Topic: Lifestyle: For good mental and brain health

“Exercise is more effective than counselling or medication for depression”. “Enjoying the sun and nature can boost mental health”. Every week it seems like there is new headline with research suggesting a change to lifestyle that can improve mood and brain health, but what does the evidence really say? And how can we translate this into achievable changes we can implement in our own lives?

In this presentation, Dr Sophie Andrews will present the latest research investigating how lifestyle effects the brain, and how this in turn impacts on mental health. She will explain why these effects may differ across individuals, and how this knowledge can help you create your own personal action plan for manageable lifestyle change designed to optimise your mental and brain health.

Bio: Dr Sophie Andrews

Dr Sophie Andrews is a Senior Research Fellow and Lead of the Healthy Brain Ageing Research Program in the Thompson Institute, at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is a cognitive neuroscientist and registered clinical neuropsychologist. Sophie’s research is focused on how lifestyle can improve brain and mental health and reduce risk for dementia, and how best to support people to change their lifestyle habits. The Healthy Brain Ageing research program uses cutting-edge neuroscience techniques, including MRI and EEG, to investigate the effectiveness of multi-modal lifestyle interventions for dementia risk reduction and brain health in older people. Her research has received funding from the Australian Research Council, Dementia Australia Research Foundation, and the Huntington’s Disease Society of America. She has recently been named as a ”Superstar of STEM”, by Science and Technology Australia, which is a program designed to recognise Australia’s leading women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.