From the Hay Festival, James and a panel of experts explain what we can all do to help ourselves age well.

We discover what’s going on in our bodies when we age, the difference between biological and chronological age, as well as getting the audience moving for a physical test.

James is joined by gerontologist Sarah Harper from the University of Oxford, biomedical scientist Georgina Ellison-Hughes from King’s College London, and doctor Norman Lazarus to understand how exercise, diet, and mental health all have a part to play in how we age.

Presenter: James Gallagher 

As the emotional roller coaster of the Euros comes to a close and the summer Olympics begin, James joins Professor Damian Bailey for an experiment to measure the ups and downs of watching sport. We monitor brains, hearts, lungs and hormones to try to out if watching sport is good or bad for us.

But is there an additional risk for sports fans attending the summer Olympics in Paris? As climate change drives the tiger mosquito northwards there are concerns over the potential spread of Dengue in France’s capital. James talks to disease ecologist Dr Jennifer Lord to discover what France are doing to prepare for this mosquito-transmitted virus.

Plus, Professor Peter Openshaw joins James to digest the latest Covid-19 inquiry and what lessons we can learn for the next pandemic. Together, they discuss why we are currently experiencing a summer wave of Covid-19.

Presenter: James Gallagher

This week James visits a pub in Liverpool where he's joined by a trio of alcohol researchers who’ll watch carefully as he drinks two pints of lager.

They’ll give him a few tests and talk through exactly what is going on in the body and brain from the very first sip to the minutes and hours that follow.

James finds out we might be more at risk of harm than we may have thought - even if we drink below the recommended guidance of 14 units of alcohol per week.

And we’re also going to answer some more of your insomnia questions - from whether exercise can help to why chocolate before bed might be a no-no and whether falling asleep to your favourite health podcast is good for rest…

Inside Health is taking a short break for now so we'll see you in the summer. In our next series we're going to be talking about ageing and how to age well. Email your questions or thoughts to [email protected]

Presenter: James Gallagher

Last month, Catherine, Princess of Wales shared she’d been diagnosed with cancer. Describing this news as ‘a huge shock’ and at age just 42, the Princess’ disease falls into a category known as “early-onset cancer” – when the disease affects those under 50. While cases in this age group are still rare, diagnosis rates over the past few years have been growing. And scientists are now on a mission to figure out why.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis at any age is devastating, but younger people living with the disease face additional challenges. James Gallagher talks to Emma Campbell, a mum of three young children who was diagnosed with bowel cancer at 36. Emma shares not just how her treatment affected her life, but the difficulties in advocating for herself as a younger person trying to get diagnosed. Professor Helen Coleman, cancer epidemiologist for Queens University Belfast, has been studying these diagnostic rates in younger people and explains possible reasons why more people like Emma are finding themselves living with the disease.

A series of videos recently went viral on social media from women claiming their weight loss drugs got them pregnant. These drugs – like Ozempic and Wegovy – help people lose weight by suppressing appetite, but could they impact fertility? James speaks to Dr Charlotte Moffett, lecturer in Pharmacology and Molecular Pathology at the University of Ulster, who is studying if these drugs might alter someone's ability to conceive. James is also joined in the studio by GP, Dr Margaret McCartney, who helps him answer some of your questions.

Presenter: James Gallagher

TikTok credits: @Dkalsolive | @anastasiamalhotra | @coachkatierogers

How did you sleep last night?

Perhaps you couldn't drift off, or maybe you woke in the middle of the night and then couldn't nod off again.

In this special edition of Inside Health we're talking all about insomnia. It’s an issue that may affect many of us at some point in our lives – but for some it goes beyond a short period of not being able to sleep and becomes something more serious.

You’ve been getting in touch with your questions, and James is joined by a trio of experts ready to answer to them: Dr Allie Hare, president of the British Sleep Society and consultant physician in sleep medicine at the Royal Brompton Hospital, Colin Espie, a professor of sleep medicine at Oxford University and Dr Faith Orchard, a lecturer in psychology at Sussex University.

We’re going to find out why we get insomnia, when to seek help and how much factors like ageing, menopause, needing the loo or shift work matter. And we'll look at the latest advice and treatments. Can insomnia be fixed?

You can keep in touch with the team by emailing [email protected]

Presenter: James Gallagher

Scientists are worried about ticks.

They say they’re starting to pose more of a health risk here in the UK, as our climate warms and urban areas spill into green spaces.

But what are ticks, what kind of disease can they cause – and how much of a problem are they? We go on a tick hunt in Richmond Park and then head back to the lab to meet the ticks we’ve collected. We find out why new species of ticks and new diseases could be coming our way - and what you can do to keep safe.

Also this week, we answer your questions on the impact of noise on our health following our recent programme.

And we delve into the fascinating world of measles. It’s the most contagious virus in the world – by a long way. What is it about this virus that makes it so spectacularly good at infecting us?

Keep in touch with the Inside Health team at [email protected]

Presenter: James Gallagher

Have you ever tried intermittent fasting? As the month of Ramadan comes to an end, many Muslims are concluding several weeks of time-restricted eating. But outside of religion, many of us are now choosing to eat this way for health reasons – even UK PM Rishi Sunak does a weekly fast. Claimed benefits of intermittent fasting range from weight loss to improved immune function to maybe even living longer, but do these stack up?

James Gallagher gives one of these popular diets a go whilst trying to answer if restricting when we eat our food is good for us. He chats to Colin Selman from the University of Glasgow about the animal studies which inspired these claims, Claudia Langenberg from Queen Mary University on what happens in our bodies when fasting, and Lucy Serpell from UCL on the potential dangers these types of diets can pose. Plus, we visit AFC Wimbledon for an Iftar event to hear if people fasting during Ramadan experience any changes to their health.

Presenter: James Gallagher

From ear-splitting aircraft noise and the drone of traffic to the hum of an open-plan office, the world around us can feel loud.

But is it getting louder? And is this having any effect on our health - and even on how long we live?

We find out when living close to a road, railway or airport might go from nuisance to health hazard, with potential effects on our sleep, heart health, mood and concentration.

It’ll get loud as we do some tests in a lab to explore how unwanted sound might affect the rest of the body beyond our ears, and we sift through the growing research on the impact of noise. Who might be most at risk and why?

We also find out why our reaction to noise might be about more than just volume - and we go in search of some simple tips to help.

Keep in touch with the Inside Health team at [email protected]

Presenter: James Gallagher

Ever wondered how much caffeine is too much? Or whether you’d feel better off if you took an afternoon nap? And with the rise in ‘day raving’ we’ll be looking at whether it’s better for your health to have your night out at 2pm rather than 2am.

Then we’ll be following a strict scientifically-approved napping schedule and hearing what impact those bonus sleep sessions can have on brain function – while catching 40 winks in some unusual locations.

After that, we’ll take all that energy and party the afternoon (and early evening) away at a daytime rave to find out if that is better for our bodies than pulling an all-nighter.

Along the way we’ll be joined by people who know way more about these things than us, from a Spanish sleep whizz in Manchester to a body boffin in Barry Island.

Producer: Gerry Holt

BBC health journalist Laura Foster can’t get the first days of the pandemic out of her head; the stunned silence of the newsroom as the first lockdown was announced, the chaos and noise at the supermarket and the empty streets of London.

But even though she was a reporter covering every twist and turn of the story, she still can’t remember the first time she heard about long Covid.

The world was so engrossed by the immediate threat that few paid attention to what was happening around the edges; the people whose lives didn’t move on after that little red line disappeared from their test and whose symptoms never went away.

And that problem was getting bigger and bigger by the day.

We visit the UK’s very first long Covid clinic where healthcare workers started learning about this life-shattering disease in the hospital car park - and we find out why recovering from long Covid is a lot like training for the Olympics.

What did we know back then – and what do we know now? And are we really any closer to seeing the end of long Covid?

Details of organisations offering information and support with long Covid are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Presenter: Laura Foster