Research has shown that feeling or expressing thanks can actually alter our brain.

• The balance of neurotransmitters change; more serotonin and dopamine (feel good chemicals) are produced.
• This can be long lasting if we make gratitude a regular habit.
• We also get a decrease in our cortisol (stress hormone) levels which helps lower anxiety.
• Being grateful can strengthen the nerve pathways which triggers positive emotion.

How can we build gratitude?

Journal

Our brains are very receptive and what we read or write can alter our emotional system.

Notice more

Throughout your day, try to notice all the things that are going well; has someone opened a door for you, or smiled?

Gratitude can lead to feelings of optimism, lower our blood pressure, and improve sleep quality. 

• Write down what potential good aspects there are to the things you don’t feel like doing, or even what could be worse about it.
• Spend a few minutes writing down three things that you are looking forward to that day, or the good things that have happened to you that day.
• Say thank you to yourself for the things you have achieved, or managed to get through and changed that day.

Sales of battery
electric vehicles hit a record high last year.

Leon Poultney, a writer who specialises in cars, gives his EV recommendations, and the ones that should be avoided.

A champion of EV efficiency

It offers a remarkable 491 mile range on a single charge from the 85kWh battery.

It is a technological masterclass inside with the ability to option screens that span the entire width of the dashboard, including an optional display for the front passenger.

Priced from £37,400

It’s a lot of money to part with, but this is arguably all the car you will ever need.

The £89,000 Macan is a premium SUV that somehow manages to blend Porsche’s reputation for dynamics and sporty driving with everyday practicality.

The 95kWh batteries can go from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 21 minutes from the fastest public charging outlets.

With the business class-style six seat configuration costing a staggering £76,995, it is by far the most expensive Kia ever made, but it backs up its financial demands with a suite of genuinely useful and impressive onboard technology.

BYD Dolphin Surf

The kitchen gadgets under £25

ProCook cast iron pan

For unbeatable searing and heat-retention, cast iron is the top choice. 

Pyrex jug

It is the perfect vessel for blending smooth sauces, melting butter, or warming stock. It won’t stain like plastic and the red measurements never fade.

Oxo peeler

What truly sets it apart is the chunky, rubberised handle that absorbs pressure and stays completely non-slip, even if your hands are wet. It is inexpensive and incredibly durable.

The golden rules for a happy, secure relationship

Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr Amir Levine, author of bestselling book Attached, explains why we behave the way we do in love.

Start with your own behaviours

The foundation of a secure, connected life is being what I call CARRP: that means being consistent, available, responsive, reliable and predictable. All of these qualities can be enacted in small gestures every day.

Golden rules for happy relationships

Lean on community

You don’t need hundreds of friends. You need people and places that regularly remind you that you belong. 

When something unsettles you in a relationship, your first reaction is not always the most accurate one. 

If you’re anxious, your brain may jump very quickly to: ‘this is the beginning of the end’. If you’re avoidant, your brain may say: ‘this person wants too much from me, I need to get away’. So one very practical thing you can always do is pause and ask: ‘What would a secure person do here?’

• Build a community that works for your temperament and gives you regular, reliable moments of connection.
• You can still be kind to people while not treating them as someone who belongs in your inner circle. 
• Explain what you need. Sometimes people simply don’t realise how you are experiencing them.
• Check in with people: does this person actually feel that I’m reliable? Do they experience me as predictable? That’s the only way that you can start to become more secure.

A bowl of cereal and glass of orange juice

More refined cereals are digested quickly, and fruit juice, whilst one of your five-a-day, contains less fibre than whole fruit. This might mean you find yourself hungry again within 1-2 hours of eating this breakfast.

Foods that leave you hungrier

Toast and jam

It is mostly carbohydrate and without protein or fibre, it is digested quickly, leaving you feeling hungry.

Foods that leave you hungrier

Pizza

Unless it’s loaded with veggies, it’s probably pretty low in fibre.

Foods that leave you hungrier

Low-fat yoghurt

A full-fat plain Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds tends to be much more filling due to the protein, fat and fibre.

Instead of thinking about avoiding foods, think about what you can add to them.

• Add beans, lentils or shredded chicken to your vegetable soup and pasta.
• Thicken your smoothies with Greek yoghurt, chia seeds and oats.
• Apple slices with peanut butter, yogurt with berries and hummus with oat biscuits are better snack options than a pre-made snack bar.
• Have alcohol alongside a balanced meal containing protein and fibre.

How to age well
without pain

Will Harlow, a physiotherapist
for the over-50s and author of Independence for Life, shares
the key signs you’re ageing
badly – and what to do about it.

How to age without pain

Sleep

Throughout our entire lives, Harlow says we need between seven and nine hours of sleep.

The brain can be linked to muscle mass too, Harlow says. It’s not just about being able to lift things. It gives you more energy, better sleep and you’ll look and feel better.

How to age without pain

Stretch in bed

Take joints through a full range of motion for five minutes to loosen it before getting up.

How to age without pain

Don’t wait

Harlow finds that many patients put off making a change to their lifestyle until their lives are consumed by pain. 

• Lie completely flat on the floor and get back up to a standing position using any technique. This should take less than 10 seconds.
• 
  See how many times you can sit on the chair and stand back up again in 30 seconds. Men should be aiming for more than 14 times and women 12. 
• 
  The single-leg stand, which involves standing on one leg and balancing for 10 seconds. Everyone should be able to do that and for those under 65, Harlow asks them to do it with their eyes closed.