6 Minute English. From BBC Learning English. Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Beth. Lots of things can make us feel embarrassed - that self-conscious, uncomfortable feeling when your face blushes red and you wish you could just disappear. Have you had any embarrassing moments, Neil? Yes, many. Once I met my parents in a car park and I saw them arriving in their car and I waved my hands around in a very silly way.

But unfortunately, I soon discovered that it wasn't my parents. It was another couple. Oh, no, that's really embarrassing. I remember answering the phone. I thought it was my best friend and I said hello in a very silly voice, and then they asked to speak to my dad, and it wasn't my friend. What was the voice? Hello! Oh, dear. But embarrassment is more than just shyness and blushing. When it comes to our health, there's no end of things to be embarrassed about.

Yes, and some people feel so embarrassed that they don't go to see a doctor when they should, sometimes with serious consequences. In this programme, we'll be discussing the issue of medical embarrassment, and as usual, we'll be learning some useful new words and phrases. So, I have a question. Neil, according to the UK's Nursing Times newspaper, what percentage of people surveyed said they had delayed visiting their doctor out of embarrassment, and then later been diagnosed with a health condition?

Was it a) 21%? b) 41%? Or c) 61%? So I think it's probably a lot, so c) 61%. OK. We will find out if that's correct at the end of the programme. As humans we get embarrassed if we feel different from others, especially if the difference is physical. But how does feeling embarrassed about a medical condition impact our relationship with the doctor? Here's Dr Vanessa Apea, consultant in sexual health at Barts Hospital in London, explaining more to BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Health. So they'll delay accessing the clinic, and also seeking treatment, and so then you'll often see people

that could have been diagnosed with what's happening much earlier, and could have had earlier intervention, but it's delayed quite significantly. And so I then feel that we see a lot of people kind of suffering in silence really. Many people 'delay' going to the doctor - they 'postpone going or put it off until a later time'. As a result, their problem isn't diagnosed. To 'diagnose' means 'to identify a disease or health problem 'through medical examination'. For some, feelings of embarrassment are so strong they prefer to 'suffer in silence' - 'to struggle with pain without seeking help' - rather than visit the doctor. But fortunately, there are things you can do to help.

Writing your problem down, going with a friend, and visiting a doctor you trust are some ideas Dr Apea recommends. There are ways that doctors can help as well, as Dr Vanessa Apea explains here to James Gallagher, presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Health. Can you tell us what techniques you use to put people at ease? I bring transparency to the conversation, and own it, and say that I'm going to be asking you some quite personal questions, and there may be also intimate examination.

I want to assure you that this is confidential, that this is a safe, non-judgmental space. So really, I often name the words to create that space as well. Also in my manner, I would hope, and in my non-verbal cues. James asks what doctors can do to 'put people at ease' - 'to make them feel calm and relaxed' - and Dr Apea describes her ideal conversation. It's a safe space, it's non-judgmental and what is said is 'confidential' - 'kept private and not shared with anyone'. As well as discussing embarrassing problems sensitively, Dr Apea also uses 'non-verbal cues' -

'the expression on her face, her hand movements, 'and the tone of her voice, rather than words', to communicate and relax the patient. Embarrassment is normal, and, with support, hopefully more of us will feel safe to visit the doctor despite it. OK, Beth, isn't it time to reveal the answer to your question? It is. I asked you what percentage of people said they had delayed visiting the doctor because they were embarrassed, but then had later been diagnosed with a health condition?

Do you remember what you said, Neil? Yes, I think I said c) 61%. I'm afraid that is not the correct answer! It was, in fact a) 21% or just over a fifth. OK, let's recap the new vocabulary we've used, starting with 'delay', 'to postpone or put off until a later time'. To 'diagnose' a disease or medical condition means 'to identify it by recognising the symptoms and examining the patient'. If you 'suffer in silence', you 'endure and struggle with painful feelings without asking someone for help'.

The phrasal verb 'put someone at ease' means 'to make someone feel calm and relaxed'. The adjective 'confidential' means 'kept private and secret' and describes information which is not shared with anyone else. And finally, 'non-verbal cues' are 'types of communication using facial expressions, 'hand gestures or tone of voice, rather than speech, to show your feelings'. Once again, our six minutes are up, but why not built your vocabulary and listening skills even more with the quiz and worksheet related to this programme?

They're both available now on our website, BBC Learning English dot com. - See you there! - Bye! 6 Minute English. From BBC Learning English. Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Georgie, and we're ready to start, Phil. Phil?! Oh, sorry, Georgie, I was, er, just, 'catching forty winks', you know, 'getting some shut-eye', 'dozing', 'taking a nap'.

I was 'sleeping'! Sleeping at work! Phil, how could you? I know, I know. Sorry, I, I didn't sleep well last night. I'll forgive you this time, but make sure you go to bed early tonight, because getting a good night's sleep is incredibly important. For example, did you know that people who get enough sleep live about five years longer than people who don't? Wow, so a good night's sleep can lengthen your life. In this programme, we'll be finding out more about the benefits of sleep, and, as usual, learning some useful new vocabulary as well.

But first, now that you've woken up, I have a question for you. Do you know how much of the average person's life is spent asleep? Is it a) a half? b) a quarter? Or c) a third? Hmm, I think we spend about a third of our lives sleeping. OK, well, I'll reveal the correct answer at the end of the programme. The question of why humans sleep is not easy to answer. In terms of evolution, why would it make sense to go unconscious every night,

leaving yourself vulnerable to danger? It can only mean that the benefits gained from sleep are huge. Here, science journalist Ginny Smith explains some of these benefits to BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Science. So we've probably all experienced this, that if you've had a bad night sleep and then you try and do some work, you just can't concentrate, your brain isn't in the right state to take in new information. But we also need to sleep after we've learnt new things,

because that's when our brain consolidates the information - takes it from short-term storage to long-term storage, fits it in with other things we already know. That old adage of if you've got a problem sleep on it? Your brain does actually work on things during the night, and you can often wake up and have solved the problem in your sleep. When we sleep, our brains refresh, leaving us feeling rested in the morning. But after a bad night's sleep it's more difficult to concentrate. We can't 'take in', or 'understand', new information.

We also have the saying, if you've got a problem, sleep on it. To 'sleep on it' means 'to delay making a decision until you've had time to think about it', but that also turns out to be true scientifically speaking - during sleep, your brain really can work out problems and find solutions. But what about the other side of the story? What happens when you get too little sleep, or none at all? Here's Ginny Smith again, talking to BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Science.

Sleep deprivation is a form of stress, and we know that when you are stressed your sort of fight-or-flight response is activated and that causes all these changes in your body that focus on immediate survival over long-term health. But if we are chronically stressed - money worries, or a stressful job, or something that's going on forever, or life, or chronic sleep deprivation that's causing that level of stress, then you might constantly have a damped-down immune system, which can then lead to all these knock-on problems.

Having none or too little of something important is known as 'deprivation'. Sleep deprivation is stressful for the body, so stressful that it activates a 'fight-or-flight response' - 'changes in the human body in response to a life-threatening situation 'which make us either stay and fight the threat or run away from it'. As well as a fight-or-flight response, the stress of not getting enough sleep over a longer period also creates problems including heart disease and a weakened immune system.

Lack of sleep has these 'knock-on effects' - it 'causes other things to happen, but not directly'. Now do you see why it's so important to get a good night's sleep, Phil? Plus, it will stop you sleeping at work again! Right, I think it's time to reveal the answer to my question. Yes, you asked me how much of the average person's life is spent asleep, and I said it was about a third. Which was the correct answer!

Assuming you sleep eight hours a day, the average person will sleep for 229,961 hours in their lifetime or around one third of their life. OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with the phrases 'catch forty winks', 'get some shut-eye', 'doze' and 'take a nap', all of which mean to 'sleep'. When someone 'takes in' information, they 'understand' it. If you have a problem and you 'sleep on it', you 'delay making a decision until you've had time to think about it'.

'Deprivation' is 'an absence or too little of something important', such as food or sleep. The 'fight-or-flight response' describes 'changes in the human body in response to a dangerous situation 'which make us either stay and fight the threat or run away from it'. And finally, if something has a 'knock-on effect', it 'causes other results indirectly'. Once again our six minutes are up, but remember to join us again next time for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English.

- Goodbye for now! - Bye! 6 Minute English. From BBC Learning English. Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil. And I'm Beth. Do you love to 'boogie on down', 'strut your stuff' and 'throw shapes', Beth? What I mean is do you like dancing? Yes! I love to dance, just listening to the music and letting it move my body. What about you, Neil, do you often hit the dance floor?

Sometimes, but I'm not a great dancer. To be honest, I get a bit embarrassed. But maybe I shouldn't, because it's been proved that dancing has many physical and mental health benefits, including releasing stress, boosting your mood, or just enjoying a fun night out. In this programme, we'll be hearing how dancing can benefit our brains and emotions at every stage of life. And, as usual, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary as well. Of course, another great thing about dance is that there are so many different styles, from ballet and ballroom dancing to tap, hip hop and jazz. But my question is about a very unusual style, a traditional English folk dance

where performers wearing black hats and colourful waistcoats hit sticks together while moving in patterns. But do you know the name of this unusual dance, Beth? Is it a) the Highland fling? b) flamenco? Or c) morris dancing? I think the answer is morris dancing. OK, we'll find out later in the programme. Besides Beth, someone else who loves to dance is Julia Ravey, presenter of BBC Radio programme Mental Muscle.

Here, Julia tells us exactly why she loves dancing so much. I love nothing more than a night or a day out where I can just dance like no-one's business. To me, it's just such a release and it's something that I definitely rely on to get the stress out of my body. And I now absolutely love to move. Any chance I get, I'll dance. Now, I know everyone's not a fan, cos some people can find dancing to be awkward or uncomfortable and I've seen people who just avoid the dance floor at all costs, but dancing is so good for us and potentially our brains.

Julia can 'dance like nobody's business', an idiom meaning 'very well, or very quickly'. For her, dancing is a 'release', 'a way of freeing emotions, feelings or tension from her body'. Not everyone is the same as Julia though, and if, like me, the thought of dancing makes you uncomfortable, you might avoid the dance floor 'at all costs' - 'no matter what happens'. That's a pity, Neil, because the benefits of dancing are huge - just ask Dr Peter Lovatt, also known as Dr Dance.

Over four decades, he's studied how dancing helps improve brain function in everyone from children and adults to older people living with diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. Dr Lovatt's dance therapy involves spontaneous movements, closing your eyes and letting the music move you. It promotes divergent thinking, leading to happier, more creative brains. So how can we get more people dancing? That's exactly what Julia Ravey asked Dr Lovatt for BBC Radio programme Mental Muscle.

What would you say to the person listening who maybe doesn't dance at all right now, maybe would like to dance a bit more, maybe, for them, they're still a little bit on the fence about whether they want to dance? How can everyone get a little bit more movement into their daily life? OK, so the very first thing to do, I would suggest, is to lay on your bed, with your eyes closed, and to find a piece of music that you like, close your eyes and then just hear the beat and feel the rhythm. So think about where in your body do you feel a twitch?

Julia mentions people who are sitting 'on the fence', who 'still haven't decided if they will do something or not', in this case, dance. Dr Lovatt's advice is simple - get comfortable, close your eyes and listen to some music. Soon, you'll feel a 'twitch' - 'a small sudden and involuntary movement' somewhere in your body. From there, it's only a few steps to dancing! It seems a dance a day keeps the doctor away! So what do you reckon, Neil, are you ready to give it a go?

Hmm, maybe after I've revealed the answer to my question. Right. You asked for the name of the traditional English folk dance where dancers wear colourful waistcoats and hit sticks, and I guessed it was morris dancing. Well, that was the correct answer, Beth! Morris dancing is the name of the unusual English folk dance, not flamenco which, of course, is Spanish, or the Highland fling, which comes from Scotland. OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned starting with 'boogie', 'strut your stuff', 'throw shapes' and 'hit the dance floor', all modern idioms meaning 'to dance'. If you do something 'like nobody's business',

you 'do it very well, or very quickly'. A 'release' is 'the act of freeing emotions, 'feelings or tension from the body'. If something must be done 'at all costs', it 'must be done whatever happens, 'even if it involves a lot of difficulty, time or effort'. Someone who sits 'on the fence' 'delays making a decision or choosing one course of action over another'. And finally, a 'twitch' is 'a sudden jerky movement or spasm in your body, often involuntary'. Once again our six minutes are up!

Join us again soon for more trending topics and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. - Goodbye for now! - Goodbye! 6 Minute English. From BBC Learning English. Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Phil. And I'm Georgie. We all know how important exercise is to stay fit and reduce the risk of heart disease. Do you exercise much, Phil?

I try to. I ride my bike at the weekend. But to be honest I do spend a lot of time sitting down. Mm, sitting too much is becoming an increasing problem in the modern world. Maybe you take the bus or train to work, then sit at a desk all day, then go home feeling tired and just sit in front of the television all evening as well. Added together, that's hours of sitting every single day. In this programme, we'll be finding out exactly how much sitting is too much. And, of course, we'll be learning some useful new vocabulary.

But first, are you sitting comfortably, Phil? Because I have a question for you. On average, how many hours a day do British adults spend sitting down? Is it a) seven hours? b) nine hours? Or c) twelve hours? I'll guess it's 7 hours. OK, Phil, I'll reveal the correct answer later. Charlotte Edwardson is a professor of health and behaviour studies who has investigated the link between sitting and health problems in her lab at Leicester University.

Here, she talks to BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Health. If we think about our daily activities, a lot of activities are done sitting down. Movement in our everyday lives has really been engineered out with advances in technology, and our bodies just weren't designed to sit this much, so it's gonna cause problems with our health. So when you sit down you're not using the largest muscles in your body. So, these are the ones in your legs and your bum. So, that means that your muscle activity goes down.

When your muscle activity goes down, your blood circulation reduces. Throughout history, humans have always walked and moved their bodies. Now, modern technologies like motorised vehicles and office jobs, means we spend more and more time sitting. Modern life has engineered out the need for us to move. When you 'engineer' something 'out', you 'design things in such a way that it is no longer required'. For example, CD drives have been engineered out of laptops

because downloads are more popular. Charlotte says humans are not used to sitting this much. Here, the words 'this much' mean 'in such large amounts'. It's a negative thing, one negative being the harm to 'blood circulation', 'the flow of blood through the heart and blood vessels 'which carries oxygen around the body'. When we sit, we stop using important muscles. This reduces blood circulation and causes a range of other effects like increased levels of glucose and fat, and decreased energy levels.

The body uses 20% more energy when simply standing than when sitting down, and walking uses 92% more energy. And that's not to mention the damage sitting too much causes to muscle movement and blood pressure. But the hard truth is that sitting is a big part of modern life. Everything is 'geared around' sitting, it's 'organised towards' that particular activity, and that makes it hard to stop. Here's Professor Edwardson again, talking with James Gallagher, presenter of BBC Radio 4 programme Inside Health.

How much do you feel like you're just swimming against the tide with all this? Like the whole of society is like driving us more and more towards, you know, sitting down all the time, and you're like, "Please don't!". Sitting is so much part of our everyday activities. You know, you go into a meeting and someone's, "Come and take a seat," you're going to your GP surgery, "Come and take a seat.". Everything's geared around sitting, and as technology advances and it tries to make our life easier, it then leads to us sitting even more.

James asks if Charlotte is swimming against the tide of modern life. If you're 'swimming against the tide', you're 'doing the opposite of what most people are doing'. He also says that society is driving us towards sitting more. To 'drive someone towards' something means 'pushing them to accept a new situation, 'even when the situation isn't so good'. Luckily, there's some simple advice to help. Break up periods of sitting 30 minutes or more with a few minutes of walking or moving your arms.

Also try to spend less than half of your waking hours sitting down. Good to know. Now, about your question, Georgie. Right, my question was how long does the average British adult spend sitting each day? Phil guessed it was seven hours, which was close, but not right, I'm afraid. In fact, on average, we spend nine hours per day sitting down. That's about 60% of our waking life. So, remember to take regular breaks, even just a minute or two.

OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, starting with to 'engineer' something 'out', meaning 'to design or plan in such a way that something is no longer needed'. The phrase 'this much' or 'so much' means 'in such large amounts'. 'Blood circulation' is 'the movement of blood through the heart and blood vessels 'which carries oxygen around the body'. If things are 'geared around' a certain activity or purpose, they're 'organised to support it'.

The idiom 'to swim against the tide' means 'to not follow what most people are doing'. And finally, to 'drive someone towards' a new situation means 'to push them towards accepting it'. Once again, our six minutes are up! Remember to join us again next time for more topical discussion and useful vocabulary, here at 6 Minute English. - Goodbye for now. - Bye! 6 Minute English. From BBC Learning English. Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I'm Alice. And I'm Neil.

What are you eating, Neil? It's a chocolate chip muffin. How many calories do you think it contains? I have no idea. Check the packet. It's hard to find the calorie content amongst all the other information here. Er, ah, here we go, 450. That's a lot! Are you sure you should be eating that? Why not? I expect I cycled off quite a few calories on the way to work.

Well, that depends on the length of your journey and how much energy you 'expended' - or 'used up'. Now, on today's show we're talking about food and the exercise it takes to burn off calories. And I have a question for you, Neil. How long would you have to walk to burn off the calories in a quarter of a large pizza? Is it a) 33 minutes? b) 53 minutes? Or c) 83 minutes?

I'll go for a) 33 minutes. That sounds quite enough considering if you ate the whole pizza it would mean walking for 132 minutes to 'burn off' - or 'use' - the calories. And that's over two hours! Well, we'll find out later on whether you got the answer right or not, Neil. But be warned - people are bad at estimating how many calories there are in food. Now, the Royal Society for Public Health here in the UK is concerned that people don't read the information on food packaging because the text is so 'dense' - it means 'tightly packed'.

Well, I never look at food labelling when I'm shopping for food. How about you, Alice? Well, personally, I like to make an informed choice about what I put in my body, Neil! And 'informed' means 'based on an understanding of the facts'. So I spend a lot of time reading the packaging and I think the current traffic lights are a great idea. Traffic lights? What. What are you talking about? It's where food content is colour-coded red, orange or green - like traffic lights - depending on its percentage of fat, sugar, and salt.

So you can see at a glance which pizza on the supermarket shelf is better for you. This helps the consumer to make an informed choice. To 'see at a glance' means 'to understand something immediately'. Well, my informed choice is based on which pizza has the most pepperoni on it. I had no idea food companies were putting traffic lights on their food packaging! Yes, and that's not all, Neil. There are now plans to put an 'icon' - or 'simple picture' - of someone running plus the time it would take to burn off the calories contained in a particular food item on the front of packaging.

Let's hear what some consumers on the streets of London thought about this idea. I would think twice about, about buying crisps if I have to run 19 minutes just to burn the calories I ate. I'd either consider working out those 19 minutes or not eating the crisps at all. Two people who would think twice about whether to buy crisps if they knew how long it would take to burn off the calories. And 'think twice' means 'to think carefully about doing something, 'before you do it'. But, to be honest, I want freedom to do what I feel like.

Even if they put a label on the food, I think I'd exercise if I wanted to exercise, but I think I'd still have a packet of crisps if I wanted a packet of crisps. That's fine so long as you are clear about how active you need to be to eat what you do and not put on weight. But a healthy diet isn't just about calories, is it? I wouldn't need to cycle to work to burn off a diet cola, but drinking a fresh orange juice would be a healthier choice - even though it contains more calories.

Well, that's a good point. Let's listen now to Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive at the Royal Society for Public Health, talking about why she thinks the new labelling is necessary. We've got 60% of the UK population either overweight or obese. We have a very, very urgent problem. We have a growing population, literally, and we need to have a lot of tools in our toolbox, a lot of new strategies, I think, in order to support people to make good choices.

Shirley Cramer of the Royal Society of Public Health. So, she says we need lots of 'tools' - or 'strategies' - to help tackle obesity in the UK and linking energy content in food to physical activity is just one tool in the toolbox, so to speak. Indeed. Now, I think it's time for the answer to today's quiz question, Neil. I asked you how long would you have to walk to burn off the calories in a quarter of a large pizza?

Is it a) 33 minutes? b) 53 minutes? Or c) 83 minutes? And I said a) 33 minutes. And you underestimated, I'm afraid, Neil! The answer is c) 83 minutes. This figures comes from Shirley Cramer, Chief Executive of the Royal Society for Public Health. Writing in the British Medical Journal, she argues that food should be labelled with the equivalent exercise needed to burn off its calories.

This would give consumers an immediate link between food's energy content and physical activity that might help to reduce obesity. Note, Alice, that I've put my muffin to one side. You've convinced me to eat more healthily and I'll be eating a green salad for lunch. I'll believe that when I see it, Neil! OK, here are the words we learned today. expended, burn off, dense, informed, see at a glance, icon, think twice, tool.

Well, that's the end of this edition of 6 Minute English. Join us again soon. Meanwhile, visit our website, BBC Learning English dot com, where you'll find guides to grammar, exercises, videos and articles to read and improve your English. - Goodbye! - Bye-bye! 6 Minute English. From BBC Learning English.