Participant FAQ
Answers to the questions we hear most often. Last updated: June 2026.
This FAQ is a living document and it will grow as new questions come in. If your question is not here, it is not a silly question, it just has not been asked yet. Post it in the community. Joy and Naomi respond to questions there.
About the Program
reMYnd is a 12-month, science-backed brain and body health program for midlife adults. It is built on the evidence that dementia risk accumulates across life, with midlife being a critical and actionable window. The habits you build in midlife are strongly associated with your brain health later in life.
The program works across 8 pillars of brain health: Exercise, Nutrition, Sleep, Cognitive Stimulation, Sensory Health, Connection, Meaning and Purpose, and Stress and Resilience. You work on these together, because it is the combination that matters most, not any single pillar.
reMYnd is a prevention program, not a treatment. It is for people who want to be proactive about their brain health, not reactive.
No, and this is one of the most common misconceptions. If you are already exercising and eating reasonably well, reMYnd is still highly relevant to you.
Most health programs focus on one or two pillars. reMYnd specifically targets the combination of factors that research shows drive brain health: the right types of exercise, not just any exercise, along with cognitive engagement, sleep quality, stress resilience, and social connection, all working together.
You will also learn why specific things matter, the mechanisms behind what you are doing, so you can make smarter choices for the rest of your life, not just while you are in the program.
The 12-month structure is intentional. Habit formation research is clear that sustainable behaviour change takes time, and trying to compress it creates the overwhelm that causes most programs to fail.
Each month builds on the last. You are not cramming information, you are building a system that eventually runs in the background of your life. That is the goal, habits that feel automatic rather than like homework.
Moving faster would undermine the program design. The pace is the point.
Personal trainers and dietitians are valuable, and reMYnd does not replace them. What it does that they do not:
- Addresses all 8 pillars together, not just exercise or nutrition
- Specifically targets dementia prevention and brain health, not just general fitness
- Teaches you the science so you understand why, not just what
- Builds long-term habits rather than short-term programs
- Tracks objective data over 12 months so you can see real change
Think of reMYnd as the system that sits above everything else, giving you the framework to make better decisions across all areas of health.
Yes, especially for you. People who are already health-conscious are often the ones most motivated to act on prevention, and most able to implement what reMYnd teaches.
Being active is not the same as being optimally positioned for brain health. There are specific types of exercise, specific nutritional factors, and specific cognitive habits that research links to dementia prevention, and most active, healthy people are not doing all of them deliberately.
reMYnd fills those gaps and gives you a structured, evidence-based system rather than a patchwork of good intentions.
Each month has a theme that builds on the previous months. In general:
- You receive new educational content across the month, short and digestible, not overwhelming
- You complete a monthly check-in that takes under 3 minutes
- You attend a live monthly call with Naomi, or watch the recording
- You continue your exercise program, adapting it as your fitness improves
- Joy, your in-app companion, is available any time to help you find your way and stay on track
- You engage with the community as much or as little as suits you
- Reassessments track your objective progress at set points across the year
The program is designed to sit in the background, not take over your life.
Exercise & Movement
The program provides four exercise versions to match different starting points. In general, the evidence-based targets for brain health are:
- Aerobic exercise: 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity
- Strength training: 2 to 3 sessions per week
- Incidental movement: as much as possible throughout the day
- Balance and coordination: built into your training sessions
- Power training: built into your strength training
Month 1 is about low friction and high uptake. If you are starting from a low base, we begin where you are, not where the guidelines say you should be.
Incidental movement is all the activity you do that is not structured exercise: walking to the car, doing housework, standing during a phone call, taking the stairs.
It is a valuable addition to structured exercise and, for most people, it is easier to sustain than adding more gym sessions. It complements your training rather than replacing it.
Small targets, such as moving each hour, standing during calls, or parking further away, compound over a year.
'Move more' is good advice but incomplete. For brain health specifically, the evidence points to particular types of exercise:
- Aerobic exercise that gets you breathing hard, which research links to BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and neuroplasticity
- Resistance training, which is linked to reduced dementia risk, better cognitive function, and protection against muscle loss
- Dual-task training, doing a cognitive task while moving, such as counting backwards while walking, which trains the brain-body connection
- Power training, fast-velocity movements, often neglected but important for fall prevention and reaction time
reMYnd makes sure you are doing the right types, not just accumulating movement.
In most cases yes, but always with appropriate modifications. The program provides four exercise versions at different intensity levels, and exercises can be adapted.
The research supports several pathways by which exercise influences brain health:
- Increases BDNF, a protein that promotes the growth and maintenance of neurons
- Reduces cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity, which are also dementia risk factors
- Improves insulin sensitivity, reducing the metabolic dysregulation linked to Alzheimer's
- Reduces inflammation, since chronic low-grade inflammation is implicated in neurodegeneration
- Improves sleep quality, and sleep is when the brain clears metabolic waste products
- Builds cognitive reserve, a buffer that can delay the onset of dementia symptoms even when underlying changes are present
This is why the Lancet Commission identifies physical inactivity as one of the modifiable risk factors for dementia, and why reMYnd treats exercise as foundational rather than optional.
Nutrition
No rigid diet, and deliberately so. A diet you cannot maintain for years is not a brain health strategy. reMYnd uses a flexible nutrition framework based on the dietary patterns most consistently linked to cognitive health:
- Mediterranean-style eating, high in vegetables, legumes, whole grains, oily fish and olive oil
- Adequate protein across the day to support muscle and cognitive function
- A wide variety of vitamins and minerals
- Minimising ultra-processed foods
The nutrition guide provides practical menus and recipes, but these are templates, not prescriptions. The goal is sustainable change, not perfection. Any dietary pattern that improves cardiovascular health will also support brain health.
Protein needs increase in midlife, more than most people realise, and most midlife adults are under-eating it, which contributes to the muscle loss that accelerates after 40. Adequate protein also supports cognitive function. The evidence supports:
- General target: 1.2 to 1.8 g per kg of body weight per day
- The higher end of that range suits those doing resistance training, including women in midlife
- For those in elite or event training, intake can be increased up to 2.2 g per kg per day, and at that level it is best to seek the advice of a nutritionist
The reMYnd nutrition guide includes practical guidance on hitting your protein target without complicated tracking.
Sleep & Recovery
Sleep is when the brain does much of its housekeeping. Research suggests that during deep sleep the brain clears metabolic waste products, including proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease, and that this clearance is less efficient when sleep is poor.
Chronic poor sleep, whether too little or disrupted, is associated with increased dementia risk. Sleep is also when the memories formed during the day are consolidated.
This is why sleep is a dedicated pillar in reMYnd, not an afterthought.
Yes. The program covers evidence-based sleep strategies that go well beyond the standard advice to avoid screens before bed. These include:
- Sleep pressure and circadian rhythm management
- The relationship between exercise timing and sleep quality
- Nutrition and sleep, what to eat or avoid and when
- Stress regulation and its impact on sleep
For persistent insomnia or a suspected sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea or restless legs, please see your GP, as these need specific treatment that sits outside the scope of the program.
Cognitive Training
reMYnd includes cognitive stimulation across several domains:
- Processing speed exercises
- Working memory tasks
- Dual-task training, combining physical and cognitive challenge
- Category fluency and verbal exercises
- Learning new skills, one of the most protective activities for the brain
Cognitive training is not about doing puzzles on an app. The most robust evidence is for novel, effortful learning, things that genuinely challenge you, and for physical and cognitive dual tasking.
The evidence is nuanced. Isolated brain-training games have limited transfer to real-world cognitive function. But broader cognitive engagement, such as learning new things, social engagement, and managing complex tasks, is consistently associated with reduced dementia risk.
This is why we encourage you to treat the education series as part of your cognitive stimulation. Watch the content, take notes, then attempt the quiz and see what you learned.
reMYnd focuses on building cognitive reserve, the brain's resilience and ability to compensate, rather than training narrow skills. Cognitive reserve is built through novelty, challenge, social connection, and learning across domains.
Prevention is most powerful when started earlier, but building healthy habits at any age has benefit. The brain retains plasticity throughout life.
However, if you are experiencing noticeable, persistent cognitive changes, particularly if they are affecting your daily function or worrying people around you, this warrants assessment by your GP before or alongside starting reMYnd.
Assessments & Tracking
The assessments serve three purposes:
- Baseline: they tell you where you are actually starting, not where you think you are
- Motivation: seeing objective improvement over 12 months is one of the most powerful adherence tools there is
- Safety: tracking measures like blood pressure and functional fitness means we catch changes early
You do not need to do every single test. During onboarding you can choose the full battery or a shorter battery matched to your goals and your health situation. We help you prioritise.
These assessments are empowering, not intimidating. You are not competing with anyone. You are establishing your own baseline so you can see your own progress.
A baseline score is just that, a starting point. It tells you where you are, not where you will be.
Many people are surprised by their results, in both directions. Performing below average on a test does not mean something is wrong, it means you have identified a specific area where the program can help.
If you are concerned about any of your results, particularly cognitive scores, bring it to your monthly check-in, or discuss it with your GP.
This is exactly what the reassessments are designed to show you, and the app interprets your results automatically.
For cognitive tests it uses the Reliable Change Index, a statistical method that tells you whether a change in your score is a genuine improvement or just normal day-to-day variation. For physical tests it checks whether your change exceeds the Minimal Clinically Important Difference, the threshold at which a change is meaningful rather than measurement noise.
Your results come with a plain-language, real-world interpretation of what the change means in daily life, so the numbers actually mean something to you.
Reassessments happen at set points across the year:
- Fitness at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months, with the 9-month fitness retest optional
- Cardiometabolic measures at 3 and 12 months
- Cognitive and wellbeing assessments at 6 and 12 months
If a baseline result was below average, you may be prompted to retest a domain more often, and flagged to follow up with a medical professional where appropriate.
You control how your data is used through consent options during onboarding.
Program participation is required to deliver the program, and your data is stored securely on Australian servers. Beyond that, you choose whether your de-identified data is used in academic research, whether it is included in aggregate non-identifiable statistics, and whether licensed de-identified data may be shared with selected partners such as research organisations, health insurers, or digital health companies.
These are all on by default and you can switch any of them off at onboarding. Your individual progress data is always used to support you through the program.
Supplements & Medications
reMYnd does not prescribe supplements. The evidence base for most supplements in dementia prevention is weak compared to the evidence for diet, exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle factors. Naomi covers supplements of interest during the nutrition month.
A small number of nutrients are worth discussing with your GP, particularly if you have identified deficiencies. Vitamin D, omega-3, and B12 have some supporting evidence, especially if you eat little meat or fish.
reMYnd does not prescribe medications and the program itself does not interact with them.
However, if you are making significant dietary or activity changes, particularly if you take blood thinners, diabetic medications, or blood pressure medications, let your GP know, because lifestyle changes that work can affect how much medication you need.
Community & Support
reMYnd is designed to be integrated into your life, not added on top of it. A realistic weekly picture:
- Exercise: 3 to 5 sessions, 30 to 60 minutes each, though Month 1 starts smaller if needed
- Education content: about 1 hour per month, not per week
- Monthly check-in: under 3 minutes
- Live monthly call: about 1 hour, with a recording available if you cannot attend live
- Cognitive stimulation: around 30 minutes per week
- Community engagement: as much or as little as you like
Most people are already doing some form of exercise, so the genuine additional time is around 1 extra hour per week on top of what you are already doing. The design principle is consistency over volume.
First, this is normal. Life happens, and the program is designed with that in mind.
A few things that help:
- Do the monthly check-in even if you feel you have not done much, because tracking is part of the process
- Post in the community if you are struggling, and ask Joy for one simple next step
- Lower the bar temporarily rather than stopping, because 10 minutes of movement beats zero
- Remember that 80 per cent of something simple beats 20 per cent of something complicated
Missing one week does not break the program. Missing three weeks in a row is the risk, which is why Joy checks in if you go quiet, and why Naomi follows up personally.
Joy is available in the app any time to help you navigate the program and find content.
The community is the best place for program-related questions, where Joy and Naomi respond, and your question may help other participants too.
For personal or sensitive matters, you can email naomi@naomiferstera.com. Assessment results and health concerns are best discussed during the live monthly call, where Naomi can give them proper attention.
Payments & Access
reMYnd has a single price with two payment frequencies:
- Monthly: $99 per month
- Weekly: $25 per week, which works out to roughly the same as the monthly price
There is no cheaper or more expensive tier. Both options give you full access to the entire program, all assessments, the live monthly call, and the community. We also offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
Yes. You can cancel at any time, without penalty and without a cancellation fee, by emailing naomi@naomiferstera.com.
Our refund approach:
- Cancel within 24 to 48 hours of a payment and you receive a full refund
- After that, within the first 14 days, a refund is at our discretion, minus an administration fee
- After 14 days, the current month is not refunded or pro-rated
That said, if you are ever unhappy, talk to us. We would much rather sort it out than have you leave on a bad note, so cancellations and refunds are handled case by case.
If you cancel, you keep access to the program until the end of your current billing period. After that, you will no longer be able to access the app, your assessments, or the community.
Any assessment data or results you have recorded can be saved or exported before your access ends. Contact us if you need help with this.
Safety & Medical
reMYnd is designed for midlife adults, and many participants will have one or more of these conditions. They are among the most common modifiable dementia risk factors the program specifically addresses.
Please tell Naomi during onboarding, and get clearance from your GP before starting the exercise components, if you have:
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure, confirmed with your GP
- An unstable heart condition
- A recent cardiac event, within the last 6 months
- Poorly controlled diabetes
For most people with well-managed conditions, reMYnd is not only safe, it is specifically beneficial. Where you have a diagnosed condition, the program applies the relevant condition-specific guidance and directs you to confirm with your GP.
Stop and seek appropriate care for any of the following:
- Chest pain, pressure, or tightness
- Dizziness, fainting, or severe or unusual shortness of breath
- Any new or concerning neurological symptoms
Some specific thresholds also apply. Blood glucose below 4.0 mmol/L, or above 15 mmol/L with symptoms of weakness, tiredness, or ketosis, is a reason not to exercise. Blood pressure above 180/110 mmHg is a reason to pause and review with your GP on a case-by-case basis.
For concerning but non-emergency results, discuss them with your GP at your next appointment and let Naomi know at your check-in.
This FAQ will grow as the program grows. Every question you ask makes this document better for the next participant.
Post your question in the community. Joy and Naomi respond.
reMYnd · naomiferstera.com · remynd.com.au