Ask for the doctor

 Ask for  the  doctor

1

If you had a class of 30 students and one of those students was getting bad grades, you could reasonably assume that the problem lay with that one student.

But what if 20 out of those 30 students were getting bad grades?

Surely you'd redirect your blame towards the teacher or the school, right?

2

Have you been fasting?

Yep, I haven't eaten anything since dinner last night.

I haven't had my coffee, I'm struggling, but in the name of science,

- I'm food and drink-free.

3

In other words, the long-term goal is a pill that will activate brown fat a method that, if successful, could bring hope to the overweight and obese.

4

The resulting chemical reaction powers his muscles, but also produces waste, around 28kg of carbon dioxide, and 11kg of water.

Which means, in simple terms, most of the fat Gary burns off exercising will exit his body through his mouth as CO2, a little bit each time he breathes out.

5

What's that equivalent to?

Say you were walking for about an hour and a half, you would expend about that same number of calories, just by lying in that cold suit.

6

It's the Opera House.

I don't snore that bad, do I?

As we look for answers to getting a good night's sleep.

We spend a third of our lives sleeping, and that's meant to be good for us.

7

I've been married to my beautiful wife, Dimmi, for just a few months now.

Things are going great.

There's only one small issue.

That's in the bedroom

The problem is, I snore.

Now, my snoring has often been the subject of ridicule.

I'm referring to Shaz's snoring

I wasn't even safe at my own wedding.

This, my friends, is the stuff of legends

Thing is, I don't think it's that bad, and I'm hoping science can back me up.

8

Snoring is caused by a disrupted airflow, or a narrowing of the airways, often little more than an annoyance.

But it can be indicative of a serious underlying health condition, obstructive sleep apnoea, where breathing can intermittently stop completely.

9

So tell me about the snoring, then, because it's multi-level, the snoring

- Yeah.

- Could be nasal

- More nasal.

- Yeah.

Could be back of the palate......or back of the tongue.

So it depends.

Would you like me to do that again?

So actually there's a science behind it.

It's a symphony of snoring.

It's the Opera House.

10

So, before we find out more about Shalin's snoring problem, we asked you, "How much sleep do you average a night?"

Most of us know getting a good night's sleep is important.

11

Then as we start adding years, the amount of recommended sleep begins to come down.

But even into our late teens, up to ten hours is still recommended.

12

Well, it all depends on the individual.

Some people run fine on seven hours' sleep.

Others need nine, and some even ten hours.

So it might be better to think about it in terms of how much sleep you need to avoid those bad health outcomes, and the best research suggests that for most people, seven hours is the minimum to stay healthy.

And I, for one, am not going to argue with that.

As a medical doctor who takes a holistic approach to health, I am concerned about a particular group who are really suffering from a lack of sleep... teenagers.

13

You must feel a bit like helicopter parents sometimes.

- Yeah, you do. For sure.

- Yeah.

But it's almost like she's starting to give up.

Monique's predicament is serious, but it's actually not uncommon.

14

Wow, so you're talking six hours or something in a night?

- Six, seven hours.

- Why is it they sleep less?

It's mainly, not only, but mainly to do with screens and digital technology and the need to be connected now, electronically, 24 hours a day.

So we're now a 24-hour society rather than a sort of 12 or 14-hour society.

15

It does. They're not always aware of it, but it affects their mood, their behaviour, their learning.

It affects a lot of body systems, so the kids get sick a lot, they miss school, they're late from school.

It sort of sounds like you already know Monique, to be honest.

16

So, Monique, what are you most scared about?

Knowing that I have to get to bed at a certain time, whereas usually it's just, like, free.

I can go to bed when I want, that kind of thing.

Right now this is an agreement you're making with all of us...

- Yep.

- ...in front of all of us.

17

If, like me, you're one of many people with a snoring problem, a trip to a sleep centre might be in order.

I'm in the process of being wired up for an overnight sleep test.

My sleep specialist, Dr Dev, thinks my breathing might be compromised

Sleep apnoea is a condition where people stop breathing in their sleep, which is why it's called 'apnoea', it's 'without air'.

18

Right in the middle of something important, kicking life goals, when suddenly you realise......you're not wearing any pants, and everyone is laughing at you.

Yes, Gary is fast asleep.

But why do humans and animals need to sleep at all?

Especially when it leaves them dangerously exposed to predators?

Well, the truth is that there are a whole lot of theories about why we sleep.

19

Researchers have observed brain cells shrinking by up to 60% during sleep.

The gaps created allow the brain to be flushed out with cerebrospinal fluid, removing waste toxins that build up when our brain is awake.

Some scientists believe this nightly cleanout is essential for healthy brain functioning in all of us.

20

There's no major health issue, which is good to hear

- Alright. Bonus.

- Alright?

- But...

- But?

...a number of apnoeas.

It came to about 12 an hour overall.

- OK. Right.

- Sounds a lot.

Anything under 15 an hour is regarded as mild.

- Right.

21

- Guys, come on through.

- Thank you

So, how have things changed for you?

It's quite different.

Getting up in the morning I feel quite, like, happy and things like that,

- which is great.

- You actually feel different?

Yeah, I do, especially when I get to school.

Like, I feel like I can go into class and I don't feel like I need to sleep in that class.

22

Her melatonin level is now lower in the morning, which means she's had a good night's sleep.

Even my friends and family are seeing differences in my attitude, just being able to, like, be happy and participate in things which I usually wouldn't, which is great.

It's been quite a journey for me discovering just how crucial sleep is.

ーーー

23

But while our drinking culture is sometimes regarded as a badge of honour, just how big a toll is it taking on our bodies?

24

So I'm about to take part in an experiment with five other people to find out what actually happens to our bodies over a two-hour lunch that involves a fair amount of, you guessed it, alcohol.

25

It's not truly a scientific experiment but there'll be some interesting lessons to be learnt.

- You're a glass-half-full kind of person.

- I try to be!

26

Of all the drugs available, this is the one that causes the most problems.

I work in emergency departments and I've seen the effect of alcohol on people.

It's confronting, it can be heartbreaking and sometimes it can be dangerous for everyone involved.

27

[Dr Simon] So, it's the binge drinking that gets the headlines but we also see the other side of it, so that's that longer-term effects of chronic alcohol abuse.

28

It's liver disease, pancreatitis, there's the neurological problems, people with head injuries who get, you know, chronic brain injury and there's the social impacts, I suppose, which we haven't touched on either.

29

What do you think is the main message you'd want to tell people who are drinking?

Enough is enough.

30

I mean, you know, we see some horrific injuries, we see domestic violence, we see all sorts of bad things happening to people and the sad thing is that it's preventable.

31

Hands off, guys. Hands off. Don't eat it all at once!

32

Well, this is just one example of how everyone's personal level of tolerance for alcohol is different, with so many genetic, physical and social factors coming into play.

33

Gary is also super-thirsty, in part because the diuretic properties of alcohol boosted his urine production as he partied but also because, as he was drinking booze, he wasn't drinking any water.

However, while it's likely that dehydration does cause some of the symptoms of a hangover, like dizziness and light-headedness, there's a whole lot of other stuff going on.

34

One theory involves the complicated process of getting booze out of our bodies.

As our liver breaks down alcohol, one of the bi-products is acetaldehyde, a compound estimated to be up to 30 times more toxic than alcohol itself.

In controlled studies, acetaldehyde has been shown to cause sweating, nausea and vomiting, which all sound about right for a bad hangover.

35

That the only cure for feeling this bad is not drinking to excess?

Oh, dear, Gary. You are a slow learner.

Gary's not the only one who doesn't have a stop button.

36

At the moment, the evidence seems to be supporting to that being the case.

Um, we're not sure yet.

There's certainly evidence from studies overseas suggesting that it does..

37

It's pretty clear the alcohol is now really kicking in.

We're much louder and much funnier -- well, we think we are, anyway.

You're living up to my earlier prediction that people who've been drinking talk more but it means less.

38

The golden seal is the theory that after your first pee, you feel like peeing more often thereafter.

We all feel like it's a thing but is there any reality to it?

I have no idea. I've never come across any real research on that.

39

Her reading has climbed to 0.114.

40

At 0.049, Addison's just under the legal driving limit but almost double his brother's reading.

41

0.078.

Which means I'm in a lot worse shape than the twins.

42

[Dr Renee] That's a very big ask.

It certainly is.

It certainly is but I think it's a bigger ask if we let so many young people die of binge drinking.