Neuroscientist & Health Psychologist
With in-depth knowledge and deep expertise in Brain Health, Sabina is on a mission to help you unleash your Super Brain
Biography
Neuroscientist and health psychologist Dr Sabina Brennan is an accomplished, inspiring and entertaining, motivational speaker who specialises in translating complex, cutting-edge, neuroscience into everyday language to show how anyone can harness their brain power to navigate challenge, build resilience and optimise performance.
Sabina’s books ‘Beating Brain Fog’ and ‘100 Days to a Younger Brain’ are both Irish Times No 1 bestsellers. ‘Brain Gym: 40 Workouts to Boost Your Brain Health’ will be published in March 2023 and ‘The Neuroscience of Manifesting’ will be published in 2024.
The Super Brain podcast, hosted by Sabina, has featured as an Apple ‘New and Noteworthy’ podcast and frequently features in various top ten podcast lists in Ireland and elsewhere. Sabina regularly offers neuroscientific and psychological insights on a variety of topics on radio, TV, as a podcast guest and in the press both nationally and internationally and has given hundreds of talks on a variety of topics to corporate clients, government bodies and NGOs
Sabina’s mission to get everyone looking after their brain health as routinely as they brush their teeth has won her awards in recognition of the societal impact of her work and for her contribution to STEM communication including Science Foundation Ireland’s inaugural award for Outstanding Contribution to Science Communication and the Provost’s Award (TCD) in recognition of her contribution to Innovation for Societal Impact. Dr Brennan was one of just four finalists in the US-Ireland research Innovation Awards (2017) and was listed as one of Image magazine’s Women of the Year (2018). Two Irish books; ‘The Day That Changed My Life: Inspirational Stories from Irish Women (Black and White Publishing, 2019) and A Day in May, Real Lives, True Stories (Irish Academic Press – 2016) include chapters about Sabina.
Dr Brennan directed a dementia research program at Trinity College for seven years and also led Brain Fit, a large-scale research study examining the relationship between brain health, lifestyle, genomics and dementia risk at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s premier university.
Dr Brennan is a passionate advocate for brain health and a voice for the needs of individuals with neurological conditions. She represents Ireland on the Scientific and Medical Advisory Panel for Alzheimer’s Disease International and volunteers on several committees and advisory boards. She has advised the Irish Government & the All Party Parliamentary Group on Longevity in the UK on brain health, dementia risk reduction and healthy ageing.
Topics
The most advanced artificial intelligence tries to simulate but cannot replicate the glorious magnificence of the human brain. Each and every one of us holds within our skulls the most complex structure in the known universe but most of us rarely give it a second thought. We brush our teeth every day but what do we do for our brains. In her talks Sabina Brennan reveals the inner workings of the human brain, the most under-used resource on the planet. Using everyday language she translates complex neuroscience into practical information to keep the brain healthy and harness brain power to navigate challenge, build resilience, maintain mental health and optimise performance.
Our brains are constantly changing and it is our behaviours, our thinking, our experiences and the life choices that we make that shape it. What we do and what we don’t do not only influence how well your brain functions in the here and now but how resilient it will be in the face of challenges including ageing, injury, trauma and disease.
When we invest in brain health we can revitalise and reshape our brains, improving our mental agility and emotional wellbeing, generally making us happier, healthier and more productive. Sabina Brennan’s talks benefit anyone who has a brain, because we use our brain for everything that we do her content is always relevant. Some sample topics are listed here but the scope of topics is as wide as you can imagine.
Brain Health – The Best Investment for Retirement
In addition to caring for soon-to-retire employees, catering for their needs has been shown to have a positive impact on company morale. While retirement can be joyful it can also lead to a lack of mental stimulation and increased social isolation, factors that impact negatively on health and increase risk for dementia. In this talk, aimed at soon-to-retire individuals, Sabina Brennan focuses on boosting brain health to promote healthy aging and reduce dementia risk.
Ageing Well
People are not just living longer they are working longer and in the future many will be working past what we currently deem retirement age. It is vital therefore to ensure that all employees, irrespective of their current chronological age, understand the principles of ageing well. Ageism can be directed at both young and old. Embracing age inclusion makes the workplace better for everyone.
Ageism, which is often overlooked as a form of prejudice, can impact negatively on the health, wellbeing and performance of those affected. In western society where ageing is often perceived as a period of decline it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that older workers bring experience, wisdom and improved business outcomes to the workplace.
In this thought-provoking talk Sabina Brennan questions our notions of ageing while also offering scientific insights into the impact that our attitude to ageing can have on our health, wellbeing, cognitive performance as well as offering tips on how to age well.
Brain Fog in Peri-Menopause and Menopause
Menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workforce. Brain fog is often cited as one of the most frightening and debilitating symptoms of menopause.
In this talk Sabina Brennan talks about the symptoms and causes of brain fog in peri-menopausal and menopausal women to allay their fears about developing dementia. In addition she offers general strategies to manage symptoms and long term tips to beat brain fog.
Stress, Anxiety and the Brain
Stress is one of the leading causes of absenteeism in the workplace. Poorly managed chronic stress impacts negatively on the physical, mental and brain health of employees affecting their behaviour, their relationships, their performance, and their ability to think rationally.
In this talk Sabina Brennan takes a deep dive into the psychological and physiological stress response explaining what happens inside our brains when we become chronically stressed and how this can set the stage for anxiety and depression. Brennan then follows with detailed scientifically supported measures to better manage stress.
Sleep and the Brain: Why Your Brain Needs Sleep, and How to Sleep Well
The W.H.O. has declared a sleep loss epidemic with one in three adults getting less than the amount of sleep required for optimum health. Insufficient or poor quality sleep negatively impacts on physical, mental and brain health.
Poor sleep reduces accuracy, slows physical and cognitive reaction times, contributes to productivity losses and depending on the specific job could put colleagues or clients at risk.
In this talk Sabina Brennan explains how insufficient or poor quality sleep can impair our memory, our ability to learn and to concentrate as well as our ability to find solutions to problems or be creative. Brennan then follows with detailed scientifically supported measures to improve sleep.
Masterclasses
You may want to go deeper with your audience. Masterclasses can be tailored and developed to suit your audience needs, be it a 90-minute Masterclass, a half-day or full-day workshop or a full online or face-to-face programme. Please contact one of our expert team to discuss.
Brain Fog
Brain fog is a general term used to describe a collection of symptoms that can have debilitating impact on the quality of life, ability to carry out jobs, and relationships of the individuals affected.
Brain fog has hit the headlines recently in the context of Long COVID. Brain fog is not a new phenomenon, people have been experiencing its often debilitating symptoms since way before the pandemic. It was the plight of these individuals who were suffering in silence, being gaslit or catastrophising that they had dementia, that spurred Sabina Brennan to write the Irish Times No 1 best-selling book ‘Beating Brain Fog’.
This masterclass, based on the book, gives in depth insight into the phenomenon, explaining what it is and detailing the symptoms, causes and contributing factors. In addition, Sabina Brennan will offer symptom-specific strategies to cope with symptoms in the short term, as well as longer-term life-changing routines that can be employed to eliminate brain fog completely.
Brain Health
We all brush our teeth every day but most of us never spare a thought for our brains. Dental health is clearly important because we need our teeth to eat, to speak and to smile, but we need our brains for everything. There isn’t one thing you can do without your brain, so brain health matters.
In this lively, entertaining and practical, masterclass based on her Irish Times No 1 best-selling book ‘100 Days to a Younger Brain’, Sabina Brennan introduces brain basics and key neuroscientific concepts that underpin brain health. In addition, she gives actionable advice on how to keep your brain healthy and offers insights and explanations into how and why they work and what can happen if we don’t pay heed to the health of our brains.
Resources
Books
Podcasts
Testimonials
“Dr Sabina Brennan is like a personal trainer for the brain” RTÉ
“Brilliantly engaged the audience, as the volume of complimentary emails from audience members testified” How to Academy
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