Podcast appearances and mentions of karen o'leary

Karen O'Leary joined us for a yarn!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We talk to NZ comedian KAren O'leary ahead of the brand new show Paddy Gower Has Issues!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Beat The Bridge Update, Paul's supermarket chase, Karen O'Leary chats to us, Adam's amazing gift for his 84yr old Grandad, Lana's awards night drama

The line-up for Taskmaster NZ's season four has been revealed, and there's some new names in the mix. Dai Henwood and Melanie Bracewell are among the new batch of comedians set to appear on this year's show alongside Jeremy Wells, Paul Williams, Ray O'Leary, Sieni Leo'o Olo and Karen O'Leary. Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall says there's good chemistry within this line-up, and Taskmaster works best when there's unexpected results. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Full Disclosure host Karen O'Leary and creator-producer Kate Langdon turn the spotlight on themselves and share their own coming out journeys with each other.

Happy New Year, and welcome back to our 9th Season, approaching our 4th year of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast.  For those returning, welcome back and for new listeners, I'm Andrea Samadi an author and educator, who launched this podcast in June 2019, for many reasons, but the one that stands out the most today, is to amplify the best practices, tools, strategies and ideas, from authors, experts and leaders who've risen the top of their field, to improve productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces, by connecting an understanding of our brain to their proven strategies. On today's Episode #268 we will cover ✔ An Introduction to Season 9 of our Podcast: Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics ✔ Intro to “Prioritizing Our Mental Health in 2023: Building Self-Awareness and Resilience in the New Year.” ✔ 4 TIPS for Putting our Mental and Physical Health First in 2023 with our Brain in Mind. This season we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics for the next few months, as we welcome some phenomenal pioneers in the field of Neuroscience, paving a pathway for all of us to navigate our lives with more understanding with our brain in mind. My goal with this next season (that will run until the end of June) is that going back to the basics will help us to strengthen our understanding of the brain, and our mind, to our results, and provide us with a springboard to propel us forward in 2023, with this solid backbone of science. Going back to the basics is something we do without thought while teaching a lesson in the classroom, or with skill-building in sports, and it's at the root of our performance improvement plans in the workplace, so before moving forward, I wanted to take some steps back a bit, to intentionally strengthen our direction with this podcast. Before moving forward, I do want to thank our listeners who have taken the time to post a review of the podcast on Apple iTunes. This helps us a lot, so other listeners can learn about the content, and your take-aways, so thank you to Joseue Diaz from Panama for letting me know you enjoyed the episode with Adele Spraggon, about how habits are formed in the brain, and from a review from a faithful listener who let me know you've enjoyed our Deep Dives of Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book, and Jose Silva's Program. Reviews like this make my day, and are extremely motivating to me, especially as I am sitting at my desk, working on finalizing an episode. Thank you for sending the motivation back my way. For today's episode, #268, and our FIRST episode of 2023, BEFORE we dive deeper into the Basics of Neuroscience, I want to begin our year on solid footing, going back to the basics of health by “Prioritizing Our Mental Health in 2023: Building Self-Awareness and Resilience in the New Year.” My good friend, and 2-time returning guest Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, and author of the book, Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today's Schools[i] Greg Wolcott, who was on our 7th episode, as well as our #64th[ii] sent me an email this week that got me thinking of how to launch our year. I already had written out “back to the basics” all over my office, but his email gave me some more direction. He sent me the cover of Dr. Julie Smith's book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before[iii] and I immediately downloaded her book, and began to connect the dots for this episode. In the beginning of her book, Dr. Julie Smith says, It was the last line that she wrote “only more recently has it become acceptable to openly and visibly work on your mental health” that got me. She's 200% right. How many photos have I seen of people working out at the gym at the start of the year, compared to those working on their mindset or mental health? You know, what goes on inside, shows up loud and clear on the outside. We can exercise our body till our legs shake, but if we ignore our mental health, it will, over time, be apparent. I think back to a review we did on psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist Dr. Daniel Amen's book The End of Mental Illness[iv] where something Dr. Amen said stuck with me over the years, and that's that “most of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime—and that “normal” is a myth..that 51% of us will have a mental health issue (post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, an eating disorder)”[v] showing me that it's more normal to have a problem, than not. So today we will focus on our mental health, with a few tools, strategies and ideas that we've uncovered over the past few years, to help all of us put our brain health first this year. This is keeping in theme of going back to the basics. For this week's Brain Fact Friday, and launch of our New Year, DID YOU KNOW that “You are not stuck with the brain you have? You can make it better?” –From Dr. Daniel Amen, who said that in his online course Brain Thrive by 25  and he adds, “your history is not your destiny.” He reminds us to be aware of our genetic vulnerabilities, but that “we can change the structure and function of our brain” by doing things a certain way. Before going into “this certain way” that we can use to change the structure and function of our brain, I wonder, do you know YOUR genetic vulnerabilities? What steps are you taking to move beyond them? Dr. Amen speaks clearly and openly about his, and I've been open about mine on this podcast. I'm fully aware that depression runs in my family, so years ago, I put certain habits like exercise and healthy eating as priority, and it's not something I even think about anymore. It became a healthy, daily, non-negotiable habit.  When you can focus on brain health first, everything else will fall into place, and family history, or genetics can be changed. Here's the Tips We've Gathered to Help All of Us Put Our Mental Health First in 2023. TIP 1: USING EXERCISE TO CREATE MORE BRAIN RESERVE AS WE AGE: Who doesn't want to look younger, as the hands of time move forward? We covered this one on episode #128[vi] with our review of Dr. Daniel Amen's The End of Mental Illness book, but just as a review, look at the graphic he created with the ACRONYM BRIGHT MINDS and listen to this past episode if you want to review ALL of the brain tips we have for each of the letters of BRIGHT MINDS but for today, we will cover the first letter, B that stands for BLOOD FLOW. If your brain doesn't get enough blood flow its function will be compromised”[vii] so Dr. Amen believes “the number one strategy to support your brain and mental health is to protect, nurture, and optimize your heart and blood vessels”[viii] and exercise pumps blood to the brain. I know we hear it everywhere, but daily exercise is often written as a prescription for someone suffering with mental health issues, and this explains why. DID YOU KNOW THAT “Blood vessels age, not your brain cells? Keep blood vessels healthy so blood flows to your brain.”[ix] BRAIN TIP: You can keep your blood vessels healthy with moderate exercise 5 days/week and weight training 3 times/week.  I know we all have heard how important exercise is for our health, it's one of the top 5 health staples we have been covering on the podcast, and one area we dove deep into recently on EPISODE #252[x], but have you thought about it from this point of view? Keeping our heart healthy, keeps our blood vessels healthy, and helps blood flow to our brain. When you follow Dr. Amen's work, you will quickly learn how important blood flow is to the brain. When looking at a brain scan from his clinics, you will notice there are places with holes, and the hole you see represents a 45% drop in blood flow to that area. So, it's important to understand ways to increase blood flow to your brain (like with exercise) as well as what lowers blood flow in your brain (more than 2 cups of caffeine/day, smoking, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol use).[xi] TIP #2 FIND YOUR BALANCE POINT BY MEASURING YOUR WORKOUTS This next point I have to add, after tip #1, as each of us will have different needs when it comes to “how much” exercise we will need to do each week. We've covered this topic on The Top 5 Health Staples[xii] with tips of where to begin with an exercise plan in addition to the other health staples, but after measuring my workouts using the Whoop device the past 2 years, I think it's important to note that while daily exercise is important to keep our blood vessels and brain healthy, that finding our own individual balance point will help us physically, as well as mentally. At the end of this year, I received a report from Whoop that showed me loud and clear that while I was in the Top 2% for Strain Levels, of the entire Whoop community, consisting of many professional level athletes, that they recommend I find a better balance between my recovery and strain. In 2023 I don't need to push so hard, that will be good for short-term fitness gains, but will not help me with long-term performance. Understanding this information was eye-opening, as I use exercise to solve all my problems, (mental health and physical) but this comes at a risk over overdoing it, which won't help me in the long run. (pun intended here). DID YOU KNOW THAT “when your recovery is high, your body is primed to take on more strain? (and you can get a green light to workout) But when your recovery is low, you may be at risk of overtraining (during intense workouts)[xiii]”  (Whoop.com) and could use some rest. One quick glance at my yearly recovery rates you can see that I mostly had yellow recoveries (there were actually 192 days where my body wasn't fully recovered and 122 days where it was recovered (green). These numbers can show me what to change/improve in 2023 so I can have more days where my body is “recovered” strong and ready to take on more strain (mental as well as physical) and that on yellow or non-recovered days, I can focused on less intense workouts to give me more capacity in my day. This will require a change in behavior on my end, but without this data, I'd be at risk of longer-term injury that you better believe would impact my mental health. BRAIN TIP: I'm sure we've all heard that “If you don't make time for your wellness, you'll be forced to make time for your illness” but also too much time focused on wellness isn't the answer either. FIND YOUR OWN BALANCE. When you can find a way to measure how well your body is recovering on a day to day basis (I use the Whoop device-you can learn more with EPISODE #134[xiv] with our interview with Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science at Whoop) but there are other tools out there that measure sleep in addition to other vital information, so you can see a snapshot of your overall physical health to show you where you are on a daily and monthly basis against your baseline. You can see my report in the show notes measuring respiratory rate (is the amount of breaths I take per minute while at rest-which increases with illness or when I travel to places with higher altitudes) showing me more rest is needed when this number elevates. Resting heart rate (the number of times my heart beats while at rest) is an indicator of cardiovascular health, also alerting me when more rest is needed, and the report shows me that my average night of sleep still falls below the recommended 7 hours of sleep, something I'm still working on improving, that you'll see with our next tip. TIP #3 BE OPEN TO TOOLS THAT ARE HELPING OTHERS When I first interviewed Kelly Roman[xv], the CEO of Fisher Wallace on their brain stimulator device for anxiety, depression and sleep management, I had no idea that my review of this device would have such a strong reach. EPISODE #120[xvi] of “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device” has had over 6,300+ downloads and I think there was such an interest in this one since we know that there has been “a global increase in depression and anxiety with tens of millions of additional cases reported globally[xvii] (since the Pandemic) and from the emails I've received since this review, it's clear that people are still searching for answers. Looking back, I remember thinking “I'll use this device long enough to gather some data for the review” and didn't plan on using it past the four weeks I was measuring my sleep. I remember being shocked at how much this device made an impact on my WASO (Wa-SO) score (or wake after sleep onset) that I still keep an eye on today as well I noticed it unexpectedly improved my mood, and anxiousness throughout the day. You can see this review one year later from July 2022, EPISODE #231[xviii] posted on their website, under their review section, and probably why I receive so many emails about this device. To update even further, I still use the Fisher Wallace Device every morning, for 2 20 minute sessions, while meditating, and I do put it on the highest level to maximize the benefits. I also still read every email the company sends out on their mailing list, and just before Christmas noticed that they have a NEW product coming out. I've already reached out to Kelly Roman to see if we can have him back on the podcast, but about his email release of this new product, he reveals its name, saying, “OAK (the new wearable device) is the culmination of my 13 years in the mental health industry—everything I've learned and dreamed was possible to deliver to patients. I consider it the apex wearable device for harnessing the potential of the human brain.” (Kelly Roman, CEO and Co-founder of Fisher Wallace Labs). I look forward to sharing what's NEW with their Next Generation Device, and do want to say that while I was gifted the device to try (if I didn't like it, I could have sent it back), but I have not been paid in any way to endorse the company or product. In fact, I've never been paid to endorse ANY product on our podcast to date). I just happen to be a user who noticed an incredible difference, and used the podcasting platform to share my results. Be sure to listen to these past episodes if you have missed them. DID YOU KNOW THAT: “The Fisher Wallace Stimulator® is the most researched wearable brain stimulation device on the market?” They have “conducted research on biomarkers (increased serotonin, lowered cortisol) depression, anxiety, insomnia, patient safety (including pediatric), Parkinson's disease and the treatment of substance use disorder patients.”   BRAIN TIP: Using this device has a similar effect as meditation, calming the brain in two 20 minute sessions. While everyday life stressors seem to be easier to combat with daily meditation, I'm not planning on give up another tool that can help me to stay calm during stressful times. While this device has helped my WASO score (wakefulness after sleep onset) if you look at how long I'm sleeping, I'm still averaging a bit over 6 hours of sleep that I could improve if I could just stay in bed longer. Like anyone else, I've definitely got some areas of mental and physical health pinpointed to improve in 2023. TIP #4 DO YOU KNOW YOUR HRV? The most important biomarker for tracking health and recovery on a regular basis. We covered an introduction to the importance of understanding HRV back in April of 2021 on EPISODE #125[xix] on “What is HRV and Why is it Important for Tracking Health, Recovery and Resilience?” and I learned that a higher HRV score means we have more capacity to perform, versus a lower score.  It's another way of looking at how recovered we are. Then we interviewed Rohan Dixit, the founder of Leif Therapeutics, on EPISODE #228[xx] with the wearable device that measures HRV in real-time, and I tried his device, and was able to pinpoint the parts of my day where my body was under high stress, to be able to learn and implement breathing strategies to overcome the stress, in the real time and watch my HRV increase on the dashboard of the device. What stuck to me that I didn't know before using Rohan's HRV tracker, is that I began to see where I was stressed or anxious, that I was unaware of before. For instance, the tracker started buzzing like crazy just before I went to sleep at night, when I thought I was relaxed and ready for sleep, but the tracker, connected to my heart rate, noticed the stress, and helped me to train myself to relax by taking deep breaths before sleep. The same thing happened while driving my kids to gymnastics. When we are in the middle of a busy day, it's sometimes not easy to check in and think “oh, I should probably breathe now” but the device picked up where I need to do this, helping me immensely to change my habits, and improve my HRV score during times of stress. DID YOU KNOW THAT: “HRV is a magical biomarker of your mental state?” (Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics) BRAIN TIP: To incorporate this magical bio-marker into our daily life, once we know what it is, (by measuring it some way) we can then use this number to guide us with our workouts. If the next day after a hard workout, your HRV is still low, use it as a sign to go easier the next day. If your HRV is low, and you haven't been active, this “indicates your body is working hard for some other reason (maybe your fatigued, dehydrated, stressed, or sick and need recovery.”[xxi] UsePrioritizing  this number as a guide to help you to gain more capacity to do the things you need to do throughout your day. REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: To review and conclude this week's Brain Fact Friday, DID YOU KNOW that “You are not stuck with the brain you have? You can make it better?” –From Dr. Daniel Amen we covered four tips for doing things a certain way in 2023, that can tip our needle towards mental AND physical health in the New Year. We also don't need to do a lot of things all at once, but knowing where to begin is a good first step for improved overall health this year. TIP 1: USING EXERCISE TO CREATE MORE BRAIN RESERVE AS WE AGE: Showing us that keeping our heart healthy, keeps our blood vessels healthy, and helps blood flow to our brain. TIP #2 FIND YOUR BALANCE POINT BY MEASURING YOUR WORKOUTS:  Because if we don't make time our wellness, we'll be forced to make time for our illness” and I shared how I'm using the Whoop device to find more balance between strain (with my workouts) and rest. TIP #3 BEING OPEN TO TOOLS THAT ARE HELPING OTHERS: Where we covered the Fisher Wallace brain stimulator device for anxiety, depression and sleep management that has helped me with much more than just WASO (wake after sleep onset) score. The device, paired with my Whoop device has also shown me that one extra hour of sleep each night in 2023 could help me to find the balance my body needs this year. TIP #4 THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING YOUR HRV: with the Lief Wearable Device that tracks HRV in real-time, helping us to train our body to breathe when we need it the most. I hope that these 4 TIPS have helped you to think about where you MENTAL and PHYSICAL health could be improved this year, with some steps for getting started. I wanted to share what I'm currently working on, so you can see that we all have areas of improvement. But without knowing WHAT to improve, most of us will do the same thing we did last year, without any change. Wishing everyone a healthy start to the New Year, and I'll see you next week.   REFERENCES: [i] www.significant72.com [ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #64 with Greg Wolcott on “Making Connections with Neuroscience and SEL” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-superintendent-greg-wolcott-on-making-connections-with-neuroscience-and-sel/ [iii] Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Dr. Julie Smith Published January 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nobody-Told-This-Before/dp/0063227932 [iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #128 on a Review of Dr. Amen's End of Mental Illness book https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/ [v] Dr. Amen, Brain Thrive by 25 Online Course http://brainthriveby25.com/ [vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #128 on a Review of Dr. Amen's End of Mental Illness book https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/ [vii] Dr. Amen on The Dr. Oz Show https://www.doctoroz.com/article/dr-daniel-amens-memory-rescue-plan [viii] The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders and More by Dr. Daniel Amen  March 3, 2020 https://www.amazon.com/End-Mental-Illness-Neuroscience-Transforming/dp/1496438159 Location 2755 [ix] Tana and Daniel Amen on The Brain Warrior's Way Podcast https://brainwarriorswaypodcast.com/its-not-your-brain-cells-that-age-its-your-blood-vessels [x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #252 on Using Neuroscience to Improve Fitness, Longevity and Overall Health https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-neuroscience-to-improve-fitness-longevity-and-overall-health/ [xi] The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders and More by Dr. Daniel Amen  March 3, 2020 https://www.amazon.com/End-Mental-Illness-Neuroscience-Transforming/dp/1496438159 Location 2787 [xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast BONUS EPISODE Top 5 Health Staples and Review of  Season 1-4  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/ [xiii] WHOOP Recovery  https://support.whoop.com/WHOOP_Data/Recovery__HRV/WHOOP_Recovery [xiv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #134 with Kristen Holmes VP of Performance Science from Whoop https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/ [xv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #108 with Kelly Roman, CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ceo-of-fisher-wallace-laboratories-on-wearable-medical-devices-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [xvi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #231 on “One year later: My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Device for Anxiety, Depression and Sleep”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [xvii] Global Increase in Depression and Anxiety Oct. 21, 2021 by Karen O'Leary https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-021-00064-y [xviii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #231 on “One year later: My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Device for Anxiety, Depression and Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/ [xix] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #125 on “What is HRV and why is it important for tracking health, recovery and resilience.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-is-hrv-and-why-is-it-important-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience-with-andrea-samadi/ [xx]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #228 with Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics on Measuring HRV in Real Time for Stress Relief”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/rohan-dixit-founder-of-lief-therapeutics-on-measuring-hrv-in-real-time-for-stress-relief-from-the-inside-out/ [xxi] Everything You Need to Know About Heart Rate Variability August 11, 2021

I read from dichotomy to dicot with Karen O'Leary.   Karen's links! https://twitter.com/OfficerOLearyNZ https://www.instagram.com/karen_olearynz/ Karen on IMDb Fun and Funner on Bandcamp Fun and Funner on FaceBook Fun and Funner playing with the Wellington Orchestra Promo for Celebrity Treasure Island Look out for Karen's new podcast "Full Disclosure" Karen was previously on episode #C539 of this podcast.      The Topp Twins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topp_Twins https://topptwins.com/     Dickcissel bird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dickcissel     There are hand motions and alternate lyrics to "Two Little Dickey Birds" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Little_Dickie_Birds     The Dick Test checks for Scarlet Fever https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarlet_fever     The word of the episode is "dickhead".     Theme music from Tom Maslowski https://zestysol.com/     Merchandising! https://www.teepublic.com/user/spejampar     "The Dictionary - Letter A" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter B" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter C" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter D" on YouTube     Featured in a Top 10 Dictionary Podcasts list! https://blog.feedspot.com/dictionary_podcasts/     Backwards Talking on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmIujMwEDbgZUexyR90jaTEEVmAYcCzuq     dictionarypod@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/thedictionarypod/ https://twitter.com/dictionarypod https://www.instagram.com/dictionarypod/ https://www.patreon.com/spejampar https://www.tiktok.com/@spejampar 917-727-5757

She volunteered to leave Celebrity Treasure Island! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's World Sight Day today, and the lead actress of Wellington Paranormal is hoping to bring vision impairment awareness out of the shadows. You might recognise Karen O'Leary as ‘Officer O'Leary' in the deadpan comedy series, but she's also a passionate inclusivity advocate - and tonight she will be the voice behind the audio description of Shortland Street.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What might be a surprise to many American television fans, "What We Do in the Shadows" was not the first spinoff show to come from the movie of the same name. Before it was "Wellington Paranormal". Jemaine Clement created this paranormal cop show mocumentary using the characters Officer O'Leary and Officer Minogue who were seen very briefly in the film he and Taika Waititi made.  The show focuses on a division of the New Zealand Police Department specializing in paranormal activity. Originally airing in its native country of New Zealand in 2018, the show would eventually find a second home airing in the United States on The CW network 3 years later. Can Wellington Paranormal get the same perfect score that the S1E1 boys gave its sister sitcom? Listen as they review the pilot episode, "Demon Girl" to find out.  www.S1E1POD.com   Starring: Mike Minogue, Karen O'Leary, Maaka Pohatu, Thomas Sainsbury, & Erika Camacho

Whether investigating noise complaints about partying seventies ghosts or millennial zombies, Wellington Paranormal's Officer O'Leary really just wants people (and supernatural beings) to have fun - quiet, law-abiding fun. SMNTY needs backup in this classic episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode three, Johnny talks to Karen O'Leary. One of New Zealand's national treasures, Karen stars opposite Mike Minogue in Wellington Paranormal, one of several offshoots of Taika Waititi's What We Do In The Shadows universe. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Karen is also an educator and a musician. In addition to What We Do In The Shadows, her acting credits include the films The Breaker Upperers and the recently released Nude Tuesday. Our conversation was recorded at the end of August 2022 and covers topics such as '80s movies and rom-coms, swearing at Spielberg films, conspiracy theories and the eternal challenge of sourcing a child's skeleton. Many thanks to James Van As who wrote and performed the brilliant music (check out James' superb iPhone game Loco Looper), and Willow Van As who designed the amazing artwork and provided general podcast support. Please like and subscribe to the show. You can contact the show on Twitter @MyMovieDNA, or on email at MyMovieDNA@gmail.com.

Karen O'Leary joins the show! Some of the worst name combos What gave you food poisoning? The best indoor gardening playlist See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's pilots over pirates baby! Join us for this emergency podcast as we dissect the surprise teaser for Celebrity Treasure Island 2022. Dame Susan Devoy is repping for menopausal women. Mike King is playing the bad guy. Karen O'Leary is crying. Also, what is that huge mystery plinth? Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for increased results. I'm Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results--whether we are a teacher in the classroom, or in the modern workplace. For today's episode, I wanted to look back over the past 3 years and cover the most asked question that I receive via email, which stems from EPISODE #120 from last April 2021, on “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device for Anxiety, Depression, Sleep and Stress Management”[i] which remains our most listened to episode of all time. We do have all of our past interviews that you can watch on YouTube[ii] and I would like to review our Top 25 in the near future (as chosen by YOU) because this is one very powerful list, with some surprises, and others who have remained at the top of the list every time I look.  Until then, I thought I'd answer the most asked question that comes in to me via email since it has to do with this most downloaded episode. It's no surprise that EPISODE #120 of “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device” has had over 5,500+ downloads since we know that there has been “a global increase in depression and anxiety with tens of millions of additional cases reported globally in 2020”[iii] and from the emails I've received, it's clear that people are searching for answers. The question that I've answered the most since publishing that episode is: “Do you still use the Fisher Wallace Device that you reviewed last year? If so, why?” If you want to review our interview with Kelly Roman, the CEO of Fisher Wallace[iv] that markets this wearable medical device, that's cleared by the FDA, for depression, insomnia and anxiety, I'll link our interview from last February 2021[v] in the show notes and you can learn directly from Kelly Roman on why this device was described by Forbes as “one of four technologies innovating mental health.” But to answer this question: I absolutely, 100% still use the Fisher Wallace wearable device, every day for two 20 minute intervals. ***It's important to note that this is not a paid endorsement of the product. When I interviewed Kelly Roman, I had not yet tried the device, and during the interview I mentioned that my brain scan with Amen Clinics showed signs of sleep deprivation,[vi] and I didn't know how exactly I should fix that, other than “get more sleep.” At the end of the interview, Kelly offered to send me a device to try and see what I noticed, and I agreed.  While the details of this interview I had to review to remember, I didn't forget that I I didn't plan on wearing the device past the trial period. I remember thinking “I'll see what happens” and just couldn't imagine that this device would become a part of my daily routine along with my morning meditation. ***Also, another important reminder that I am not a medical doctor, and none of the advice, ideas or strategies I offer on this podcast should be taken as medical advice. Back to the question…Do you still use the Fisher Wallace device, and why? When I went back and reviewed the interview myself, I remember that I had never heard of a wearable device that was designed for anxiety, depression and insomnia. Even though these devices are not new, Kelly Roman shared with me that they actually originated from Russia in the 1960s and were called “electrosleep” devices, yet I still had never heard of a device like this for home use. While I knew my sleep could use improving, I definitely didn't suffer from insomnia, that neuroscientist Matt Walker dives deep into on his most recent podcast where he reminds us that insomnia, the most common sleep disorder affects ½ people and is classified when we have either “difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep or not feeling refreshed or restored by our sleep the next day.”[vii]   None of these were me, but I had been measuring my sleep for months before trying the device and knew I could improve the time I was waking up at night, without knowing it, (which is called our WASO score- or wakefulness after sleep onset) so I took Kelly up on his offer to try the device to see if it could help me to stay asleep longer. He was right with how simple and easy it was to try it out. While my device was gifted to me, I would have gladly paid the $500 fee to try it out.  I recently saw for people who are on their mailing list, the price was to just a couple of hundred dollars since this interview, and remains at a discounted price on their website. Kelly did mention that the more products they sold, the more they could reduce the pricing to make this wearable device comparable to something like the Whoop that we've talked about often.  The device arrived 2 days after the interview, via FEDEX and I began my clinical trial testing the product at home, using a FITBIT. RECAP of 2021 RESULTS: Sleep Results After Using the Fisher Wallace Device for Five Weeks I took this study seriously, and measured sleep each night for 5 weeks, with one week establishing my baseline. When I sent Kelly Roman my results, he suggested that I look at each week using the device, compared to the baseline of 5 hours and 28 minutes of sleep.  In week 1 there was not much change due to that one night I worked late, week 2 showed an increase in 35 minutes of sleep, Week 3 an increase of 23 minutes, week 4, an increase of 42 minutes, and week 5, the same increase of 42 minutes above the baseline.  According to Kelly Roman, 20 minutes of sleep increase is what he says would be the gold standard minimum that doesn't seem like a lot but allows for improved REM sleep and over time he says reduces sleep debt.   This was powerful to hear that my study showed an increase of much more that this gold standard of 20 minutes' improvement showing me that the device worked better than I realized before I had shown Kelly these results. When asked, “what results did you get from your trial?”, I share this fact, and just tell people to try it out, and see what it does for you. If you like it, keep using it, if not, they have a very simple, hassle free 30-day return. 85% of those who try the device, end up keeping it in the end, like I did. RECAP of 2021 RESULTS: Mood and Anxiety I did notice some other improvements in addition to sleep, and I know the device also helps to improve your mood, anxiety and depression. While depression does run in my family, and it's something I am fully aware of, it's not something I've encountered any symptoms with to date, and I think this might that I'm aware of the fact this runs in my family, so I maintain a certain amount of exercise to keep the endorphins and neurotransmitters flowing. I mentioned to Kelly in the interview that the device could save someone's mental health if they didn't have access to exercise, were in a wheelchair, elderly or disabled as it's a healthier way to calm the mind and entrain the Alpha Brain state that is attained with meditation. Studies show the device helps to increase serotonin and melatonin, while decreasing cortisol, the stress hormone. While using the device in the initial experiment, I also noticed that I had more patience, was less high strung or anxious, and was calmer with my day-to-day activities. This change was noticed immediately and along with an increase of energy, I was able to complete more tasks, in less time, and felt less stressed before going to sleep. FAST FORWARD: From April 2021 to July 2022 Over a year later, I still use the device, like I mentioned, it's a part of my morning routine. It can be used at any time of the day to calm the brain. Kelly Roman did suggest using it before bedtime it you want to improve insomnia. I chose to add it to my morning routine because I didn't have the symptoms of insomnia, just wanted to improve overall sleep health. Sleep (AFTER) Where am I now, a year later? From 50% range to 60 and 70% While I no longer use the FITBIT, and can't do a side by comparison like my home study, I now use the Whoop device, and can easily look at where my sleep was showing up when I began using this device in April 2021. Whoop gives you a sleep score every day that shows how much time you were awake, in light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep and it took me some after the study for significant changes to show up, but by November of 2021, my low sleep score in the 50s jumped up to the 60s and 70s and a 70% sleep score is the parameter that WHOOP gives if you are getting “enough sleep” based on the amount of strain you have in your day, to properly recover your body. Just from looking at the graphs in the show notes, you can see the lighter days represented lower sleep performance and darker days represented higher sleep performance. The darker days (higher sleep performance) started to become more often after with time, and improved sleep became more consistent. To me, my sleep has clearly improved but it did take some time to jump from 50% scores using to scores in the 60s and 70s. FIGURE 1: April 2021-January 2022 Sleep scores jumped from high 50s to mid 70s   FIGURE 2: February 2022- June 2022 Sleep scores remained in the 60-70% range. Mood and Anxiety (AFTER): One of the reasons I kept using the device was that I just felt more even keeled with it. During the interview Kelly Roman mentioned that the device “helps to increase serotonin (the neurotransmitter that mediates satisfaction, happiness and optimism) and melatonin (a hormone associated with the sleep-wake cycle), while decreasing cortisol (the stress hormone)” so it made sense to me why I felt a calming effect. Kelly further explained that the device “helps to modulate the Default Mode Network and regulate the parasympathetic nervous system” which is quick and simple way to destress the brain and body. CONCLUSIONS: Using the device has a similar effect as meditation, calming the brain in two 20 minute sessions. While everyday life stressors seem to be easier to combat with daily meditation, I'm not planning on give up another tool that can help me to stay calm during stressful times. So, when asked “Do you still use the Fisher Wallace device” my answer is 100% yes. It's something I plan to continue using. While I can clearly see that I'm not the model for perfect sleep, (that I can attain only while on vacation) I think that for something that targets improvements for “the most common sleep disorder that impacts 1 out of 2 people” (Matthew Walker) it's worth giving it a shot. If you want to learn more about this device, go to their website and click on the research tab to see their most recent studies.https://www.fisherwallace.com/pages/research If you would like to try the device, just go to their website and do some research of your own. If you do try the device, I'd love to know what results YOU noticed. Send me an email and let me know. I'll see you later this week.   REFERENCES: [i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Podcast EPISODE #120 on “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/ [ii] Watch ALL Past Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODES here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb5Z3cA_mnKhiYc5glhacO9k9WTrSgjzW [iii] Global Increase in Depression and Anxiety Oct. 21, 2021 by Karen O'Leary https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-021-00064-y [iv] https://www.fisherwallace.com/ [v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #108 on YouTube with Kelly Roman, CEO of Fisher Wallace https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCtbngfXoYg [vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Podcast EPISODE #84 PART 3 “How a SPECT Image Brain Scan Can Change Your Life”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/ [vii] Matt Walker Podcast Insomnia PART 1 https://themattwalkerpodcast.buzzsprout.com/1821163/10976547-26-insomnia-part-1  

Nude Tuesday is a brand new 5-star comedy from Armagan Ballantyne and Jackie van Beek about a suburban couple who go to a new-age retreat as a last ditch attempt to save their marriage. Their path to reconnection is riddled with hilarity and humiliation as they seek to find themselves and each other. In this episode, we hear from comedy actors Karen O'Leary and Chris Parker. Chris is an award-winning stand up comedian, improviser, actor and writer. You might know him from his viral Instagram channel, his recent comedy special called Back to School or a ton of acting roles on kiwi comedies. Karen O'Leary is another brilliant actor who worked for many years in early childhood education. She's Officer O'Leary in Wellington Paranormal, the spinoff series from the film she's also a real scene stealer in - What We Do In The Shadows.The Nude Tuesday podcast was brought to you by Film Queenstown Lakes, and New Zealand and Australian distributors, Madman Entertainment. It was produced, hosted and edited by me - Tim Batt and co-produced by Courtney Mayhew and Tyler Hislop. This series is also supported by Flicks - download the Flicks app to find Nude Tuesday session times near you and get tickets. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nude Tuesday is a brilliant new film from Armagan Ballantyne and Jackie van Beek about a suburban couple who go to a new-age retreat as a last ditch attempt to save their marriage. Their path to reconnection is riddled with hilarity and humiliation as they seek to find themselves and each other. Plus there's nudity, Jemaine Clement is a sex guru and oh yeah, everyone is speaking in a gibberish.Tim Batt hosts a series of interviews of a range of people who contributed to Nude Tuesday, from director Armagan Ballantyne to screenwriter Jackie van Beek to actors Jemaine Clement, Damon Herriman, Karen O'Leary and Chris Parker to musician Luke Buda and even the person who created and trained everyone on the 'gibberish', dialect coach Perry Piercy.The Nude Tuesday podcast was brought to you by Film Queenstown Lakes, and New Zealand and Australian distributors, Madman Entertainment. It was produced, hosted and edited by me - Tim Batt and co-produced by Courtney Mayhew and Tyler Hislop. This series is also supported by Flicks - download the Flicks app to find Nude Tuesday session times near you and get tickets. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today on the Big Show, It's the first ever Turtle Neck Tuesday, Jase has broken his back and Karen O'Leary stops by to talk her new movie Nude Tuesday... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I read from cumulus to cup with Karen O'Leary.   Go learn about cuneiform! It's really interesting! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform     The word of the episode is "cunt".     Karen's links! https://twitter.com/OfficerOLearyNZ https://www.instagram.com/karen_olearynz/ https://open.spotify.com/artist/2NhGFK0qvbxqNp8PaTFB92?si=B7fVVtx7S2SKkI2BE4n5Ow     Theme music from Tom Maslowski https://zestysol.com/     Merchandising! https://www.teepublic.com/user/spejampar     "The Dictionary - Letter A" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter B" on YouTube   "The Dictionary - Letter C" on YouTube     Featured in a Top 10 Dictionary Podcasts list! https://blog.feedspot.com/dictionary_podcasts/     Backwards Talking on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmIujMwEDbgZUexyR90jaTEEVmAYcCzuq     dictionarypod@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/thedictionarypod/ https://twitter.com/dictionarypod https://www.instagram.com/dictionarypod/ https://www.patreon.com/spejampar https://www.tiktok.com/@spejampar 917-727-5757

Today on the Big Show, the guys listen to how the horse 'The Big Show' goes in its race, Jase's house has come down and Karen O'Leary from Wellington Paranormal joins the show...

Today we talk to the hilarious and fantastic actress Karen O'Leary, one of the stars of the hit New Zealand show, Wellington Paranormal (which you can watch on HBO Max). We talk about the hit show, her life in New Zealand, the paranormal, and much, much more. And if you want to see video of the interview, go subscribe to our Patreon at the $5 (or higher) level.    Karen's Links: Instagram Twitter IMDb     whorestalkhorror@gmail.com   https://www.instagram.com/whorestalkhorror/   https://www.patreon.com/whorestalkhorror   https://www.facebook.com/wh0restalkhorror   https://twitter.com/whoreshorror     Thunder crash SFX by ophylia Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC 3.0) Fade out has been added https://freesound.org/people/ophylia/sounds/474995/

For this 3rd installment of Diary of a Creative from OZ to NZ I virtually traverse the Trans-Tasman bubble into Middle Earth to chat with an individual who is a dedicated and respected early childhood educator, has referred to themselves as an accidental actor, starring in tv shows the likes of The Watercooler, The Eggplant and my personal favourite Wellington Paranormal as well as various short films. In addition to appearing as Officer O'Leary alongside her patrol partner Officer Minogue in their original incarnations as members of the New Zealand police force in the Vampire Mockumentary 'What We Do In the Shadows', written and directed by Taika Waititi and Jermaine Clement. And when not playing Scully to Minogue's on-screen police persona of Moulder because, "he's a guy with brown hair", you can catch her musical stylings in the kids band Fun & Funner with ECC colleague and good friend Tom Watson accompanied by some awesome Wellington musicians making and playing music for kids' that adults love too!Welcome to the show KAREN O'LEARY.Additional Show Linkshttps://www.facebook.com/FunandFunner/https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/wellington-paranormal See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Comedians Te Radar and Karen O'Leary on the weird and wonderful stories of the past week, including the library book returned after half a century and goats on the run in Hawkes Bay.

May 19, 2021 - Karen O'Leary

Comedians Te Radar and Karen O'Leary bring the humour, including the story of the Italian hospital employee accused of skipping work for 15 years, on full pay.

Comedians Te Radar and Karen O'Leary bring the humour, including the story of the Italian hospital employee accused of skipping work for 15 years, on full pay.

Karen O'Leary called inWho has the best yarns?Ben believes the Warriors are cursedSpyJono had an incident in a taxiThe ReferendumbWhat paraphernalia do you have at home? News In BeepsThe A To Z of New ZealandSynchronised AnsweringSpy

An in-depth conversation with (Officer) Karen O'Leary; she of the TV show Wellington Paranormal and the movie What We Do In The Shadows. When is not portraying Officer O'Leary she is the head teacher at an early childcare facility, where she's been employed for the last 20 years. She fell into acting by a mistake of genius casting. We talk about her life and passions and the 'side-gig' of appearing in character at events and on stage and screen. Get full access to Sounds Good! at simonsweetman.substack.com/subscribe

An in-depth conversation with (Officer) Karen O'Leary; she of the TV show Wellington Paranormal and the movie What We Do In The Shadows. When is not portraying Officer O'Leary she is the head teacher at an early childcare facility, where she's been employed for the last 20 years. She fell into acting by a mistake of genius casting. We talk about her life and passions and the 'side-gig' of appearing in character at events and on stage and screen.

In another Iso-Playlist, Fiona Zooms across the ditch for a chat with Wellington Paranormal's Karen O'Leary (Officer O'Leary), who is having a very busy lockdown, as the much-memed face of the New Zealand Police Force's Public Service Announcements, in addition to her day job as an early childhood teacher. Elsewhere in the episode: Ben and Fiona review the lively '70s chronicle of the leading lights of the feminist movement (and their foes), Mrs America.

Karen O'Leary is a preschool educator by day and a cop in the TV series Wellington Paranormal by night. She chooses some favourite tunes, shares some of her own compositions and chats to Yadana Saw.