If someone asks you what you are doing to prepare for your retirement, you might mention a 401K or an IRA, but what you might not realize is that you also need to prepare your mind for this major change in your life as well. Dr. Ross Andel, a gerontologist, who has been studying what happens to our brains when we retire, reveals how it can have serious consequences for our mental health, including cognitive decline and depression. But he will also offer some easy steps and tips to avoid this "retirement trap" and keep our brains active and healthy so that we can fully enjoy that hard-earned nest egg in our golden years.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Dr. Ross Andel, a gerontologist, who has been studying what happens to our brains when we retire, reveals how it can have serious consequences for our mental health, including cognitive decline and depression.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

We all know the importance of a good diet, sufficient exercise and a good night's sleep, but there's one more essential thing we all need to be healthy. Social connection. Simply put, our brains need friends. Neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein reveals exactly what is happening in our brains when we interact with friends, family, even strangers, and how exactly this affects our physical and mental health… the many benefits of a good social life and the real risks of isolation and loneliness . He also offers simple tips on how we can be more social and to make better use of one of the most powerful, easiest, and cheapest ways to a healthy, happy life. (Hint: Next time you think you are too busy to call or text that friend…pick up the phone and connect).

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Loneliness has become a serious epidemic with nearly 60% of American adults saying they were lonely. We know that this can lead to depression, anxiety, and other mental and physical problems. But how does spending less time with others actually affect our brains?

In our next episode, Dr. Ben Rein, a social neuroscientist, will reveal how social interaction supports our mental health, strengthens our immune system, and even causes our brains to synchronize with our loved ones. These and other fascinating details are explored in his new book "Why Brains Need Friends."

He will also provide some easy ways to feel better and perhaps even live longer by simply putting down our phones and adding a conversation or a hug to our daily lives.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Touch is the first sense we develop, and one of the most powerful tools we have for connection, healing, and communication.

In this episode, social neuroscientist Dr. Michael Banissy explains how everyday gestures like hugs, handshakes, and high-fives influence our health and emotional well-being. From the biological complexity of our touch receptors to surprising studies on immune response, stress, and sleep, Dr. Banissy reveals why touch matters more than we think, and what happens when we don't get enough of it.

Plus - the dangers of a pain-free life.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

"Reach out and touch someone" isn't just a slogan from a long distance phone ad. It's also a powerful statement about human connection.

Dr. Michael Banissy, a professor of social neuroscience at the University of Bristol, explores how we understand and respond to others through touch, empathy, and emotional communication. He explains how hugs can actually support our emotional and physical health.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit

https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit

https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Whether it's our shopping habits, Google searches, or Facebook friends, we are all aware that our personal information is being collected and often sold online. But what about our thoughts, what's going on in our minds? With all the advances in consumer Neurotechnology and AI, stealing data from our brains is no longer science fiction and at least for now, it can collected and used without our consent.

Can anything be done to stop this intrusion into our most personal information? Dr. Sean Pauzauski, Medical Director at the Neurorights Foundation, discusses how companies collect our brain data, and whether or not your mind has any right to privacy.

Plus - The art of "Mentalists" who make you believe they can read your mind!

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Our personal data is online and it's for sale. But what about the information from our brains, in our thoughts? With the exponential increase in neurotechnology devices for use by the general public, the private data in our minds is also being collected -- and might be used without our permission!

Dr. Sean Pausowski, the Medical Director at the Neurorights Foundation, is working to protect our brains' rights to privacy, finding ways to safeguard our thoughts, emotions, even our subconscious before it's too late.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

Why do you exercise? It might be to lose weight, maintain or improve your health, reduce stress, or perhaps a combination of all of these. But what is actually motivating you is simpler than that. As Dr. Gary Wenk reveals in his book "Your Brian on Exercise", you exercise because your brain needs you to move, and it will do everything it can to motivate you to do it.

He provides fascinating insights into exactly what is happening to our brains when we go jogging, lift weights, swim laps, or take a walk, as well as what happens when we don't. He'll also answer questions we all have about exercise vs diet to lose weight and perhaps, most importantly, how much exercise is enough.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org

We all know that exercise is good for our bodies, but do our brains benefit as well? In our next episode Dr. Gary Wenk of the Ohio State University reveals exactly how our muscles communicate with our brains when we work out, and why exercise is so important to our mental health.

Plus – how our brain chemistry explains why there's a Dunkin Donuts on every corner and the mental and physical price we pay for too much exercise.

For more information, transcripts, and all episodes, please visit

https://thisisyourbrain.com

For more about Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery, please visit

https://neurosurgery.weillcornell.org