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.