Monday Wellness Reflection

When deciding on topics, after yoga was taken, Charlotte and I looked into exercises similar to yoga and discovered that pilates has some similarities in  exercise workouts.  Pilates is a system of exercises using special apparatus, designed to improve physical strength, flexibility, and posture, and enhance mental awareness. Joseph Humbertus Pilates, was born with rickets, asthma, and rheumatic fever in the 1800’s. In 1912, Pilates was jailed as an “enemy alien” and worked as an attendant in a hospital, used bed springs and other equipment as a way to help patients perform body strengthening exercises. There are two different types of pilates: mat-based pilates, exercises that are performed on the floor using gravity and body weight to provide resistance; and equipment-based pilates, which uses specific equipment that works against spring-loaded resistance. A  study in 2004 revealed the many benefits of pilates as a group of 25 people with average blood pressure of 142mmHg (systolic) and 86mmHg (diastolic), participated in yoga for 11 weeks. By the end of the study, the average blood pressure of the group had dropped to 126mmHg (systolic) and 75mmHg (diastolic). Pilates also affects people's sleep patterns and revealed that people who regularly engage in Pilates at least one hour before going to sleep were: “56% more likely to fall asleep in 10 minutes or less; 67% more likely to stay asleep; 78% more likely to awake feeling rested and rejuvenated. The study used a testing group of 15 and a control group of 25.”   In a study by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, once completing 36 weeks of Pilates training, “women strengthened their rectus abdominis (the muscle responsible for six-packs) by an average of 21 percent.”

Pilates emphasizes the use of: abdominal, lower back, hips, as well as thigh muscles, it increases lung capacity and circulation through deep breathing; strength and flexibility, especially in the abdomen and back muscles; coordination; balance, core strength and  posture are all increased in addition, and bone density and joint health improve. The exercises performed in class- deep breathing, which encourages full oxygen exchange, slows heartbeat, and can lower blood pressure; standing rotation, that improve movement involving bending forward and backward. The benefits of torso rotational exercises include increased mobility and strengthened obliques; seated knee tucks, works and improves core strength, this improvement to your core helps protect your back from injuries and improves your posture; and superman,targets the glutes and quads, as it lengthens and tones muscles. Our topic was important to health and wellness because this form of exercise improves more than one aspect of the body as it works on multiple mental and physical parts of the body. As well, it does not require a lot of equipment, so it is an easy form of exercise that can be performed. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would rate myself a 9 because I went very in depth with the topic by providing its history and the various ways it improves an individual's health, as well as the exercises themselves were easy to perform in the classroom setting.

Work Cited:

1. http://www.pilatesmethodalliance.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3277
2. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/pilates-for-beginners/art-20047673?pg=1
3. http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/pilates/benefits-of-pilates/?page=0
4. http://www.fitnesshealth101.com/fitness/pilates/life
5. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall04/Hodgkiss/history.html
6. http://hollowlikemysoul.tumblr.com/Exercise
7. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/pilates-and-yoga-health-benefits
8. http://www.spotebi.com/exercise-guide/seated-knee-tucks/
9. http://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response

http://woman.thenest.com/benefits-torso-rotation-exercise-10015.html

Heart Dissection Lab Questions

1. The purpose of the pericardium is that it secretes a fluid that helps lubricate the heart therefore reducing friction.

2. Arteries differ from veins in that veins have thinner walls than arteries because arteries need thicker walls in order to deliver blood to the entire body.

3. The function that the auricle serves is that is increases the capacity of the atrium, which allows the blood it can hold to increase.

4. The auricle, which is an extension of the atrium, is visible on the outside of the heart while the ventricles are not visible until an individual looks inside the heart. Both the left atrium and ventricle has more muscle surrounding it than the right side because it requires more power to pump the blood throughout the entire body. While the right atria receives oxygenated blood, the right ventricle discharges the blood. On the other hand, the left atria receives oxygen rich blood, and the ventricle discharges the blood.

6.  When you cut into cross sections, an individual is able to see the biscuspid valve.

7. The importance of "anchoring" the heart valves by the chordae tendinae and the papillary muscles is that it prevents the back flow of blood within the heart. Both the chordae tendinae and the papillary muscles contract to close the valves and with out either being attached, the valves would not be able to close.

8.  We are seeing inside of the left atrium and then the bicuspid valve, which is held to the walls by the chordinae tendinae and the papillary muscles.

9. The function of the semilunar valves is that it prevents arterial blood from re-entering the heart. It has two different types: the pulmonary semilunar valve and the aortic semilunar valve.

10.
a. There would be swelling in the feet and ankles because the blood that comes from the body enters through the superior and inferior vena cava, and since there is a regurgitation of the blood within the heart, the blood then leaks back into the body and causes swelling.

b. If the problem occurred in the left side, there would be serious complications due to the fact that the individual does not have sufficient oxygen in their blood.

11. We found an opening in the left ventricle, and it was mostly obscured from our view however it has a similar structure to the tricuspid.

12. In the heart, the left and right side differ in that the left side has more muscle because it requires a greater strength to pump the blood to the entire body. While on the right side, it only pumps blood to the lungs making it significantly smaller than the left side of the heart.

13.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfhTsnHHMEA

Unit 3 Reflection

In this unit, we learned about the heart, its functions, and the respiratory system. In the cardiovascular system, it begins in the heart which has many different components: the pericardium, which secretes a fluid to lubricate the heart; the four chambers of the heart, the right and left atria and ventricles; and the valves, the tricuspid, bicuspid, and the semilunar which prevent backflow in the heart. The heart first has a atrial systole, where the atria's contract and forces blood from the atria to the ventricles, then to the ventricular systole, where the ventricles contract and the blood is pumped away from the heart, and lastly the relaxation, where the ventricles relax and the SV valves close until the ventricular pressure is lowered below atrial pressure and then they reopen.

In order to maintain good cardiovascular health, an individual needs to maintain a healthy weight and diet, exercise on a regular basis, controlling inflammation, and controlling blood pressure and cholesterol. Without following a healthy lifestyle, a individual's heart can suffer several consequences such as atherosclerosis, which are fatty deposits in the blood vessels causing the vessels to become obstructed; and aneurysms, which are weakened sections of the blood vessel walls that can burst. Heart attacks, disease, and strokes can also occur with an unhealthy heart. A heart attack is caused by blood supply to the myocardium is reduced that can result to heart cells or death. Another problem would be a stroke, which is a brain injury that occurs when the blood supply to part of the brain is interrupted. There are multiple types of strokes: ischemic stroke, where the artery that supplies the blood to the brain becomes blocked; and a hemorrhagic stroke, where an artery in the brain bursts.

In order to prevent heart attacks, heart disease, or strokes, and individual can: control their blood pressure, control cholesterol, eat a healthy diet, stop smoking, manage stress, and exercise. Living a healthier lifestyle can greatly reduce and individuals chance of heart attacks and strokes.
One unanswered question I have at the end of this unit is why even after having a heart attack, would an individual continue their unhealthy lifestyle and risk another heart attack? Also how would an individual who has a genetic history of heart disease or heart attacks learn to prevent a heart attack or disease?

Moving forward onto upcoming units, I will need to review more throughout the unit rather than waiting for the unit test. Going through the semester, my health goals are proving hard to maintain because as the semester is soon ending, there is a lot more stress and homework, making it hard to focus on my health goals. Even as hard as it is, I will try to get more sleep and stress as little as I can.

Sheep heart:                                                       Heart Diagram:    


Right ventricle

Monday Wellness

1. The snack we just made during class-which contained almonds, and apple, and peanut butter- was healthy because it contained protein, antioxidants, and unsaturated fats.
2. You should be snacking two to three hours before a meal.
3. When eating a "healthy snack", should contain protein, fiber, and should normally be under 200 calories.
4. You should avoid snacks with a lot of carbohydrates, saturated fats, and empty calories.

Measuring Blood Pressure

1. In the systolic blood pressure, it is the first time you will hear the blood pumping through the artery as well as the maximum pressure that is achieved during the ventricle contraction. When the sound disappears, it is caused by the ventricles relaxing and the arterial pressure decreases. The diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure that is in the artery before the next ventricular contraction.

2. In order to measure heart rate, you will need to use a stethoscope, and when measuring heart rate a sphygmomanometer is used.

3. When you are measuring your pulse, make sure that you do not use your thumb. Your thumb has a pulse as well and can cause you to either miscount or get confused while counting your pulse.

4. When using a sphygmomanometer:
     1.) Make sure the cuff is fully deflated before placing it on your upper arm, making sure that it fits comfortably. Take the pump in your non-dominant hand, ensuring that your fingers can reach the valve at the top and be able to open and close the opening on the air pump.
     2.) Put the end of the stethoscope slightly underneath the cuff and slightly above the crease of the individuals elbow.
     3.) Inflate the cuff by squeezing on the pump. Make sure to watch the pressure gauge while pumping, and stop around 150 mmHg or when the pulse stops.
     4.) When the pressure gauge reaches 150, slowly open the valve on the pump. Make sure not to open the valve too quickly.
     5.) Listen to what you hear as the needle on the gauge slowly drops. The first time you hear a pulse, check the number on the gauge, this is the systolic blood pressure.
      6.) The sound will get louder, but when you hear the sound fade out and stop, look at the number on the gauge. This is the diastolic blood pressure.

Unit 2 Reflection

                  Health is the measure of the body's efficiency and overall well being. In order to be "healthy" there are certain pillars- nutrition, exercise, sleep, and social- that are necessary to achieve this. Going off of these pillars that are extremely important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle, most Saratoga High students, including myself, are often lacking in one or more pillar. As for myself, I struggle to receive enough sleep on a daily basis and often are stressed for a long duration of time. For the student body as a whole, many students are often not receiving enough sleep, are often stressed due to the major importance that is placed on grades, as well as the stress of the countless tests and quizzes. Teachers need to be more aware of how much pressure are on their students, coordinate when their tests and quizzes are so they don't overlap as often, and check in on the students more often to see how stressed or tired they are.
           The general themes that had great importance during this unit was what health is generally, what aspects of our daily lives impact how healthy we are, and going in depth with each of those aspects. If one of those "pillars" of health is being affected, it affects the entire health of the person, not just one single item in his or her life. Learning that often times the body is more affected by the pillars than I had thought, it creates a big change to what I believed was healthy. Having a poor diet could effect your digestion and bone growth; exercise can greatly benefit you by lowering the risk of chronic disease and improves mental and cognitive functions; sleep is extremely important to a individual because it rests the body, repairs and renews tissues and nerve cells, and organizes your long term memory; and finally, stress can be useful in some situations but if an individual is stressed for to long, it could be detrimental. One concept that I still am struggling to fully understand is how once you fall asleep, your body has an entire sensory shut down and can no longer be aware of its environment, yet our brains are still completely active especially during REM and can often have vivid dreams.
                    Moving onto the next unit, I will need to be able to go back and review all of my activities to make sure that I fully understand the concepts and be able to truly learn versus memorizing for the test. An realistic example of how a single pillar can truly affect an individual would be nurses. Nurses often are working long hours and rarely receive a sufficient amount of sleep, which increases their sleep debts throughout the work week. In the book, Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence Based Handbook for Nurses, written by Ann E. Rogers, conducted a study that showed that nurses who had received a sufficient amount of sleep made less errors than those who hadn't received enough sleep. This prolonged working hours without sleep, affects the nurses speed, accuracy, hand-eye coordination, and memory. These grand affects of the inability to fulfill a pillar, ultimately affects the nurses life as well as the lives that surround him or her. Being able to fulfill every aspect of the pillars of health is very important to the well-being of an individual, and as they are able to be more and more successful in each pillar, it will allow them to live a very healthy and happy life.

 

Nutrition Tracker

             Looking over what I have eaten over the past three days, I realized that while eating more "healthy" foods I'm not consuming the basic calorie intake.While consuming the basic- protein, fruit and vegetables, and whole grains- I don't consume close to the "normal" amount of calories for how much I workout within a week. Considering that I have recently cut out most processed sugars- chocolate, candy, and soda- and started eating more healthy foods, now I just need to find a way to explore other healthy foods in order to maintain a healthy diet. On a day to day basis, it seems as though I consume more of one macromolecule than the other. The first day, I consumed much more protein and fruit rather than vegetables and whole grains; the second day,  I ate mainly protein and grains over vegetables and fruit; and the third day, the only main category that was significantly larger was fruit. Going forward, I will need to find a daily balance in order for my body to receive the necessary nutrients and minerals. In ways to improve my daily balance, I will need to watch and make sure that I'm not over consuming in one category over another; for example: day one, eating more whole grains such as brown rice, quinoa, or oatmeal, as for day two, simply consuming more fruits and vegetables- apples, grapes, or broccoli- would fix the balance, and finally day three consuming more of the others- protein, vegetables, and whole grain- will balance my intake of nutrients and minerals.
            If I had the opportunity to help someone with their proper health and nutrition, rather than telling them what to eat and what they "can't" eat, the most important thing for them to know is balance and moderation. Balancing and moderation are much more effective because not every single individual can swear automatically off of foods that they have consumed for years. Rather than consuming a large amount of unhealthy foods, consuming less unhealthy and more healthy will greatly improve their diets.

Health Collage

           In regards to the five pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, social, and stress, my strongest pillars would be exercise and social. These two are particularly my strengths because I love to exercise and have for as long as I could remember, partially because I have been doing a physically demanding sport-gymnastics- that demands a strong body in order to succeed. As for my weaker pillars-sleep, stress, and nutrition- it is more difficult to constantly make good eating choices, especially around friends, and as for both stress and sleep, those both go hand in hand. They both are dramatically affected by my academic life, and often times my sleep will be only four to five hours each night, and my stress can be overwhelming at times due to the tremendous amount of things needing to be done. In health in general, I am looking forward to finding ways to improve all of my pillars and live a healthy lifestyle. 

Unit One Reflection

Unit One Reflection

          This unit was about the relationship between the anatomy and physiology and the different levels of organization, such as molecules, organs, and tissues. The overall themes of this unit were understanding the different types of tissue and their functions within the human body. The essential understanding for this unit was truly going in depth with the shapes, functions, and location of the following tissues: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous. 

             During the duration of this unit, we learned about the different tissue types and their varying functions. Epithelial tissue, covers the entire body and protects the organs. Also, there are different variations of the epithelial, like simple, one layer of cell; stratified, which is more than one layer of cells; and pseudostratesfied, which is a mix of the two. The cells themselves come in different shapes as well: squamous, cuboidal, and columnar. Connective tissue binds together, supports, as well as strengthens other tissues in the body. They are made up of two main parts, extracellular matrix and cells. The cells of the connective tissue include: fibroblast, non-rigid fibers such as collagen and elastin; macrophages, cells that eat bacteria; adipocytes, fat storing cells; and mast cells, which release histamine in inflammatory response. Muscle tissue, has three different types: skeletal, which functions voluntary movement; cardiac, which propels blood into the circulatory system; and smooth muscle, which is responsible for perastalsis which aids digestion. Finally, we learned about nervous tissue which transmits electrical signals from sensory receptors to effectors. There are two different types of nervous cells: nuerons, which are excitatory cells, and supporting cells or nueroglial cells. 

              Sadly there were things that I struggled with during this unit. I was not very good at identifying the different types of tissues, like the simple, stratified, and pseudostratesfied as well as the cuboidal and squamous. Some of the images were hard to identify the clear difference and it made it harder to make a clear difference between the two. In the next unit, I will want to start quizzing myself in order to be able to make sense of the clear differences between two similar cells and study much more in order to fully understand the content being taught. In the real world, much of this unit relates to classes that I have taken before as well as surprisingly, sports. Learning about the tissue response to injury allows me to clearly sees what happens when swelling occurs and how common beliefs of icing may be affecting healing. 

    (Bone ground- connective tissue)                              (blood smear, human- connective tissue)

                                                                                                                    

                       




                 (epithelium, human-epithelial tissue)                              

Tissue Lab

             

 Tissue Lab

          In this lab, we explored the four different types of tissues: muscle, nervous, epithelial, and connective. When looking at the different types of each of these tissues, we found that nervous tissue, pictured below, was a peripheral nerve and they transfer electrical signals from receptors. Each one of the tissue types are all different based on their locations and structures. For connective tissue it was either densely packed and parallel, like dense regular connective tissue, or were dense networks of fibers like dense irregular connective tissue. Epithelial tissue was layered and formed columnar and squamous shaped cells, as for the muscle tissue, the cardiac muscle tissue is found in the wall of the heart, uni-nucleate, and contracts to propel blood into the circulatory system. The smooth muscle, human, that was observed was consistent with what we had learned during class being that it was spindle-shaped and arranged closely to form sheets. As for the nervous tissue, pictured below, it was a peripheral nerve that has a cross section of nerve fibers. The nervous tissue is used to control and transmit electrical signals.  

(elastic cartilage human ear- connective tissue)                                (Nerve human- nervous tissue)

Cell Specialization

Cell Specialization: Nerve Cell

           The nerve cells, also known as neurons, appear as a normal cell, except there are small "tree-like" structures coming out known as dendrites. These dendrites serve as the main way a nerve cell receives signals from its surroundings or other nerve cells, it functions as a "antennae" for the nerve cell. Within the cell, it is similar to a eukaryotic cell in that it has: a nucleus, nucleolus, ribosomes, mitochondria, lysosomes, endosomes, endoplasmic reticulum, and a Golgi apparatus. Axons extend from the cell itself, and send signals to other nuerons. Each axon is wrapped in a connective tissue sheath called endoneurium, or myelin sheath, which protects the cell and helps it increase the speed of the communication within the body.
           
             The nerve cell has many different functions within the body as it sends messages to the brain, allows us to react to stimulus, carries messages from other neurons to the main cell body, control of both muscles and glands, and mental activity. This "stimulus" that the nerve cells react to can be both chemical and mechanical including: light, touch, and temperature. This stimulus causes an electrochemical change to occur in the dendrites.  The nerve cells are classified as nervous tissue, more specifically the tissue that surrounds each nerve cell is known as endonuerium, which protects the cell; perinuerum, which protects and provides support to the nerve fibers; and epinuerium, which is a dense layer of connective tissue which encloses the nerve.

 Sources:
Waymire, Jack C. "Organization of Cell Types (Section 1, Chapter 8) Neuroscience Online: An Electronic Textbook for the Neurosciences | Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy - The University of Texas Medical School at Houston." Organization of Cell Types (Section 1, Chapter 8) Neuroscience Online: An Electronic Textbook for the Neurosciences | Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy - The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
Charand, Ka Xiong. "Nerve Cell." Nerve Cell. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. <http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/biology/nervecell.html>.

Cardoso, Silvia Helena. "Parts of the Nerve Cell and Their Function." Parts of the Nerve Cell and Their Function. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. <http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n07/fundamentos/neuron/parts_i.htm>.

Taylor, Tim. "Nervous System." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Aug. 2015. <http://www.innerbody.com/image/nervov.html>

Sweetness Lab Response

Cayla Zelanis
Mr. Orre
Anatomy and Physiology period 2
August 24, 2015

Sweetness Lab Response

            In this lab, we tasted different types of carbohydrates and ordered them by the amount of sweetness we tasted. Our goal was to find if the structure of the various carbohydrates changed their level of sweetness. In the end of the lab, we found that the monosaccharides and disaccharides were much sweeter than the polysaccharides that we tasted. We concluded that the reasoning behind the difference of sweetness was the length of the monomers. As the length of the monomers grew, the less sweet the carbohydrate became.
           
             Many of the sugars that were tasted we can relate to food that we eat on a regular basis. Many of the carbohydrates like lactose, which is found in milk; fructose, found in berries, honey, and high fructose corn syrup; and starches,like potatoes, rice, or bread. The carbohydrates that we found to be more "sweet" were the sucrose, glucose, and the fructose. But what made these sugars taste sweet? The sense of "taste" firsts begins when the food reaches with the small pores on our taste buds, known as taste pores, and parts of the food dissolve in the saliva and come into contact with taste receptors. The taste receptors then send a signal found by the taste pores to the gustatory cortex of the brain, which perceives the tastes of different foods detected by the taste pores. Sugar is not the only thing that can be perceived as "sweet", other substances can activate these "sensory cells" or tastes pores that contain nerves. People react differently to different foods based on the sensitivity of their sensory cells. The "basic tastes" that people have are: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory, but many people may react differently to the same foods based on the sensitivity. Every cell has a different spectrum to the sensitivity, meaning that one cell may be more sensitive to one "basic taste" over another and a different cell would have a different order of "basic tastes". The level of sweetness is determined by the nerve fibers and to send the information to the gustatory cortex.

                Taking into consideration that each individual cell has a different perception to a certain taste, every individual could rank the sweetness of the tested samples differently. Some individuals taste receptors may be more sensitive to sweet substances over sour substances or vice versa; no two individuals could have the identical perception of the same substances.

Source cited:
How Does Our Sense of Taste Work? U.S. National Library of Medicine, 6 Jan. 2012. Web. 26 Aug. 2015. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072592/#i2261.sweetsoursaltybitter>.
Jennifer Poo (picture)