Dr Joe Unplugged

Dr Joe Unplugged is your home for open commentary on health, wellbeing and life in the broadest sense. We will explore diet, exercise, sleep and stress amongst other health matters as well as issues that may impact you and your wellbeing in direct or indirect ways....

It’s Christmas!

If Christmas did not exist it would need to be invented. Perfectly timed at the end of the year, it allows for many people worldwide to celebrate in some way, shape or form. This may be the formal religious celebration or simply a catch up with friends and family....

We Need Our Sleep

Human beings spend more time being asleep than anything else. It is estimated that at the turn of the twentieth century the average American slept nine hours each night. By the turn of the twenty first century this figure has dropped to under eight hours. Lack of...
Human Connection

Human Connection

Imagine sitting at a table where there is a breakfast buffet. It is already a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere. Then a voice starts singing. More voices join in. The song is familiar but somehow not the familiar arrangement. More voices join and the harmonies are...

Humans Are Complex Beings

Humans Are Complex Beings

There is a tendency in western medicine to have a reductionist approach. Everything can be reduced to a single cause, or at least a predominant one. In turn this approach lends itself to a single treatment – usually a pharmaceutical agent. This is a variation of the...

Breaking It Down

Breaking It Down

Recently I went to a talk given by Ant Middleton, the former SAS officer who has become famous through his role on SAS - Who Dares Wins and SAS Australia. Regular readers will recall that I have written about my fascination with what human beings are able to do with a...

Making A Real Difference

Making A Real Difference

Even before Covid, mental health issues were on the rise accompanied by significant increases in spending and in use of medications. Despite this, the problems continued to increase. The advent of lockdowns in response to Covid has made the situation worse, in...

A Long Two Weeks

A Long Two Weeks

Most readers will be old enough to remember “two weeks to flatten the curve”. This was over two years ago. Finally, most of the world is actually living with Covid. Even Anthony Fauci has had to (grudgingly) concede that the pandemic phase is ending, and we are in the...

Time – The Finite Resource

Time – The Finite Resource

Many years ago, I attended a seminar where the presenter made the point that the only limited resource, we have is time. When you pause to reflect, it is the case that all of us have a finite amount of time on this planet. Furthermore, the amount of time when we are...

The Present Moment

The Present Moment

Regular readers may recall that I have previously written about the TV program SAS Australia and the fascination in seeing what people may be capable of. The program must be doing well as there is currently a third season and it being run at the start rather than end...

Counting Down To Sanity

Counting Down To Sanity

Part of me would have loved to start this year’s blog with something other than Covid-19. However, it remains the predominant, and in some jurisdictions, the only health issue that people have any interest in. It is as if heart disease, diabetes, cancer and depression...

Almost Groundhog Day

Almost Groundhog Day

One of the great movies of all time, in my opinion, is Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray as a weatherman trapped in the same day. Every event and interaction he has is identical and he remembers that whilst everyone else is living it as if it was the first time....

Who Will Ring The Bell?

Who Will Ring The Bell?

It is easy to tell when a sporting event is over. Either a prerequisite number of wins have been attained (e.g. tennis) or a finish line has been crossed. In time-based games, a siren or bell sounds to inform players, umpires and the crowd that time is up, and the...

Have A “Can Do” Approach

Have A “Can Do” Approach

The term reality TV is a bit of a misnomer. It is generally a soap opera with unpaid actors. Big Brother and Survivor were the first of the genre and to the surprise of many are still on our screen some 20 years later. A further twist has been celebrity versions of...

It Is All Just Greek To Me

It Is All Just Greek To Me

Even in these unusual times in which we live, the basics in health still matter. There was an interesting piece in The Weekend Australian, exploring the life expectancy of first generation migrants from Greece living longer than the national average. The article by...