The Truth About... Improving Your Mental Health

Even under usual circumstances, one in four of us will experience mental health difficulties during our lives. But the pressures of living through the Covid-19 pandemic have put our mental health under strain as never before.

Over the past year, a team from Imperial College London, in collaboration with the BBC, has been carrying out the largest and most representative nationwide survey of our mental health. With over 350,000 participants from across the UK, it gives us a snapshot before and during the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing a unique picture of its shocking impact.

But it can be really difficult for us to recognise when our own mental health isn’t good or to know what to do about it.

In The Truth About... Improving Your Mental Health, clinical psychologist Professor Tanya Byron teams up with former England footballer and now TV pundit Alex Scott who has suffered from depression. They set out to discover how we can use the latest scientific insights to help look after our mental health.

Together with leading experts, they look at the latest science around treatments and self-help techniques for common mental health issues. They discover a surprising new technique for dealing with the mental health condition that has risen most across every age, gender and social group - anxiety. They test a new device that uses electrostimulation in the brain to help us sleep; and they follow a major study into whether probiotic drinks can improve our mood.

The Truth About... Improving Your Mental Health, a 1x60’ for BBC One, is made by BBC Studios’ Science Unit. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer and Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Science and Natural History. The Commissioning Editor is Tom Coveney, and the Executive Producers are Paul Overton and Jacqueline Smith.

The Truth About... Boosting Your Immune System

The coronavirus outbreak has pushed our immune system centre-stage. It’s never been more important to us - but how much do we all really know about how to keep it strong?

In The Truth About Boosting Your Immune System, Dr Ronx Ikharia, an emergency medicine doctor, delves into the latest science to find out what we can all do to make our immune system as healthy as possible.

Ronx teams up with Professor Sheena Cruickshank, an immunologist at the University of Manchester, to run a unique experiment. They recruit a group of volunteers and give them an ‘immune makeover’ - changing their diet, exercise and sleep habits for six weeks to test the impact on their immune health and discover how we might all benefit.

Ronx puts their own body to the test, to discover just how easily our immune system can be damaged; and the surprising ways it can be strengthened, from a relaxing massage to getting a fright.

Together with leading scientists, Ronx uncovers the latest research on so-called ‘immune boosters’ to see what works and what doesn’t – and reveals the one key vitamin that can make a difference. And they discover the surprising truth that for many of us, ‘boosting’ our immune system is the last thing we should be doing. In the UK, the most common immune problem is overactivity – thought to lie behind rising cases of allergies and asthma.

The Truth About... Boosting Your Immune System, a 1x60’ for BBC One, is made by BBC Studios’ Science Unit. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer and Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Science and Natural History. The Commissioning Editor is Abigail Priddle, and the Executive Producers are Paul Overton and Jacqueline Smith.

The Truth About... Getting Fit At Home

During months of having to stay at home, millions of us have swapped the gym for our living room. Nearly half of us are now doing online workouts – ten times the number before the coronavirus lockdown - and almost a third are now using gadgets and gizmos that claim to help us get fit and buff at home. But exactly what should we be doing, how much of it, and how often?

Journalist and blogger Mehreen Baig used to hit the gym four times a week, but now her fitness regime has gone entirely DIY. She’s finding it cheap and convenient - but now she wants to use the latest science to make sure she’s getting maximum return for her effort.

Mehreen teams up with scientists at Liverpool John Moores University and 100 volunteers, to test how much online workouts really improve your fitness - and discover the tricks to help you stick with it and avoid giving up. She follows a brand new study that reveals you can build muscle with just a minute of strength training a day, and tests her own body to reveal the hidden dangers of pursuing the perfect ‘six-pack’ body shape.

She tries out some experimental new technology to transform her running technique. And she discovers the surprising home hacks that can improve your performance - it’s out with clocks and mirrors, in with plants and peppermint scent.

The Truth About... Getting Fit At Home, a 1x60’ for BBC One, is made by BBC Studios’ Science Unit. It was commissioned by Charlotte Moore, BBC Chief Content Officer and Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Science and Natural History. The Commissioning Editor is Sreya Biswas, and the Executive Producers are Paul Overton and Jacqueline Smith.