DR MICHAEL MOSLEY: The secret to keeping New Year’s resolutions

Have you made your resolutions for the new year yet? While skeptics say don’t worry, I think January is the perfect time to make changes as long as they are simple and realistic.

There’s evidence to back me up—a study by researchers at Stockholm University in Sweden found that positive, purposeful resolutions are easier to keep than those trying to break a bad habit.

Their findings, published in the journal PLoS One in 2020, come from tracking the habits of 1,000 people over a year.

To inspire your own decisions, I have some suggestions from my experience and my Just One Thing podcast – a new series available to listen to on the BBC Sounds app from today.

Start with “smart” exercises

One New Year’s resolution I made years ago and stuck to is daily push-ups and squats. Because they are not only good for my back and my muscles, but also for my brain.

Professor Damian Bailey, director of the Neurovascular Research Laboratory at the University of South Wales, told me that working against gravity (eg squats or push-ups) increases blood flow to the hippocampus in the brain, an area important for learning and memory responsible for .

It also stimulates the release of a compound called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), which stimulates the growth of new brain cells, which is why I call it “smart” exercises.

I now do about 40 push-ups and squats a day, but it took a while.

Start slowly with just a few a day, and if you already have back problems or high blood pressure, talk to your doctor before you start.

Eat more leeks

Despite what I know about the dangers of too much sugar (it’s bad for your teeth, waistline and brain), I find it impossible to resist cookies or chocolate when they’re in the house.

Where does this desire come from? Surprisingly, there’s growing evidence that we can blame sugar-loving “bad” microbes that live in part in our guts.

And a great way to counteract this and fight cravings is to feed your “good” microbes fiber.

So make a decision to include more inulin-rich foods – such as garlic, leeks, onions, chicory root, bananas and artichokes – in your diet. And when sugar cravings strike, opt for an apple or a handful of fiber-rich nuts

Dr Evelyn Medawar, a neuroscientist at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, told me about a recent study in which overweight adults were given either 30g of inulin per day, a special type of fibre, or a placebo. Her team took fecal samples, measured the volunteers’ appetite and performed brain scans. After two weeks, not only did they see positive changes in the microbiome of the inulin eaters, but brain scans showed that their cravings decreased.

So make a decision to include more inulin-rich foods – such as garlic, leeks, onions, chicory root, bananas and artichokes – in your diet. And when sugar cravings strike, opt for an apple or a handful of fiber-rich nuts.

Put your phone away

i like my phone It’s my encyclopedia, my navigator, my camera and my entertainment system. Sometimes I even use it to call people.

The downside is that, like most adults in the UK, I spend nearly four hours a day on it. And spending so much time staring at a screen is likely to disrupt your sleep and mood.

The good news is that a recent German study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that reducing phone use by just one hour a day reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as life satisfaction and time spent on physical activity be increased.

One way to cut corners that I have found effective is to keep my phone in a drawer. Out of sight out of mind.

Chat with neighbors

Many people live alone and have no one to spend time with. So why not chat with your nearest neighbours?

According to the Campaign To End Loneliness, half a million older people spend most of the week without seeing or talking to anyone, and two-fifths of all older people say television is their most important companion.

Pamela Qualter, Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Manchester, told me that getting to know your neighbors can have a huge impact on you and them.

Many people live alone with no one nearby to spend time with. Then why not decide to chat with your nearest neighbours?

An international study she took part in called Kind Challenge found that small gestures of kindness to neighbors – like saying hello – can reduce the likelihood of loneliness and social isolation and really make a difference.

Wear sunglasses

If you haven’t had your eyes checked recently, opt for an eye test.

A recent eye test revealed that I have early signs of cataracts, clouding of the lenses in my eyes.

Age, diabetes (type 1 or type 2) and a family history of cataracts are risk factors, but the optometrist told me that prolonged exposure to bright sunlight can also accelerate the onset and worsen other serious eye conditions such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration.

I have new dark prescription glasses and my New Year’s resolution is to wear them in the winter when the sun is shining.

I also hope they help with another New Year’s resolution that should seem more challenging. A chance. . .

say thank you

Have you written a thank you note for your gifts or for the delicious Christmas dinner?

Writing thank you notes used to be considered good manners, but now a written note is likely to be replaced with text or nothing at all. Sorry, because we underestimate the effect of a note.

Writing thank you notes used to be considered good manners, but now a written note is likely to be replaced with text or nothing at all. Sorry, because we underestimate the effect of a note

In an experiment by scientists from the University of Chicago, people were asked to write a thank you letter to someone who had done something good for them. It seems that the authors of the note grossly underestimated the joy of the recipients. They also found that people worry about how to express their gratitude.

My advice is to keep the classic structure: say thank you for the gift, say why you appreciate it, and end with “hope to see you soon”. It works for me.

Cheers to the drinks you can enjoy without a hangover!

For many, New Years is the time for partying and partying. But other than sticking to a glass or two, is there a scientifically proven way to reduce the hangover that follows?

In a review published in 2008, Dr. Joris Verster, a pharmacologist at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands, found that darker drinks containing more congeners (chemicals that give drinks their color and flavor) lead to worse hangovers.

So stick to beer, vodka or white wine and avoid cognac or rum.

His team also looked at whether drinking water after drinking alcohol reduced your chances of getting a hangover, which I swear by.

When you wake up the next morning, it’s probably best not to reach for acetaminophen since it’s metabolized by your liver, which may still be struggling to handle the alcohol.

But when the students he studied were asked to rate their hangovers after drinking water or not drinking before bed, there was no difference in hangover severity.

When you wake up the next morning, it’s probably best not to reach for acetaminophen since it’s metabolized by your liver, which may still be struggling to handle the alcohol.

Ibuprofen is a better choice because it doesn’t affect the liver in the same way (although it can irritate the stomach). As with other hangover remedies, there is no evidence of the benefits of “dog dander” (ie more alcohol the next day) or electrolyte drinks.

I have a very low alcohol tolerance, mainly because I have an alcohol dehydrogenase deficiency, which means I tend to flush when I drink even a modest amount of alcohol. It also means I get horrible hangovers. So I stick to my usual modest intake. Probably.