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PODCAST

Do you really know?

You’ve heard about it, but do you really know it? In 3 minutes, we help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines. After listening, you will really know for sure.

education

All Episodes

4:34

Why do we startle when we fall asleep?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/21

You're peacefully drifting off to sleep when suddenly you feel as if you're falling into a void and you startle awake. This rather unpleasant sensation is known as a ‘hypnic jerk’ and is a common occurrence. It is an involuntary muscle spasm, a bit like a hiccup, also known as ‘myoclonus’. Sometimes, this sensation is accompanied by the feeling or the dream that you are falling. These twitches are your body’s bedtime quirks, popping up in the twilight zone of sleep – that light stage between being

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5:28

Which flights are most likely to be hit by turbulence?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/21

If you’re a nervous flyer thinking ahead to your next flight, you may have wondered whether it's possible to predict whether you'll encounter any turbulence. Air travel has come under the spotlight in recent weeks, with a number of high profile incidents of flights being hit by turbulence, including one which saw a 71 year old British man in his seventies tragically die from a heart attack. What causes turbulence? Where are the most turbulence-prone areas? Could turbulence get worse in the future

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5:19

Why are brownouts getting more and more common in the...

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/20

Research by productivity software provider Asana showed that 70% of knowledge workers experienced burnout in 2021. Now we’ve talked about the symptoms of burnout before on Do you Really Know. It's typically characterised by physical and emotional exhaustion at work, and considered a psychiatric condition. But in recent years, the younger generation has been reshaping workplace norms. Many young workers see personal fulfilment as more important than pay when it comes to their jobs. And that’s led to

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4:55

How long do people have sex for?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/20

Popular fantasy might suggest that we need to have hours of sex in order to be satisfied, but is that actually true? A study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine in 2005 looked into intravaginal ejaculation latency time among 500 heterosexual couples from five different countries. Now intravaginal ejaculation latency time might sound like a complicated term, but basically it just means how long penetration lasts, so foreplay doesn’t count as sex under that definition. Having gathered survey

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4:42

What is retinol, the miracle anti ageing skincare...

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/20

Retinol is a form of vitamin A, which is essential for healthy skin. It has many benefits such as smoothing wrinkles, exfoliating dead cells, clearing pores, and fading dark spots. Retinol works by stimulating the production of collagen, which is the protein that gives your skin strength and structure, and by speeding up the turnover of skin cells, which means it helps remove old cells from the surface of your skin and reveal fresh ones underneath. How to use retinol? What should you be aware of

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4:24

How can I improve my sense of direction?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/19

Many of us feel completely disoriented at times, and are afraid of getting lost, whether in the middle of the city, in the forest, when travelling or in the car. In an age where GPS reigns supreme, many of us have become overly reliant on technology. Yet, there’s a growing desire to hone our natural navigational skills and understand the brain’s role in guiding us.What we call our "sense of direction" is the result of a calculation by our brain, based on data such as leg movement or walking speed,

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3:57

How often should you wash your jeans?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/19

It’s a common habit to toss our jeans into the laundry after a single wear, but is that really necessary? Turns out, giving your denim a break from frequent washes might be a smarter move. Well, according to Medisite, washing isn’t always kind to your beloved blues. The key to maintaining your denim’s durability is a cooler, gentler approach: wash them inside out, at a low temperature, and with a soft spin cycle. As for drying, skip the tumble dryer to prevent shrinking and warping—air drying on a

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4:57

Can you train your brain like a muscle?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/19

The human brain isn’t actually a muscle, as a lot of people think. But nevertheless we still need to give it exercise to keep it healthy. While you can go to the gym to work out the muscles in your body, the equivalent for the brain is training and stimulating something called "brain plasticity”. Verywellmind.com says that plasticity “refers to the brain's malleability or ability to change”. And it’s definitely worth working to improve it too, as it can give cognitive performance a real

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5:31

Could CBTI help you sleep better ?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/18

According to the NHS, around 1 in 3 people in the UK are affected by insomnia, and it’s particularly common in older adults. Many people turn to medication like benzodiazepines in an attempt to address their insomnia. Now these generally help, at least to begin with, but they tend to bring less restorative sleep. And if no other changes are made to daily habits, there’s a good chance the insomnia will return once the medication is stopped. What other options are out there then? So how does one

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5:17

Why do we sweat?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/18

The last week or so has seen temperatures reach around 20° in the south of England, and you can expect to see similar temperatures for the next month or so as we head into summer. Whenever the weather warms up, there’s always a temptation to try to mask any odours or stains that are coming from our sweaty bodies, but it’s worth bearing in mind that sweating is actually a crucial bodily function. Did you know that sweat is a watery solution that contains mostly water, but also some minerals and

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4:47

Should I walk 10000 steps a day?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/18

Most of us are familiar with the idea that you need to take 10 thousand steps per day to stay healthy but getting to this magic number is not that easy. The 10,000-step target first became popular in Japan in the 1960s. A clockmaker capitalising on people's new interest in fitness following the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games made a pedometer with a name that, when written in Japanese characters, resembled a walking man and coincidentally translated as “10,000-steps metre.” A study of over 78,000 people

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5:16

Could you be micro-flirting without realising it ?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/17

There are plenty of ways to get the attention of someone you're crushing on. It might come very naturally to some, but for others, flirting can be an intimidating proposition. Have you ever wondered if someone is flirting with you, because of their somewhat ambiguous approach? Well, they may have been micro-flirting, a technique that dating experts say is used by shy men in particular. And there are actually some pretty recognisable under-the-radar strategies that qualify as micro-flirting, which

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5:37

Why are more and more men joining the no fap movement?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/17

Now if you’ve never heard the word fap before, let me spell it out to you. It’s basically an onomatopoeic slang term for male masturbation. According to Business Insider, the term first appeared in a web comic called Sexy Losers in 1999, to indicate the sound of a male character masturbating. An Urban Dictionary definition for the term was then added in 2002, and usage grew from the 2000s onwards. So obviously now you know what that means, you’ll have realised that the no fap movement means

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4:28

What is Lucky Girl syndrome, this new method that is...

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/17

You might be familiar with the expression ‘you make your own luck’ or with the idea of thinking positively to create a positive outcome - some people refer to it as ‘manifesting’. But now, a new trend on the social media platform TikTok has taken it one step further with what has been dubbed ‘lucky girl syndrome’. Essentially you tell yourself that everything just works out for you and that you are the luckiest person with phrases like ‘everything just always works out for me’ or I always get what

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4:22

Is sleeping less than 6 hours a night the equivalent...

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/16

We've all been there - it's late, you're exhausted, but sleep just won't come. You toss and turn, check the clock every few minutes, and the longer you're awake, the more anxious you feel about how little rest you're going to get. Morning comes, and even though you're barely functioning, you drag yourself out of bed, grab a coffee, and stumble through the day in a fog. And it’s not just your imagination. When you sleep less than six hours a night, your brain starts to operate as if you were legally

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5:32

Which type of wine is best for your health?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/16

When it comes to health, many people wonder which type of wine can most easily be enjoyed without needing to worry about negative health consequences. First things first, I hate to be a party pooper but let’s be clear: there’s no kind of alcohol that is actually “good” for your health. So red wine does contain some antioxidants, which have reported health benefits. But senior dietitian and British Heart Foundation spokesperson Victoria Taylor says that “while it is often included in the

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4:45

Which colours go well together according to science?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/16

It's often said that colour preferences are simply a matter of personal taste, but actually some have been backed up by science, especially in the field of art history. For the last two centuries, it has been customary in art and design to come up with colour combinations based on what is known the colour wheel. It’s a visual representation of the spectrum of colors, organized in a circular format. This wheel divides colours into primary: red, blue, and yellow, secondary: green, orange, and purple,

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4:41

Has the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle finally been...

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/15

Every year, an average of four planes and twenty boats vanish in this notorious area. Straddling the line between legend and reality, the Bermuda Triangle has inspired countless adventure novels and films, continuing to captivate the public’s imagination. This vast region spans approximately 500,000 square kilometres, situated between Florida, Puerto Rico, and the Bermuda archipelago. How did the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle come about? Why is this area so high-risk? In under 3 minutes, we

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5:18

How can I optimise my interior through Ikea hacking?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/15

Ever since Covid-19 lockdowns, many people have developed a taste for interior design and regularly take to Pinterest for inspiration. But as you may well know from experience, buying a few furniture items can quickly add up in cost. As a result, clever internet users have been coming up with solutions to repurpose items bought from Ikea, whose items are available in many different parts of the world. The trend has been labelled Ikea hacking and it involves repurposing furniture items from their

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5:14

Am I listening to music too loud?

Do you really know? ·

2025/06/15

Whether it’s in the street, on public transport or at home, almost all of us use headphones or earphones to listen to music. Now music might bring us joy and a whole lot of other emotions, but when it’s too loud, it can also represent a risk for hearing health. The same is also true when going to entertainment venues like nightclubs, bars, music concert arenas and sports stadia. The danger comes when the sound level gets too high, we’re exposed to it for too long, or worse, both. What are healthy

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3,326 results

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