Have you ever spritzed your pillow with lavender and wondered, is this actually doing anything?

There are some surprising ways that smells can affect sleep, and it might have something to do with how our brains work.

Norman and Tegan discuss how smells, good and bad, could affect your nightly snooze.

References:

• From antiquity to modern hygiene: the archaeological and medicinal legacy of lavender as a promising antimicrobial agent
• Lavender and sleep: A systematic review of the evidence
• How Smell Affects Your Sleep – Sleep Foundation
• Reciprocal relationships between sleep and smell
• Subjectively intense odor does not affect dream emotions during rapid eye movement sleep
• Nocturnal exposure to a preferred ambient scent does not affect dream emotionality or post-sleep core affect valence in young adults
• Olfactory Aversive Conditioning during Sleep Reduces Cigarette-Smoking Behavior

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Do you feel better after a good cry, or do you feel worse than ever?

There can be a lot to cry about, good or bad: a break-up, a milestone, a tragedy, a sappy movie.

Norman and Tegan discuss why we evolved to cry, and the purpose it serves as we get older.

References:

• The Riddle of Human Emotional Crying: A Challenge for Emotion Researchers
• The neurobiology of human crying
• Emotional expression in human and non-human great apes
• Ultra-processed food intake, cognitive function, and dementia risk: A cross-sectional study of middle-aged and older Australian adults

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• Butter vs margarine: what's better for you?
• How much protein do you REALLY need?
• Why is yawning contagious?

You might be hearing a lot about ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, and how we should all be avoiding them.

But you might be struggling with figuring out what exactly IS an ultra-processed food. Sweetened drinks, sure. What about bread? Yoghurt?

Norman and Tegan unpack why it isn’t a simple question, and where the evidence stands on the health consequences.

*A previous version of this episode may have implied that the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) board is comprised of current food industry representatives that are directly involved in setting food policy. This was edited on 12/08/2026. 

References:

• Ultra-Processed Foods and Human Health - The Lancet series
• Diet quality and processed foods – Food Standards Australia and New Zealand
• Most of the Foods We Eat Are Ultra-Processed. Are They All Unhealthy? - Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
• Trends of obesity and underweight in older children and adolescents in the United States, Brazil, China, and Russia
• Ultra-processed products are becoming dominant in the global food system
• The UN Decade of Nutrition, the NOVA food classification and the trouble with ultra-processing
• Ultra-processed food exposure and adverse health outcomes: umbrella review of epidemiological meta-analyses
• Ultra-Processed Diets Cause Excess Calorie Intake and Weight Gain: An Inpatient Randomized Controlled Trial of Ad Libitum Food Intake
• The collapse of the food matrix: how ultra-processed foods impact satiety and metabolism by altering physical structure beyond nutrient composition 

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The modification and removal of body hair has been going on for centuries, but our reasons for it have evolved.

Some believe it’s more hygienic to remove, others argue it’s against our nature to be so hairless.

Norman and Tegan trim the evidence on body hair: leg, armpit, pubic and even inside your nose.

References:

• Trends in body hair removal as depicted through art
• Getting plucked: the history of hair removal - ABC
• Effects of pubic hair grooming on women’s sexual health: a systematic review and meta-analysis
• Bare necessity? Public health implications of removing pubic hair
• Effect of Physical and Chemical Hair Removal Methods on Skin Barrier Function in vitro: Consequences for a Hydrophilic Model Permeant
• Using the Hair Removal Laser in the Axillary Region and its Effect on Normal Microbial Flora
• Shaving of axillary hair has only a transient effect on perceived body odor pleasantness
• Cadaver research leads to prestigious science award - the Science Show
• Does nasal hair (vibrissae) density affect the risk of developing asthma in patients with seasonal rhinitis?
• 6 ways to remove unwanted hair - American Association of Dermatology

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• Do the benefits of creatine go beyond the gym?
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Ashwagandha supplements are rising in popularity, but the herb has been used for hundreds of years in Ayurvedic medicine.

The supposed benefits are broad – from stress to sleep, athletic performance and boosting testosterone.

Norman and Tegan explore where the evidence stands, and uncertainties about potential risks.

References:

• An Overview on Ashwagandha: A Rasayana (Rejuvenator) of Ayurveda
• Chemical composition, cytotoxic and pro-inflammatory enzyme inhibitory properties of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal root extracts
• Chemical Composition, Biological Activity, and Health-Promoting Effects of Withania somnifera for Pharma-Food Industry Applications
• Clinical and Research Information on Drug-Induced Liver Injury
• Ashwagandha: Is it helpful for stress, anxiety, or sleep?
• Exploring the efficacy and safety of a novel standardized ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract in adults experiencing high stress and fatigue in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
• A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study Examining the Hormonal and Vitality Effects of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in Aging, Overweight Males

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When you're going through a stressful time it can have knock-on effects on your routine.

Sleep, diet, exercise routines can be thrown out of whack. And when that stress goes for weeks or months, it can have a serious impact.

Norman and Tegan unpack the various forms of chronic stress, like burnout, and how they can disrupt your health.

References:

• Chronic Stress - ScienceDirect
• Physiology, Stress Reaction
• The impact of stress on body function: A review
• Stressor-Specific Microbiota Intervention
• Stress and the gastrointestinal tract
• B cells and the stressed brain: emerging evidence of neuroimmune interactions in the context of psychosocial stress and major depression
• Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer
• The effect of multiple adverse childhood experiences on health: a systematic review and meta-analysis
• 11 healthy ways to handle life’s stressors - American Psychological Association
• Stress-related conditions such as adjustment disorder and clinical burnout can be effectively treated with a 12-week cognitive behavioural programme, both when delivered as a face-to-face treatment and when delivered via the internet 

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• Why is the internet telling me to lower my cortisol?
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Sea sickness, car sickness, space sickness – when it comes down to it, it’s all the same.

But not everybody suffers the same. Some people are even lucky enough to grow out of motion sickness.

Norman and Tegan talk about what’s going on when the world goes topsy-turvy, and what you can do about it.

References:

• Motion Sickness
• Validating sensory conflict theory and mitigating motion sickness in humans with galvanic vestibular stimulation - Nature
• Are evolutionary hypotheses for motion sickness "just-so" stories?
• Three studies of motion sickness susceptibility – Federal Aviation Authority
• Genetic variants associated with motion sickness point to roles for inner ear development, neurological processes and glucose homeostasis
• Motion sickness diagnostic criteria: Consensus Document of the Classification Committee of the Bárány Society 
• Survey of motion sickness susceptibility in children and adolescents aged 3 months to 18 years
• Hopkins History Moments: Neil A. Grauer explains how Hopkins expertise helped prevent seasickness
• Remedies for motion sickness: What works? - Harvard Health 

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Lately there have been lots of scary headlines about cancer rates rising in younger adults.

What can you do to drive down your cancer risk?

Norman and Tegan offer some practical tips, and discuss what's in your control versus what isn't.

References:

• Overview of cancer in Australia, 2025 - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
• Effects of diets on risks of cancer and the mediating role of metabolites
• Be physically active – Cancer Council
• Exercise packs a punch in fending off cancer – the Health Report
• “You do not get cancer by chance”: Communicating the role of environmental causes in cancer diseases and the risk of a “guilt rhetoric”  

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Our calcium needs can increase as we age, especially for women going through menopause.

Most Australians aren’t getting enough calcium from their diet, so are supplements a good option

Norman and Tegan discuss the conflicting evidence on calcium – in particular, could it be good for your bones, but bad for your heart?

References:

• Calcium supplements have 'very little place' in modern medicine - the Health Report
• Nutrient Reference Values - Calcium
• Effect of age on calcium absorption in postmenopausal women
• Biochemical Variables in Pre- and Postmenopausal Women: Reconciling the Calcium and Estrogen Hypotheses
• Calcium Content of Common Foods - Healthy Bones Australia
• Choosing a calcium supplement: What you should know about taking calcium to boost your nutrients
• Calcium Supplements and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: A Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trials
• Association Between Calcium Supplementation and the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
• Association Between Calcium Supplementation and Recurrence of Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Cardiovascular Disease: A Population‐Based Cohort Study
• Calcium Intake From Diet and Supplements and the Risk of Coronary Artery Calcification and its Progression Among Older Adults: 10‐Year Follow‐up of the Multi‐Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)
• Oral Calcium Supplements Associate With Serial Coronary Calcification: Insights From Intravascular Ultrasound

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There's a scene in the Devil Wears Prada 2 where a character is so stressed she starts "tapping" to calm herself down.

What is this self-soothing technique, and should you try it out?

Norman and Tegan talk through what Emotional Freedom Techniques, or tapping is and whether there's any evidence it lowers anxiety.

References:

• How ‘tapping’ is dividing opinion in therapy circles
• Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Improves Multiple Physiological Markers of Health
• Neural changes after Emotional Freedom Techniques treatment for chronic pain sufferers
• Emotional freedom techniques for treating post traumatic stress disorder: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis 
• Commentary: Emotional freedom techniques for treating post traumatic stress disorder: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis
• A Randomized Controlled Comparison of Emotional Freedom Technique and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to Reduce Adolescent Anxiety: A Pilot Study
• Food for Thought: A Randomised Controlled Trial of Emotional Freedom Techniques and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the Treatment of Food Cravings
• The impact of emotional freedom techniques on anxiety, depression, and anticipatory grief in people with cancer: A meta-analysis and systematic review 

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