Column Chronicles: Ask Dr. Wellbottom: sleep facts

Ask Dr. Wellbottom: sleep facts

Frank Cotolo
July 6, 2017

Once again it's time to confer with the all-knowing Dr. Adrian Wellbottom. The popular physician and author of 56 books on medical matters that matter to the young and the old, the sick and the poor and others, always takes a fresh yet traditional approach to the health of anyone. In this episode, we ask the doctor about pain.

Q: While I am sleeping I often get cramps in my legs.

Dr.W: If you can sleep through the pain then don't worry.

Q: It is true that snoring can cause a person to die?

Dr.W: If the person snores while sleeping the answer is yes. It is call Sleep Apnea and I have no idea why they call it that. Sounds half English and half Greek.

Q: I have been known to sleep for thirty hours at a time. Is this healthy?

Dr.W: Not if the thirty hours are followed by a normal amount of time awake. You may be ill.

Q: I don't believe that in order to be truly healthy a person has to sleep at least eight hours a day. Some people can be very healthy on far less sleep.

Dr.W: Name them.

Q: What is Narcolepsy?

Dr.W: It's a disease that makes a person fall to sleep at random. This is very dangerous when driving a car, for instance. You are advised not to become a circus performer if you feel you have Narcolepsy. The disease is named after the Roman mythology figure, Narcolepsy, a young man who fell to sleep in order to inform the Emperor the Roman army conquered a new territory. As the myth goes, Narcolepsy began to fall asleep more often, making the Emperor think that the Roman army was conquering more of the world than it was conquering. When the Emperor saw the army come back to Rome while Narcolepsy was sleeping, the great ruler of Rome chopped off the head of Narcolepsy and said, "You like to sleep? There, sleep forever."

Q: What can a person do for insomnia?

Dr.W: Sleep is the only solution.

Q: While I am sleeping I often get cramps in my legs.

Dr. W: Haven't you been here before?

Frank Cotolo can be found hosting the talk and interview programme Cotolo Chronicles. You can send him an e-mail at this address: frank@148.ca.