One Brain At A Time

You built the habit over summer. Now it's dark earlier and the whole thing's falling apart. That's not a willpower problem – it's completely normal, and there's a fix.

This week Adam and Andy get into something we usually skip over: not building good habits, but keeping them alive when the seasons turn and your whole routine gets upended.

We get into why adaptability matters more than rigid structure this time o...

"There's nothing physically wrong with you." It's one of the most frustrating things a person in chronic pain can be told – and the neuroscience of why is genuinely fascinating.

This week Adam and Andy are joined by Maddie Gwynee Hughes – a neuroscientist about to start a master's at Imperial – who's been working in Norway on the PRIME study: research into why some people recover from pain while others develop chro...

Feeling a bit anxious now that September's here? There's a good chance it's got nothing to do with anything happening in your actual life – and everything to do with your brain.

This week Adam and Andy get into the strange, near-universal dread that arrives with the end of summer – why the drop in temperature and the return of the rain can flood you with the exact stress you felt walking to school as a kid, even ...

"I'm just not a productive person" is one of the most common refrains we hear people say about themselves – and it usually has nothing to do with laziness, and everything to do with dopamine.

This week Adam and Andy get into screens, scrolling, and the one chemical that's constantly misunderstood – a part two to the conversation we started at our Brighton event.

We get into why dopamine isn't a "pleasure c...

"I'm just not a maths person" is one of the most common refrains we hear people saying about themselves – and it's neuroscientifically unfounded.

Adam and Andy are joined by Professor Geetha Ramani, developmental psychologist at the University of Maryland, whose research focuses on how children actually learn maths.

We get into why "I'm bad at maths" is socially acceptable in a way "I'm bad at reading" never is,...

You spend years chasing the goal – and then you hit it, and it feels strangely flat. Why?

Adam and Andy are joined by Sam Cains: former golf pro, now a PhD student researching mental health in high-performance sport (and Andy's good friend from their Masters days).

We get into identity tied up in sport and what happens when injury takes it away, why mental and physical health are the same system rather than two,...

What if you could do all your work in four days instead of five – and actually sleep better, feel less burnt out, and get more done? The neuroscience says you can.

Adam and Andy are joined by Dr. Charlotte Rae, biological psychologist at the University of Sussex for the nerdiest episode yet.

We get into what a four-day week actually means, why employers should care about it, and what Charlotte's team found when...

Think you've got no attention span? You're probably wrong – and this episode explains why.

Adam and Andy are actionable neuroscientists – they take what we actually know about the brain and turn it into things you can do something with. Every week on One Brain at a Time they break down the neuroscience behind everyday life and make it genuinely useful. This week, it's just the two of them on attention.

The...

Are you a visual learner? Does your brain stop changing at 25? Short answer: no, and absolutely not.

Myth Busting is back. Adam and Andy are joined by Andrew Wright – CEO of Action Your Potential – to take two of the most stubborn brain myths going and pull them apart.

First up: learning styles. Why learning is automatic and happening to you constantly, why enjoying a format isn't the same as needing it, why the belief it...

What does it actually take to do an Iron Man – while finishing a PhD at the same time?

In this episode, Adam and Andy sit down with the show's very first official SCPWILUT guest (Super Cool People Who I Look Up To) – Dr. Hannah Ashby – who completed one of the toughest Iron Mans on the circuit as her first ever triathlon, marathon, road race AND open water swim… all while wrapping up four years of PhD re...

What actually happens to your brain when you get ill? Turns out, far more than just feeling rubbish.

In this episode, Adam and Andy are joined again by Hannah Warner Swann – to break down the neuroscience of illness, inflammation, and emergence. We get into why inflammation can cross the blood-brain barrier and shut your thinking down, what sickness behaviours are and why your body forces them on you, and why pain isn't te...

What actually happens in your brain when you read? Turns out, quite a lot!

This week Adam and Andy are joined by Phil – senior bookseller at Waterstones Brighton – for a proper deep dive into why reading might be the most underrated thing you can do for your brain. We get into attention span, flow state, dopamine, empathy, why books almost always beat the film adaptation, and why it is absolutely never too late to become...

What does it actually take to build a great school? Not just good exam results – but a place where kids genuinely thrive.

This week Adam and Andy are joined by Mark Wignall, a former headteacher with 36 years in education, to talk values over rules, the attendance crisis, marginal gains in the classroom, and why understanding your brain might be the most important lesson schools aren't teaching.

If you need any specifi...

This week Adam and Andy are joined by Professor Jessica Horst of The University of Sussex to discuss everything from early childhood language learning, to gamification and how we actually learn the meaning of words.

If you need any specific help with this, don't hesitate to email the show adamwright@aypuk.com.

We Read Your Comments!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Buy us a Coffee!: https://ko-fi.com/onebrainpodcast

--

00:0...

This week Adam and Andy are joined by Ian Swingler, Action Your Potential Strategic Growth and Quality Development Lead to talk about coaching – specifically how our neuroscience informed coaching can transform outcomes for everyone from students, to CEOs and kids.

Find out more about our coaching on our website: https://www.actionyourpotential.org/

If you need any specific help with this, don't hesitate to email the sh...

This week Adam and Andy worries. Why we worry, how it can feel – and crucially what we can do to manage them. We also discuss why brains hate change, and how to deal with specific types of worries and changes – especially those you can't immediately solve.

If you need any specific help with this, don't hesitate to email the show adamwright@aypuk.com

We Read Your Comments!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Buy u...

This week Adam and Andy talk "optimization-maxxing" – the practice of controlling your life and environment to make sure that you achieve all your goals, be they fitness, academic or career.

Is there neuroscience to back up this trend – and should Stephen Bartlett's omission about alcohol stop us as well?

Full Stephen Bartlett Clip: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HgoTCKECHEM

Diary Of A CEO Youtube: https://www....

This week Adam and Andy... are off! So enjoy this cut together of some key actionable neuroscience insights, along with some funny moments over the last six months.

Think of it like 'That's what I call music', but for our neuroscience podcast!

👀 EPISODES FEATURED:

Truthiness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT4cCoGjGrM

Planning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jB6IA6ZNDM8

Self Improvement & Dopamine: https://www.you...

This week Adam and Andy break down how to build an effective sleep routine with sleep hygiene – and why it's VITAL you do.

If you need any specific help with this, don't hesitate to email the show adamwright@aypuk.com

We Read Your Comments!: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_rt06Ri8yc

Sleep Episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj6AIFOsIm0

---

Chapters:

00:00 - Clip

00:25 - Intro & waffle (ft. More Life stress)

03...