Mattson is one of the foremost experts in the world when it comes to intermittent fasting. Mark has more than 150 000 citations which is remarkable. The National Institute of Health considers him "one of the world’s top experts on the potential cognitive and physical health benefits of intermittent fasting". For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB.   Hope you will enjoy the episode.  

Gentle touch is fundamental to human development and have a great effect on health according to Professor Francis McGlone. In today's episode discuss the underlying c-fibres that transmits the signal from gentle touch into our brain and awareness. Professor Francis McGlone is the head of the Somatosensory & Affective Neuroscience Group at the School of Natural Sciences & Psychology in Liverpool. His primary area of research is characterizing the role of afferent c-fibres in humans. Investigating both pain, itch and gentle touch. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Really hope you enjoy the episode.

How should you live your life? Stoicism is a practically oriented philosophy which focus on how to live a good life and how to improve upon yourself. In today’s conversation Professor Massimo talks about what Stoicism is, the importance in what we can and can’t control, how to improve your character and tips for those that want to learn more. Professor Massimo is known for popularizing Stoicism with e.g. his TEDx talk viewed more than 400 000 times,  his short TEDed video with more than 4 million views and a lot of presentations and books. Two relevant books are: How to be a Stoic and A Handbook for New Stoics. To see more of Massimos work go to: https://massimopigliucci.com/massimo-central/ Follow Massimo on Twitter: @MassimoPigliucci For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature on Instagram and FB. Hope you enjoy the episode. 

A very interesting conversation about stress appraisals and mindsets. It is highly interesting how what we think and how we evaluate a situation can affect both our mind and body. It is also very interesting how our beliefs seem to be malleable, especially if we are motivated to change our beliefs. Jeremy Jamieson is an associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Rochester who focuses on social stress, decision making, emotion regulation, risk and uncertainty. He wants to better understand how social stress impact our lives and examines both psychological and biological forces that impact decisions, emotions, and performance.  For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Take care friends and enjoy.

Today we have an interesting conversation about personalised integrative therapy which is a holistic individualized approach to mental health. Including: Lifestyle, diet & nutrition, psychology, relationships and more. Dr. Adrian Lopresti is a Clinical Psychologist in a private practice, senior researcher at Murdoch University, Western Australia, and managing director of Clinical Research Australia. For more episodes, tips and inspiration please follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Hope you enjoy the episode and have a great day!

In todays episode you will learn a lot about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and the most effective treatment named Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Doing what you fear without the compulsion is the hallmark of ERP. We also get into toxifying and detoxifying ways to relate to thoughts. Dr. David A. Clark is a professor emeritus and a clinical psychologist who got training by no other than Aaron T. Beck, the father of cognitive therapy. His research focuses on vulnerability, cognitive factors, assessment and treatment of depression and anxiety, especially OCD. He has written numerous books and scientific publications. If you want to learn more about how to handle your thoughts check out David’s book the Anxious Thoughts Workbook For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Do you lie often? Everything you need to know about lies and lie detection. How often we lie, why we lie,  how good we are at telling if someone else is lying as well as technologies and techniques to find out if someone is lying or not. Erik Mac Giolla is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. He has a broad interest in legal psychology. His primary research area is on deception detection and cues to deceit. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Hope you enjoy the episode. 

Friends. In todays episode Professor Vittorio Galese explains why we like to go to the movies, what happens with us when we look at a movie, what the differences are between the absorption of a movie and experiencing the real world and a lot more. Check out Vittorio’s book The Empathic Screen by clicking the link: http://bit.ly/theempathicscreen Vittorio Gallese, MD and trained neurologist, is Professor of Psychobiology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the Dept. of Medicine & Surgery of the University of Parma, Italy, Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, Dept. of Art History and Archeology, Columbia University, New York, USA and Einstein Fellow at the Berlin School of Mind & Brain of Humboldt University. Cognitive neuroscientist, his research focuses on the relation between the sensory-motor system and cognition by investigating the neurobiological and bodily grounding of intersubjectivity, empathy, language and aesthetics. He is the author of more than 200 scientific publications and three books. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @HealthPsychologyAndHumnNature on Instagram and FB. Please enjoy and take care!

Omega-3 seems to be one of most important supplements when it comes to health. It is also one of the most studied supplements. In todays episode we discuss how omega-3 affect the heart, mental health, babies and even sperm. We also discuss how much Omega-3 you need, supplements and dietary sources and how to measure your omega-3 levels. Today I talk with both Dr. Bill Harris and Dr. Kristina Harris Jackson. Bill is an internationally recognized expert on omega-3 fatty acids and especially how they can benefit patients with heart disease. Bill has studied omega-3s since the 1980’s. Dr Kristina Harris Jackson has a PhD in Nutritional Sciences with a particular focus on how omega-3s affect pregnant women and babies. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day and hope you enjoy this interesting episode.

What is physical intelligence? Sometimes, you need to do it to know it. Your hands have to be on the steering wheel to learn the feel of slipping tires. You need to be watching the traffic to judge the best moment to cross the road. Everything we do, from changing a lightbulb to navigating unknown terrain relies on physical intelligence, our oldest and most important form of cognition according to Professor Scott Grafton. To learn more check out his book: Physical Intelligence : The Science of Thinking Without Thinking Scott Grafton is a distinguished professor at UC Santa Barbara and the director of the UCSB imaging center. He is interested in how people organize movement into goal-oriented action. The emphasis is on elucidating the cognitive architecture that underlies action representation. This is developed with studies of sequence and skill acquisition, motor simulation, sensorimotor transformation, on-line control and action observation experiments. Brain-behavior relationships are defined using fMRI, transcranial magnetic stimulation, patient based research and high-density electroencephalography. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Please enjoy and take care friends.  

Does DNA affect who we become? If you have siblings or children you can probably tell that we as humans are both similar and dissimilar. In todays episode Robert Plomin tell us about how DNA affects who we become and stress the importance of both DNA and the environment. We also discuss the importance of DNA for preventing health problems and for having better lives. Robert Plomin is a Professor in Behavioural Genetics at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He has published more than 800 papers and is the author of the best-selling textbook in the field as well as a dozen other books. His most recent book is Blueprint: How DNA Makes Us Who We Are  For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Please enjoy and have a great day. 

In today's interesting episode me and the great storyteller, professor emeritus Brian Fagan, do a deep dive into our history. We talked about the first modern Europeans, the Cro-Magnon. Who they were, how they lived, how they differed from the Neanderthals and us, their culture, what they ate and much more. A great conversation to better understand our European ancestors and thereby ourselves. If you want to learn more, check out his book on the topic named “Cro-Magnon How the Ice Age Gave Birth to the First Modern Humans. Brian Fagan is a professor emeritus of Anthropology who have written several archaeology books. He attendeted Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he studied archaeology and anthropology (BA 1959, MA 1962, PhD 1965). For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Hope you enjoy it. 

Looking at your smartphone too much? It is time to outsmart your smartphone. In todays episode Tchiki Davis Ph.D. tells us about how to decrease our screen time and increase the quality of our lives when we are not looking at out screens. We also get into gratitude interventions and talk about other interventions to increase wellbeing. Check out her book Outsmart Your Smartphone: Conscious Tech Habits for Finding Happiness to learn more. Tchiki Davis, M.A., Ph.D., is a Berkeley graduate and well-being-technology expert. Dr. Davis draws on her experiences building well-being products and interventions in Silicon Valley to deliver innovative ideas for increasing personal well-being. To learn more about how Tchiki can help you measure and improve well-being, please visit her at berkeleywellbeing.com. Want to try positive psychology interventions? Go to: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/ For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Have a terrific day.

Do you know someone who does not like how they look? Both women and men have thoughts about their looks which can go to the extreme. In Muscle Dysmorphia, sometimes referred to as reversed Anorexia, the individual have the perception of looking small even though being muscular. In today's episode we get into the Adonix Complex, a book which details the various manifestations of body image problems in men. We also talk about these topics in general. Dr. Roberto Olivardia is a Clinical Psychologist, Lecturer in Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He maintains a private psychotherapy practice in Lexington, Massachusetts, where he specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and body image issues in boys and men. His work also includes ADHD and OCD. His work in these fields spans almost 25 years. He is co-author of The Adonis Complex.

Science of the Wim Hof Method. Everything you need to know about the science of the Wim Hof Method. Who Wim is, how his method of the breathing, cold and meditation work. Also how it affects you, your body, brain and mind. In today's episode I have a conversation with Pierre Capel, professor emeritus in experimental immunology at the Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Pierre is a friend of Wim Hof and knows the science of the Wim Hof Method. Pierre is an author and recently published a book called The emotional DNA. For more episodes, tips and inspiration follow me at @healthpsychologyandhumannature on Instagram and FB. Friends, please enjoy.

How ought one to live? What is human nature? Why are habits important? Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas was thinking about these topics thousands of years ago. In this episode Professor Thomas Spalding teach us about the Aristotelian-Thomistic view about the human person and its view of the good life, human growth and development. To learn more, read the book: The Human Person: What Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas Offer Modern Psychology Thomas L. Spalding is a Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Associate Dean Graduate Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta. His research focuses on the psychology of concepts and the relation between the human conceptual and language systems. He is the author of over 65 journal articles and book chapters and over 100 conference presentations and invited talks. For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Friends, hope you like the episode. 

In today's episode Professor Bobby Duffy explains why we are wrong about a lot of things like murder rate and the number of teenage moms. We talk about fascinating concepts like: emotional innumeracy, confirmation bias, rosy retrospection and other biases. We also get into the dangers of not having a balanced view of the current state of our countries and the world. To learn more read Bobby’s book: Why We're Wrong About Nearly Everything: A Theory of Human Misunderstanding Bobby is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute. Prior to joining King's in 2018, Bobby was Managing Director of Public Affairs for Ipsos MORI, which is a team of around 250 researchers in London, Manchester, Edinburgh and Brussels, and Global Director of the Ipsos Social Research Institute, across around 30 countries.  For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Friends, hope you enjoy the episode. 

Are we born with an intuitive understanding of numbers or is it something we learn later in life? In today's fascinating episode we discuss the number instinct, what it is, how it’s traced back evolutionarily, the biological underpinnings and more. To learn more read Andreas book: A brain for numbers. Andreas Nieder is a professor of animal physiology and the director of the institute of neurobiology (University of Tübingen). For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Friends, enjoy and have a great day.  Have a great week.

Can you influence how long you live and is there any molecules that extend lifespan? In today's episode Professor Matt Kaeberlein teach us about aging, how to affect aging and the interesting molecule Rapamycin. He also tells us about the dog aging project which focuses on understanding aging with the help of man's best friend. Please read more at: www.dogagingproject.org Dr. Matt Kaeberlein is a Professor of Pathology, Adjunct Professor of Genome Sciences, and Adjunct Professor of Oral Health Sciences at the University of Washington. His research interests are focused on basic mechanisms of aging in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. He has published more than 200 papers in top scientific journals.   For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Enjoy and have a terrific day.

Have you ever wondered why we do what we do? E.g. Why we crave unhealthy food or tend for our young? In today's interesting episode we discussed what evolutionary psychology is. Evolutionary Psychology have a lot to do with why questions: Why we like what we like and do what we do. We also talk about related subjects such as Evolution, Psychology, The Mind, Behavior and much more. Katja Valli is an adjunct professor at the University of Turku with an interest in consciousness, altered states of consciousness, sleep, dreaming, anesthesia and evolutionary psychology. For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Friends. Please enjoy and have a great day. 

Friends. Friendships are essential and more important than we think. In today's episode Science Journalist Lydia explains how friendships affect our brainwaves, genomes, cardiovascular system, immune system, longevity and a lot more. It is also very important in evolutionary terms; it increase how long we live and the health of our offspring. To learn more, check out her new book Friendship: The evolution, biology, and extraordinary power of life’s fundamental bond. Lydia Denworth is a contributing editor at Scientific American. Her work has also appeared in the Atlantic, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time, Newsweek and many other publications.  To learn more about Lydia and her work: Webpage: lydiadenworth.com/ Twitter: twitter.com/lydiadenworth For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Please enjoy and have a terrific day.

Everything you need to know about Vitamin D: What it is, what to measure, various effects on: health, mental health, cognition, autoimmune disease, the brain, our genes etc. The optimal range of Vitamin D and instructions for getting your vitamin D from the sun and supplements.  Professor Michael F. Holick is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Vitamin D. He was responsible for identifying 25-hydroxycitamin D3 as the major circulating form of vitamin D in human blood. He has published over 800 journal articles, book chapters, editorials, and proceedings. He has also written 13 books including the best seller The Vitamin D Solution. For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Friends, enjoy and have a great day. 

Why are we nice to each other? Why do we show appreciation when someone is nice to us in evolutionary terms? A very interesting conversation about what gratitude is and an evolutionary explanation as to why it exists. We also get into discussing emotions, gratitude interventions and a lot of other things. Dr. Debra Lieberman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Miami. Her research aims to understand how evolution has shaped the social mind. Check out the University of Miami here: https://welcome.miami.edu/ For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Enjoy and have a great week!

Who are you? What is your personality? Over 100 years of research have been summarized in a model called the five factor model aka Big Five Personality. Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism are the five factors that help us better understand ourselves as human beings. In this episode we discuss all of these in detail. If you are interested in doing the personality-test, go to: http://www.personalitytest.net/ipip/ipipneo120.html Petri Kajonius is an associate professor focusing on personality, intelligence, group psychology, subjective well-being and more. The Episode: 2:30 Show starts 15:00 What is Openness? 38:00 Evolutionary personality 45:30 Neuroticism 57:30 Agreeableness/Conscientiousness 72:30 Extraversion 79:00 Applications - Personality tests 86:00 The Big Five as a book 91:30 What is untrue? 94:00 What would you like to change? 95:30 What is most important? For more episodes, inspiration and more, follow André at: Instagram: instagram.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Facebook: facebook.com/HealthPsychologyAndHumanNature Please enjoy and have a great day!