Why is exercise good for your mental health?

In the first of a new series Claudia Hammond meets the first of the nine finalists for the All in the Mind Awards 2018. We hear from Helen who nominated Sarah's Runners, a running group in Tunbridge Wells who helped her after her husband took his own life when she was pregnant with their second child. The group meets twice a week and their ethos is far from personal bests on the track but all about people being included and getting the best they can from exercise. Claudia goes running with Helen and finds out why Sarah and the group have been such a huge support to her after her bereavement. Catherine Loveday explains how running helps with improving mood and even cognitive function. Also in the programme, Claudia talks to Professor Coral Dando about research published this week showing that eye witnesses recalled more information more accurately when interviewed by an avatar in a virtual reality environment rather than a real person. So why do the social pressures of an interview with a human impact on our ability to recall events in the past? Have you ever felt 'Gigil'? It's a Tagalog word meaning 'to want to squeeze or pinch someone because you cherish them so much. Claudia talks to Tim Lomas about his lexicon of 'untranslatable words' related to wellbeing from other languages which can't easily be translated into English. Catherine Loveday discusses a new way of understanding how different parts of the brain communicate: brain entropy. What is it and why might caffeine increase it.

24 Huhti 201828min

All in the Mind: The Loneliness Experiment launches the world's largest ever survey of its kind on loneliness. Britain is the "loneliness capital of Europe" according to the Office for National Statistics. Loneliness is likely to affect all of us at some point in our lives and is not only distressing, but is implicated in health problems such as an increased risk of heart disease. For some people loneliness occurs because of a change in circumstances such as after bereavement, becoming unemployed or starting university. And while some tend to adapt to their new lives and the feeling of loneliness fades others are less able to shake off their pain.The Loneliness Experiment, devised by Professor Pamela Qualter and colleagues, aims to look at causes and possible solutions to loneliness. And we want as many people as possible to fill in our survey, even if they've never felt lonely, because we want to know what stops people feeling lonely, so that more of us can feel connected. To launch the Experiment Claudia Hammond is joined by Olivia Laing, author of Lonely City, and psychology professor, Pamela Qualter, an expert in loneliness in young people. Building on the success of 2016's Rest Test, which was the largest global survey on rest, Radio 4 will explore the topic of loneliness in a further collaboration with the Wellcome Collection.

14 Helmi 201827min

Claudia finds out what can be done to help children whose parents have a mental illness and who may end up becoming their carers. She talks to Kiera and Ambeya who have lived with their parents' depression and schizophrenia and she meets Alan Cooklin, the founder of Kidstime, a charity which aims to support families where one or more parent has a mental illness. Claudia talks to the psychologist who finds out why our perceptions of the amount of exercise we do can change its health benefits. And Dame Kelly Holmes is one of the judges for the All in the Mind Awards. She talks about the mental health struggles she faced just months before winning two gold Olympic medals. She explains why it was so hard to talk about her feelings at the time and why she believes it's so important people are more open about their own mental health difficulties. Also another awards judge, Mandy Stevens, explains how to do square breathing and why it's such a good technique to help tackle anxiety and panic attacks.

19 Joulu 201727min

How good is your intuition - those hunches you follow because you're convinced you're right? Alas, if you think you're good at it, evidence shows you're probably not. Claudia Hammond hears the latest research from Dr Mario Weick from the University of KentThere's still time for you to enter the 2018 All in the Mind Awards. This is your chance to nominate someone who's made a difference to your mental health. You could nominate a group or project or maybe a friend, a therapist, a partner, a nurse - anyone who's really been there for you. We hear from GP Daniel Dietch - one of last year's finalists on the impact being nominated had on him after being put forward by a patient with bi-polar disorder. Medication taken by some people with psychosis or schizophrenia is designed to reduce delusions and hallucinations. What it doesn't tackle are the additional problems with memory and decision-making. Claudia Hammond meets Dr Natasza Orlov of Kings College London who's been trialling mild electrical stimulation to the brain aimed specifically at these symptoms. Could it improve everyone else's memory as well?And we catch up on what's happened to the very first high flying graduates we've been following who've been fast- tracked into mental health social work.Producer Adrian Washbourne.

12 Joulu 201727min

Claudia Hammond finds out why films are being made of residents of a care home in South West London. They all have dementia and the story of their lives is told through photos, interviews and music and their beneficial effects are being studied in a small NHS trial. Claudia meets 92 year old May and her daughter, Valerie to find out what the film has done for her and why this kind of reminiscence therapy is so effective. Claudia talks to psychologist John Bargh about the power of the unconscious mind, why sad music makes people spend more and how we can use our unconscious mind's susceptibility to our own advantage. And why a community organisation in Tyne and Wear called Citizens UK has brought together people from schools, mosques, churches, politicians and the NHS to ask what their top priority should be. Find out why they all voted for mental health and what they're going to do about it. Psychologist Dr Catherine Loveday of the University of Westminster also explains why just believing that you do less exercise than your friends is likely to make you die earlier even if it's not true and a she discusses a recent study investigating the therapists' habits that most annoy their clients.

28 Marras 201735min

Our sense of reward motivates us and is essential for survival - influencing the hundreds of decisions we make every day about what feels good and what doesn't. Claudia Hammond meets Ray Dolan, Wolfram Schultz and Peter Dayan, winners of this year's Brain Prize, in front of an audience at London's Royal Institution, to discuss their ground-breaking work on how the brain recognises and processes reward.The trio's discoveries have revolutionised our understanding in how our brain's reward system can motivate us, give us the best chance in life and influence the way we learn. So when the system malfunctions, it can lead to big problems such as obesity, gambling and addiction. But as understanding of this brain system continues to be unravelled Claudia Hammond hears why this happens and what can be done to control it.

21 Marras 201727min

All in the Mind Awards: Claudia Hammond launches the 2018 All in the Mind Awards - a chance for anyone who has received help for a mental health problem, to recognise the people and organisations who have gone above and beyond the call of duty1 in 3 of us will experience problems with our mental health at some time in our lives, and help and support from people around us can make all the difference in how we cope day to day and helping us on the road to recovery. Between now and the end of January 2018 the Radio 4 All in the Mind Awards is seeking listeners' experiences of brilliant mental health care and to recognise the people - the unsung heroes who helped make the difference. The judging panel this year includes Star Wards founder Marion Janner; director of nursing and mental health services Mandy Stevens; Dr Mathijs Lucassen lecturer in mental health ; and Claudia Hammond, psychologist and All In The Mind presenter.There are 3 categories for the awards, the individual, professional or project Individual Award : An individual family member, friend, boss or colleague who offered significant support Professional Award: A mental health professional whose dedication, help and support made a really significant difference to you. This could be a psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, nurse, volunteer or other professional Project Award: A mental health project or group you took part in, which made a big difference to your recovery or the way you cope. The winners of the awards will be announced during a ceremony to be held at the Wellcome Collection in London in June 2018Attachment theory: For decades researchers have been interested in how the attachment between parents and their babies might affect how the baby develops into an adult. Elizabeth Meins, Professor of psychology at York University argues that this body of research is now being misinterpreted , leaving parents feeling anxious about whether they're doing the right thingChildren's willpower: The popular image of children is that they have short attention spans and want everything right now. But a new analysis of 50 years of data from the Marshmallow Test - a classic test of self control suggests that children are getting better at delaying gratification. John Protzko of University of California Santa Barbara explains why it's happening. Claudia Hammond's studio guest is fellow judge Mathijs Lucassen , lecturer in mental health at the Open University.

14 Marras 201728min

Claudia Hammond's guest is Catherine Loveday, Principle lecturer in Psychology at the University of WestminsterIf you have sisters or brothers you probably know all about sibling rivalry. But if you're a parent who despairs over your children squabbling, fear not. Claudia Hammond hears how sibling rivalry can be handled and can have an upside. It's something that should be embraced argues child psychologist Linda Blair, author of a new book Siblings.What insights can diaries and letters from prisoners of war can give us into the imprisoned soldier's minds? We hear from historian Clare Makepeace who has spent years studying the diaries and letters of POWs and Mark McDermott Professor of Health Psychology at the University of East London to discuss the psychological impact the confined experience can have.And new evidence on the link between inflammation in the body and depression. It's the first study ever published showing that inflammation can lead to alterations in how specific new brain cells are formed - a process that leads to depression in a third of patients. As Patricia Zunszain of Kings College London explains, drugs targeting these mechanisms could be the effective antidepressants of the future - drugs which don't tackle mood, but which encourage the creation of new brain cells.

7 Marras 201728min