Mempathy
Mempathy is a podcast about dementia-related memory loss, hosted by Professor Catherine Loveday, a memory expert who has spent the last 12 years putting her research into practice to support her own mum. In the series, she speaks with Sonia Beldom about everyday issues that arise for families and carers, such as how to have tricky conversations, how to improve sleep and how to scaffold memory. It is light-hearted and fun but tackles important topics and offers concrete advice and solutions. Produced by Geraldine Fitzgerald, engineered by Jeff Knowler, and original music by Philip Loveday.
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Episodes
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
Thursday Apr 03, 2025
A trailer for Mempathy - a new podcast by Professor Catherine Loveday, which explores and explains dementia-related memory loss.
Wednesday Apr 09, 2025
Wednesday Apr 09, 2025
A second trailer for Mempathy, with short clips from upcoming episodes.
Monday Apr 14, 2025
Monday Apr 14, 2025
The first Mempathy episode deals with sleep disruption in people with dementia-related memory loss.
Our question from the public was “My friend’s mum has dementia and seems to have no concept of what time of day it is. She is becoming nocturnal, sometimes goes to bed at 6am etc. This causes lots of problems!”
In this episode, Professor Catherine Loveday and Sonia Beldom speak about their own experiences of managing nocturnal mums. They then discuss the science underlying sleep, which explains why these problems happen (and in fact is helpful for any of us who may struggle with sleep sometimes). Catherine offers some tried and tested evidence-based tips for getting things back on track.
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
Tuesday Apr 29, 2025
In this episode we discuss why talking about the future can create anxiety in people with dementia-related memory loss, and share tips on how to manage it.
Sonia asks: "My sister is about to move house and we don't know how to speak to my step-mum about it because she keeps getting muddled and anxious."
Monday May 12, 2025
Monday May 12, 2025
People with memory loss can sometimes sound very sure about something that you know can't be true, for example being convinced that a relative hasn't visited recently, or simply insisting on something having happened that can't have done. In this episode we look at different examples of when this happens, and then explore the memory mechanisms that underlie the issue. As always we offer some evidence-based suggestions for how to respond so that everyone wins.
2 hours ago
2 hours ago
How do we know when memory loss is something to be concerned about? If you spot the signs in yourself or someone you care about, what should you do? In this episode, Sonia and Catherine discuss their own experiences with their mums, and then look more practically at how to recognise signs of dementia and what steps to take.