The concept of déjà vu can be pretty confusing, right?
You can say that again.
It stands to reason that over the years there have been many theories that try to explain the weird sensation that is déjà vu and why we get it, but an NHS doctor – who has over 2.5 million followers on TikTok – has potentially put an end to any further debate about what may cause it.
In a short informational video posted to the video sharing social media platform – that started out with a classic repetition joke, just in case you were unsure what the phenomenon actually was – Dr Karan Raj explained that: “It’s a glitch in your brain.
“It’s when a new short term memory gets accidentally stored in the long term memory, so it feels like it’s happened before, because our brain is telling us it’s an old memory.”
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He then concluded using the very technical term: “It’s just sloppy admin by your brain.”
Well it may not quite have been what we were expecting, but it certainly does make sense.
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Before Dr Karan – who is well-known for his #schoolwithdrkaran series on TikTok and across various other social media platforms – stepped in to explain the phenomenon in simple terms, there have been many other theories to account for déjà vu.
It’s believed that déjà vu affects somewhere between two-thirds and four-fifths of all people, and is something which has fascinated scientists over the years.
However, they remain divided as to the cause.
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Some experts believe it originates in the medial temporal lobes of the brain – which control long-term memory – however, they are unable to study the phenomenon deeply because déjà vu, by its nature, is fleeting and brief meaning it cannot be recorded or tracked, as it just happens and then goes away almost immediately.
Scientists have also looked at epilepsy to see whether it holds the key to déjà vu, as seizures also begin in the medial temporal lobe, and according to The Conversation, some researchers reckon they could somehow be linked.
It is possible to study the growth of seizures – which are essentially electrical overloads in the brain – and track them as they pass through the brain, and through this theory, déjà vu is also believed to be an electrical overload, stimulated in the rhinal cortices portion of the brain and then impacted upon the medial temporal lobe, and this would mean that a false signal is sent, implying that the brain has seen something before, even when it hasn’t.
Another theory holds that déjà vu occurs due to a failure of memory.
Although our brain’s “sloppy admin” still remains somewhat unexplained, Dr Karan has done a pretty good job of breaking down déjà vu for the masses, amassing over 338K views in the process.
You can find more of Dr Karan Raj’s videos on TikTok here.
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Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Hilarious study names Manchester as one of the UK’s most hungover cities
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most hungover cities, according to a hilarious new study.
Let’s be honest, we’ve all had one of those mornings – or a lot more than one, for many of us.
The kind where you wake up regretting ordering that last pint, or your decision to mix your drinks, questioning every life choice while desperately Googling ‘hangover cures that actually work’… but it turns out that some UK cities are way more prone to struggling with hangovers than others, and Manchester is one of them.
In a bid to uncover where in the country people are searching for hangover cures the most, alcohol-free beer brand Mash Gang has crunched the numbers and analysed more than 5.5 million Google searches across every city.
Manchester has been named one of the UK’s most hungover cities / Credit: Kraken Images (via Unsplash)
We always knew Manchester would be close to the top, but in this instance, we’ve actually just missed out on the number one spot, as our city has officially been ranked the second most hungover in the UK, just behind the ‘undisputed hungover capital’ itself, which is Birmingham.
According to the study, whether it’s the legendary Northern Quater or the city’s famous Gay Village, us Mancs are waking up with sore heads a lot more than anywhere else in the North.
While the North can often be underrepresented in top 10 lists, this doesn’t seem to be the case here, as other major cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, and Sheffield have all earned their place.
UK’s top 10 most hungover cities
Birmingham
Manchester
Liverpool
Bristol
Leeds
Newcastle
Sheffield
Plymouth
Coventry
Wolverhampton
It’s all according to a new survey finding the city with the most sore heads in the country / Credit: Mylo Kaye (via Unsplash)
On the other end of the scale, Ripon has emerged as the UK’s least hungover city, closely followed by Carlisle, which means that if you’re looking for a place to escape temptation, or to just find people who actually get up early on weekends, then you know where to head to.
As well as the top 10 list, Mash Gang’s analysis data also showed just how much people are looking for hangover solutions, as in just the past month alone, there have been 178,000 searches for “hair of the dog,” and the search term “hangover food” has been looked up 72,000 times in the same period.
On top of this, searches for ‘zebra striping’ – which is a method where people alternate alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to lessen the impact of drinking – have also increased by 424% in the past quarter.
Emily Sergeant -
28th December 2020 
