Blood Pressure Lab

The systole is the highest number and the diastole is the lowest number. Systolic is also when the ventricles contract, and the diastole is when the ventricles release/relax. In our lab, the systole averaged about 116 and the diastole was 70. To measure heart rate, we just used our fingers, except we used a stethoscope to measure our heart beat. To measure blood pressure we used a stethoscope, pressure cuff, and the sphygmomanometer. Using your thumb to measure pressure is not ideal because your thumb has a blood pressure as well, so it would get confusing. To use a blood pressure cuff, you secure it on to the person who you are measuring, and then find their pulse. After, you start pumping air to tighten the cuff, you let the air release and watch the dial. One you start hearing their pulse again, that is their systolic number and when you stop hearing their pulse that is their diastolic number.

Monday Wellness Reflection

Here is the link to the presentation my partner and I did on Tea: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1p5qPYVY4Lb-YmD8kLTVXgrTS92qT44oaomtix3TXEZU/edit?usp=sharing

  I really wanted our topic to be on tea because I drink tea regularly. My favorite type is green tea and I probably have it 3-4 times a week. I also enjoy drinking a lot of rooibos tea because it smells and tastes very good. Tea really helps me de-stress and I wanted to take the opportunity of a Monday wellness to share the benefits of tea with other students. I also thought it would be a fun thing to learn more about. After presenting I felt that my peers acted more awake and excited than before the presentation, so it was nice to see that they enjoyed some of the teas. 

                                           

The most interesting thing I learned while preparing for the presentation was about antioxidants. I had heard of them before but I never knew what they did or what free radicals were. It was also cool to learn about antioxidants because I am a chemistry student and antioxidants get its name from the oxidation reaction (a chemistry process) that takes place. In an oxidation reaction, the reactants lose electrons; this is the concept behind the stabilization of free radicals. Another interesting thing I learned was how many different kind of tea there are and how different they all look and taste. Even though green tea, black tea, pu'er tea, and white tea are all from the same plant, they all look and taste extremely different.                                            

Our topic is important for health and wellness because of its amounts of benefits. Teas can help promote sleep and it relates to our health unit. They reduce the risk of some cancers and can make you feel less stressed out. Stress is a big problem with students my age and any idea that can combat stress is a great benefit to students like us.  Teas can also help you lose weight because of how it speeds up your metabolism by increasing insulin production (this can help diabetics). 

If I had to grade myself, I would give myself an 8.5 out of 10, because I spent most of the time setting up and cleaning up the activity and did not get a chance to present. We had originally planned to split the slides in half; I was going to say the last 5 and she was going to say the first 5. But the tea making process in the beginning of class took quite a bit longer than expected so I just had to be flexible and let her do the slides, so I guided the activity with the discussion at the end. I also tried to speak more by answering any questions or adding in bits of unmentioned information to make the presentation a little better. I still put lots of time into researching and writing up the powerpoint, and also making the worksheet for the tea activity. We also had to choose which teas we wanted to bring into class and to save time we each made one tea at home. I just wish we could have seen how long it would have taken to make all those teas before coming to class.                                                                          

Unit 2 Reflection

Health is when the mental, social, and physical aspects of your life are in balance. Being healthy also includes getting enough exercise, healthy food, good sleep, reduced stress, and being more social. 

I am healthier in some pillars of health than in other pillars of health. For example, I try my best to maintain a healthy diet; a healthy diet means that you are getting adequate amount of nutrient dense foods, but at the same time eating a variety of foods in moderation. I am also pretty good about maintaining my stress even though I am surrounded by a stressful environment at Saratoga High School. Some people at our school are very sleep deprived (meaning that they carry a large sleep debt). There are a lot of stressful students at this school as well because of the amount of homework and tests our teachers give us. I think school should start later which would promote better sleep and a more positive learning environment because both teaches and students would be in a better mood. Teachers should also try to give as little busy work as possible; this would reduce student's stress levels and allow them to get more sleep. 

Some essential concepts from this unit is that people need to maintain a more healthier lifestyle. A reoccurring theme in this unit is the fact that aspects of health are related to each other. For example, a lack of sleep creates more stress and that creates a lack of a healthy social life. Also, bad nutrition can lead to an imbalance in hormone levels which can make you more susceptible to diabetes. I learned a lot about the 5 pillars of health and about what I can do to better my own health. One specific thing I will try to do is to turn off my phone at least an hour before I sleep to prevent the "tired but wired" effect that is harmful to quality sleep.Something I do not fully understand are the stress hormones in stage one of stress. I do not understand the difference between an adrenaline and a nonadrenaline response.

For the next unit, I will try to start studying for a test before the night before the test. This will reduce my own stress level and make me a healthier person. :)One real world application to this unit would be all the advice this unit has given me about becoming a healthier person. I discovered a lot of things I could do to make a change in my life. Another thing I could relate to during this unit is diabetes because several members of my family have it. It was really interesting to understand how they are insulin resistant and how it was caused by eating to many carbs. Since it is common in my family, I need to be more aware of over-carbsumption because I could get diabetes as well.