Blue Health; Talking to the dying; Diet or exercise to halt memory decline

Blue Health and well-being: During lockdown many people have said how they value getting out in nature more than ever. But is there something extra special about getting out into places where there is water? This doesn’t just have to mean the seaside. Could a river, canal or even a fountain in a park make us feel better? Dr Mathew White, senior lecturer in social and environmental psychology at Exeter University, is part of a large research project across eighteen countries called Blue Health. Dr Jo Garrett is a researcher in coastal environments and human health, and they discuss their latest research into pinning down the benefits of aquatic environments on our well-being.

Discussing dying: It’s never going to be an easy conversation, but one that a lot of us will face, whatever illness our relatives or friends might be dying from. What should you say and how can avoiding regrets afterwards about what you didn’t say? We hear from Janie Brown, who spent more than thirty years nursing and counselling people dying from cancer and recounts some of her experiences in her book Radical Acts of Love, and writer Audrey Nieswandt.

Diet or exercise to starve off memory decline? Even as we get older we carry on making new brain cells. The bad news is that the process slows down which can lead to problems with memory. But as Dr Sandrine Thuret and Dr Chiara De Lucia from Kings College London have found, our genetic makeup can influence this process. They’ve found that changing diet might make more of a difference to some, whilst exercise might make more of a difference to others.

Claudia Hammond's guest is Prof. Catherine Loveday, Principal Lecturer in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Westminster.