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...
It Is Written In The Stars

It Is Written In The Stars

Like nearly all of us, I sometimes look at astrological forecasts. At the start of this year nobody predicted a pandemic. Yet, to give credit where due, the prediction was for a year of unusually big upheaval based on a conjunction of Saturn and Pluto. Apparently...

7 Best Actions To Help Your Relationship Thrive

7 Best Actions To Help Your Relationship Thrive

A common scenario for many couples is worrying that their relationship is on the rocks or their partner might not be as invested as they previously were. Whether our partner has a low libido or seems emotionally distant; when our relationship hits a rough patch it’s...

Counting The Unseen Health Cost of Covid19

Counting The Unseen Health Cost of Covid19

As each month passes, we are discovering more about the cost of the response to Covid19. Whilst there is a daily update on the number of cases and deaths, we here little if anything about the medical and health consequences of lockdowns. In fact, any questioning of...

What A Step Parent Really Wants To Say

What A Step Parent Really Wants To Say

What a step parent really wants to say to their partner’s ex is: “I do not want to be your child’s parent and maybe if you stopped playing all the emotional games you are currently playing, the bad mouthing of me and your ex and actually parented your child which is...

Time To Help Smokers Quit!

Time To Help Smokers Quit!

Regular readers will know that I am Chairman on Australian Tobacco Harm Reduction Association (ATHRA). The organization has been lobbying for three years to legalise vaping in Australia so that the death and illness toll from smoking can be reduced. It is no secret...

The Problem With Chronic Glaucoma

The Problem With Chronic Glaucoma

The problem with chronic glaucoma is that the disease causes no symptoms early on, but the treatments often do! Glaucoma is a chronic disease which causes no symptoms at all in its early stages, but which can cause progressive loss of peripheral vision and ultimately...

Welcome To 1848!

Welcome To 1848!

Handwashing, as a way of reducing the spread of infection, has gained new traction in 2020. It is worth remembering that this concept was not always accepted. In fact, when first proposed as a way to reduce puerperal infection and maternal mortality- it was rejected...

Dealing with Other People’s Lack of Empathy

Dealing with Other People’s Lack of Empathy

Does other people’s lack of empathy upset or annoy you?  Is your manager, colleague, family member or friend coming across as uncaring or cold?  Are you feeling unsupported as a result of others’ lack of empathy? Empathy Empowers When we feel empathy, we feel how...

This Too Shall Pass

This Too Shall Pass

Spring is the time of renewal. Last weekend there was actually warm spring weather. This prompted a venture into the garden and the pre-requisite trip to Bunnings, together with a not surprisingly large group of others. Reticulation parts and some assorted hardware...

Don’t Be A ‘Bush’ Step Parent

Don’t Be A ‘Bush’ Step Parent

After 15 years of step parenting I have heard it all. The good, the bad, the plain ridiculous. But nothing upsets me more than the completely ill-informed know-it-all. You all know the type – they tell you everything about everything all the time. I have coined the...

Digging Down Reveals Critical Data

Digging Down Reveals Critical Data

A well-researched piece by Dr Malcolm Kendrick, which I encourage all to read, was published this week. It examined the reasons why countries are seeing more cases of Covid19 but fewer deaths. Statistics can be bamboozling and are often used to confuse people. This is...

A Deeper Look At Short-Sightedness

A Deeper Look At Short-Sightedness

Short-sightedness, or near-sightedness, or myopia, is a condition in which there is a mismatch between the focussing power of the eye and the length of the eye. Light coming into the eye is focussed to a point on the retina by the cornea (the clear structure on the...