is hanger a thing? Jayani investigates. Yeah, you shut down. I get more cranky. Yeah, yeah. Mataroria sits in on an amazing surgery. By the end of today, I may be cancer free. And Gareth does the night shift, checking out sleep apps. But first ` the truth about sepsis. In 2015, assistant coach to the Chiefs Andrew Strawbridge hit the headlines when he fell seriously ill whilst on tour with his team. It started for me on a plane trip to Samoa. I just felt very unwell, very, very feverish, sweating, nauseous, dizzy, and, um, was greeted by an ambulance when I got off the plane in Samoa. I went straight to hospital there, was given the` a little... dose of antibiotics and then sent back to my` to the hotel I was staying in. Later that night, I can remember vomiting a lot. Everything shut down. Total organ failure, and I needed help. I needed a lot of help. Andrew was suffering from sepsis. Sepsis is also known as blood poisoning. It started with a scratch on his eye, but that was just the beginning. I was just engaged in a fight. When I was in a coma, I was conscious of fighting the whole time. This sounds really weird and I don't know how to explain this in medical terms, but I felt at times with all the toxins running through my brain that I was fighting for my sanity. I lost the use of one of my eyes, which was a small price to pay, really, cos it could have been a lot worse. I was incredibly lucky to survive it, because with sepsis, when it gets advanced and you don't catch it early enough and it's not recognised for what it is, it can ruin people for the rest of their lives. In New Zealand, sepsis kills more people than lung, breast and bowel cancer combined, with more than one in 100 Kiwis affected by it each year. I'm at Waikato Hospital with Dr Erik McClain to find out more. All sepsis happens from a normal infection. The body sends out signals which cause a natural response ` faster heartrate, faster breathing, they wanna increase the blood flow and increase the oxygenation to the tissues. Fever goes up because certain things just work better in the body when the temperature is high. And then your blood is filled with your white blood cells so they can go fight the infection. Sepsis starts as the body tries to fight this infection. All humans have an immune system at their disposal that acts as an army employed to fight the onslaught of germs. With sepsis, it's like a mutiny, where the immune system turns on its host. The immune system's response spirals out of control, damaging vital organs and tissue. It's the own body's response that kinda goes haywire and becomes dysregulated, which sends us down the pathway of organ disfunction. That's when we draw the line at sepsis. Are there long-term effects? It's one of the most deadly diseases we see in the hospital. About one in five, or 20%, of the people admitted to the hospital for sepsis will die. And when you start talking about long-term, for somebody who was discharged from the ICU for sepsis, they're actually quite debilitated, and the frailty associated with it is quite high. Not to mention, the cognitive effects that can happen, and sometimes the effects of sepsis last for much longer than just the hospitalisation, but a year and even five years out. Sepsis isn't hard to treat. The challenge is in the recognition. Symptoms can include ` slurred speech, not passing urine for a day, severe breathlessness, and mottled skin. If you get an infection or you show signs or symptoms of an infection, just ask yourself, 'Could this be sepsis?' And go see your doctor immediately. Don't ignore things, cos the sooner you treat that infection, the decreased chances are that that will progress to sepsis. Preventing sepsis can be as simple as washing our hands and keeping our vaccinations up to date ` common sense solutions that will hold the dreaded mutiny at bay. Last year, the word hangry was accepted into the Oxford Dictionary ` a combination of hungry and angry. That intense, irritable, grouchy feeling we get when we haven't eaten in a while. We're all familiar with hunger pangs, but why does the lack of food affect our mood? If this melon represents our entire body, then this tiny slice would be our brain. Our brain makes up only 2% of our entire body weight. It's only a small part of our body, but our brain is a particularly hungry organ. If this is the total amount of food we eat in a day, then this is how much directly goes to the brain. It uses about a fifth of the total calories we consume. Without fuel, our blood glucose levels drop, and our brain responds by going into survival mode. When we get hungry, our body releases stress hormones like cortisol. This may have evolved millennia ago to spur us on to seek our food and even fight for it. But now though we don't need to catch our own dinner, it just makes us grouchy. Low blood sugar and increased stress hormones do contribute to hanger. But according to research conducted by the American Psychological Association, there is another vital ingredient ` context. Quarter to 8 on ZM. Fletch, Vaughan and Megan. To prove this point, we've engaged the help of two morning radio crews. ZM, hello. Hi, what's your name? Good morning. Coast. Who's this? Hey, Sandy, how are you? Caller five, keep trying. Both the ZM and the Coast team have been on air for nearly four hours. Are you feeling confident? Are you feeling like you've got some good names for us? The Coast team tucked into a hearty breakfast before they started their show, I must admit I'm stoked we're on the eating team for this one, because I don't think I can get through this morning without eating. Really? Yeah, nah, you gotta` A bit of fuel before you get in. Very hungry. Could easily demolish a bag of chips. Or those two bags of chips. The ZM team haven't eaten since last night. Um, it's torture. (LAUGHS) Although if I sniff them, I kinda feel like I've eaten a chippy. No, I don't. Is licking technically eating? Yes. (LAUGHS) Yeah, Vaughn, put them down. (TUTS) Mmm, you should sniff those. They're really good. With the shows over, the crews are shown three pictures designed to provide context. First up, a picturesque sunset. It's lovely. (LAUGHS) I like it. It's warm colours. It's energy. And it makes me think that's what people who do exercise must look like. Must be. See, I like it, because if that is a sunrise and that's like a promise of a new day, I like it. It's good. Anything can happen that day. A neutral image. I see sand. Blank space. Or someone's running out of toner in their printer. Yeah. And lastly, a very angry dog. It's very scary. Someone's in a whole lot of trouble. And it's, like, barking at us. I'm more of a car person, so... After each picture, our teams are asked to rate their emotional response to an ambiguous symbol. It's a scribble, isn't it? It's underwhelming. Non-committal. Non-offensive. Quite exciting. A little bit negative. The results reveal that after looking at the sunset picture and the neutral image, the random symbols were scored similarly by both the hungry and non-hungry teams. The symbol that followed the growling dog, however, was rated lower by the hungry ZM team. I just get tired. I just stop functioning like a human. Yeah, you kinda shut down. And that's sort of like, 'Ah, yes.' Yeah, you shut down. I get more cranky. Yeah, yeah, you use your fuel reserves to get angry. Yeah. This mirrors what the American researchers found when they conducted the test with hundreds of individuals. In simple terms, people deprived of food show a tendency to project their negative feelings of hunger, but only when triggered by an unpleasant situation. Fortunately, there's a simple way to avoid hanger. It's nothing a good meal can't fix. And to be ultra safe, I carry with me a protein snack to help keep me full and stave away hunger and hanger. If you move that, then the arms of the robot move. And how does that feel different to your normal surgeries? You see the gap there? You're actually not touching patients. Fit Me! Matte + Poreless Foundation from Maybelline New York fits your skin's unique tone and texture, blurs pores, stops shine, with 32 shades. Fit Me! foundation. For a flawless natural look, use a Fit Me! concealer, only from Maybelline New York. * Talking cars, robotic house cleaners, mechanical animals ` our imaginations run wild when it comes to robots. R2-D2 and Wall-E are all fun to watch on our screens, but would you trust a robot with your next surgery? That's just what Bill Hawkes is going to do. He's about to undergo robotic surgery to locate and remove the cancer in his throat. What was it about choosing the robot surgery compared to the normal surgery that interested you? I think it's an amazing advance, you know, to be able to` because it's a very inaccessible area, and... You know, being able to get into there and actually do the fine work is pretty awesome. Bill's feeling positive about the surgery. By the end of today, I may be cancer free. You know, that's a good... That's a` Exactly. That's a good option. Amazing. Yes. Heading up Bill's surgical team is Dr Francis Hall. He'll be at the controls of the robot, the da Vinci Surgical System. You can see the controls here. If you move that, then the arms of the robot move, and we have the instruments put in the arms of the robot. Basically, we use three instruments. So there's a camera, there's a grasping instrument, and there's a cutting or a diathermy instrument. And how does it feel different to you as a surgeon compared to doing traditional or normal surgeries? Well, if you see the gap there. You're actually not touching patients. No hands on the patient, so this gap, I think, is quite significant, really. The first challenge for Francis is to locate the cancer. Francis is now operating on the tonsils, and these tools allow him to reach into some deep and dark places and gives him a range of movements that perhaps he wouldn't be able to do with his hands. The robot gives Francis a 3D view. It's like going to the movies, you know, when you wear the 3D glasses. Very much like that. Francis thinks he's found the cancer. He uses the robot's cutting tool to remove the tissue. Pathologist Bridget Mitchell will take it into the lab and check for cancer cells. Take that section. I'll cut it in half. Yep, yep, yep. And just take that section. I'll take one section that side. Yeah. OK, good. That's fine. As we wait for the result, Francis shows me just how flexible the robot's tools are. This one here, you can move it around while it's in the patient with the controls of the robot. And so it's like a mini surgical hand, if you like. It can get into awkward spots. Yeah. Have a go. You can see that it's more manoeuvrable than a hand. Bridget returns with the results, and the team are back to work. Francis had taken off a sample of tissue from Bill. He sent it to the lab, and it came back positive for cancer, which means that Francis has to go back in and remove more tissue to make sure that he's got all of the cancer removed. The second sample will also need to be analysed. Are you pleased you had the robot for this surgery? Yeah, I couldn't do that one without the robot. No. Nah, it just turns a virtually impossible operation into a possible operation, yeah. What are the other types of surgery this robot's used for? Oh, this robot's used for a lot of prostate surgery. It's also used for some kidney operations. Some tonsil cancers, some cancers on the back of the tongue, the base of the tongue. It's also very good for selected patients with obstructive sleep apnea who have failed all other treatments. And so how many of these robots are in New Zealand now? There's three robots, so one in Auckland at Southern Cross North Harbour; there's one in Tauranga; and one in Christchurch. Bridget now has the results of the second tissue sample. I'm happy, Francis. It's all negative. Oh, that's great news. Thank you, Bridget. That's great. Thank you. It is possible that the patient has had all the treatment that they need today. Good news so far? Oh, it's really good news. He'll be delighted. Yeah. Yeah, so am I. As for the robot, its next surgery is in an hour. It's got to earn its keep and do a full day's work, like the rest of us. You need to decide where the relief will come from a cold compress or a warm one. I always have trouble getting to sleep. Can technology really be the answer to a perfect snooze? * 'To sleep, perchance to dream,' so said William Shakespeare in one of his more successful plays, Hamlet. Never mind dreaming, though. Just getting a good night's kip can be a struggle. Did you sleep well last night? If you're anything like me, and the answer is a big fat no, then help is at hand. There's a huge range of sleep apps now available, but can technology really be the answer to a perfect snooze? I've engaged five hard-working and very sleep-deprived millennials to road-test some of the latest apps. These five flatmates share an inner-city home and suffer from a variety of sleep disturbances. I always have trouble getting to sleep. I mostly can't sleep because I'm either, like, overly tired and for some reason just can't get to sleep, have too much screen time, or I'm just feeling stressed. I've fallen asleep everywhere. I've fallen asleep at dinner parties. I've fallen asleep on couches and bathtubs and park benches and clubs, and I feel asleep on the back of a scooter once. It was` It's really` It's really bad. Their problems are worse than I thought. Between them, this lot have tried everything from counting sheep right through to prescription meds. Tonight they'll try something new ` sleep apps. So, have you ever tried sleep apps before? No, I haven't tried sleep apps before, so I'm kind of nervous to try them, but in a good way. For the next three nights, each of our wee willy winkies will keep a sleep diary. That's if they can keep awake. So, I've got a few questionnaires for you to fill in, so every morning, fill them in, and we'll see how you got on. Time to download. I have to admit I'm a little bit sceptical of these apps, but with over 25% of Kiwis reporting having sleeping problems and 50% never waking up feeling refreshed, I think it's worth giving them a chance. (PONDEROUS MUSIC) The first apps our flatmates will be trialling are sleep trackers. Most sleep trackers monitor how long you sleep for, whether it's a deep or light sleep, sleep interruptions and even your snoring. Some offer an alarm to wake you up during the optimum time in your sleep cycle so you are less groggy for the day. Others you can use like a dairy, noting down external factors that may affect your sleep. For sleep trackers to work, your phone is placed under the pillow or somewhere on your mattress. The phone will track your body movements and sometimes sound as you sleep. The idea is by gaining an insight into your body's sleep cycle, you'll be able to adjust your sleep schedule and improve the quality of your sleep. Sweet dreams, everyone. After three nights on the trackers, it's time for our weary volunteers to give the sleep aids a crack. There are hundreds of sounds to choose from on these apps. They're intended to drown out other sounds that might prevent you from falling asleep. Those with a meditation angle encourage you to concentrate on your breathing. Some read you stories for sweet dreams. While others try to bore you to sleep with university lectures. After trialling both sleep trackers and sleep aid apps, I can't wait to find out how our flatties have got on. So, guys, sleep trackers, how did they go? I just found it strange not knowing what my alarm's gonna go off, because I like to have a, sort of, set time. And so I think it actually caused me more panic than relaxation. And when you woke up in the morning after using the app, did you feel any more or less refreshed than you would normally? Didn't really feel too different, to be honest. Overall, sleep trackers are a cheap way of getting some insight into your sleep, but accuracy can be an issue. It may depend on what type of mattress you sleep on. They can't distinguish your movements from your bed partner's, and they can't with any accuracy determine whether you're in a deep or light sleep simply based on movement. Sounds like the feedback from the sleep trackers wasn't that positive. And this is your score out of 10. Which is 3.5. Which I guess is quite low and probably reflects that really it didn't make much of a difference to your sleep at all. Nah. So, the second type of apps you used was sleep aids, which relied on meditation techniques and calming noises. How did you guys find those? I actually` I was quite pleasantly surprised by the sleep aid. You get to choose what sound you'd like, so there's, like, nature or city sounds. The second night, I let Johnny choose the sounds, and he chose the crickets. But he had them way too loud, so that wasn't exactly relaxing for me. Big fan of the crickets. That really worked for me. (CHUCKLES) I drifted off real quick. I'd say twice as fast. Maybe 10, 15 minutes. And so would you use the app again? Yeah, definitely. For me, it was, sort of, the stories one. Probably took me about 30 seconds to get to sleep. So some reasonably positive feedback about the sleep aid and how you found it. And this is your score. (ALL MURMUR) So 5 out of 10. I thought it would be more. So did I. Who dragged it down? I gave it all tens. I mean, I gave it low, because I didn't` It was probably Matt. It didn't help me. So I suppose fair to say, probably still not the highest score in terms of helping sleep. Obviously, didn't work for some people. Sleep apps aren't the answer for everyone, but if you're keen to give them a whirl, experiment to find the right one for you. You've got nothing to lose other than those sleepless nights. Ah. (WINCES) Have you ever heard the old nursery rhyme ` Monday's child is fair of face. Tuesday's child is full of grace. Wednesday's child is full of woe. I'm a Wednesday's child, full of woe, totally accident prone. If you'd had a sprained ankle, a pulled muscle or a stiff neck, you'll be familiar with that moment when you need to decide whether relief will come from a cold compress or a warm one. Both are great at helping reduce muscle pain, but which one is good for what? The key thing to ask yourself is ` what are you trying to treat? An immediate injury like a sprained ankle or a direct blow; or a prolonged injury like tight stiff muscles. The treatment type is all about circulation. With an immediate injury like a sprain, you want to restrict the blood flow. This is when you need a cold compress. The cold constricts your blood vessels, meaning less blood can get to the injured area. Less blood flow means less swelling, inflammation, pain, and muscle spasms. With a prolonged injury or tight muscles, you'll want to increase the blood flow, and this is where heat comes in. Increased blood flow provides more proteins, nutrients and oxygen to the injured area, which promotes healing. The last thing you want to do with an immediate injury is administer heat straight away. Ah, serious! It will increase the blood flow and swelling. Wait at least 48 hours before applying heat to any injury. Some aches improve with warmth. Others benefit from the cold. But in my case, a little more attention to where I'm going would be my best bet. www.able.co.nz Copyright Able 2019