Daily Archives: September 10, 2016

Can we get rid of jet lag?

Everyone who has ever travelled before is familiar with jet lag. I was fortunate enough to travel to Paris a few years ago and my body did not transition to a different time zone very well at all. So I wondered whether there is a way to reduce feelings of jet lag. Some research brought me to a Business Insider article which promotes  the benefits of a new Boeing plane. What is so special about this plane you may ask? It claims to reduce passenger’s feelings of jet lag. A very key point is that our fatigued jet lag feelings may not be due to jet lag at all. There is strong evidence that we actually feel affects of acute mountain sickness. Acute mountain sickness happens to people who are over 6,500 feet so it makes sense that plane passengers would feel this. Because cabin pressure is similar to air pressure outside of the plane, passengers experience decreased oxygen pressure.

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Image from article

Boeing has created the 787 Dreamliner which has a lowered cabin altitude. They did this by increasing the air pressure in the cabin. The cabin is pressurized at 6,000 feet so there is more oxygen and passenger’s bodies do not have to work as hard to function. This is a major step, because acute mountain sickness is a serious problem and this is the first plane to address the issue. In the past, planes have not had lowered cabin altitude, because the air pressure would put more pressure on the plane’s frame. However, Boeing claims that their knowledge of planes allowed them to figure out a way to prevent the plane from getting fatigued. In conclusion, I think that this will become a standard for airplanes. Many people complain about the discomfort of flying and there is a major push for living healthier so I think that this will become a popular trend and people would even pay more to ride in one of these planes.

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-787-dreamliner-777x-cabin-pressure-jetlag-2016-9

Sugar, Sugar

Over the years, weight gain and obesity has become a major problem among children and teens. I’ve heard many different explanations on why and how people gain weight, but never heard one specific cause. Now as I enter my freshman year, I’m worried about gaining the “freshman 15” that everyone says is impossible to avoid. Therefore, I decided to research main causes of weight gain to note how to stay healthy and fit.

I found the article, “Sugar is Definitely Toxic, a New Study Says”, by Alice Park, which shares how a fairly recent study conducted found that sugar intake in foods plays a big role in weight gain and diseases rather than calorie intake. Scientists have found that Americans who try removing fats from their diet usually substitute it with sugars. The study conducted by Dr. Robert Lustig involved 43 minority children between the ages of 8 to 18 years old. The study began by having the children fill out a questionnaire that asked about their average daily caloric intake. Based on their answers, scientists create specific meal plans that substituted the sugar in their diets with starch and kept the calorie count the exact same. The kids would follow this meal plan for 9 days and eat more or less of their meals to remain the same weight (Park 2015).

The experiment showed that multiple children being studied became overall healthier. According to this study conducted by Dr. Lustig, once the children’s overall dietary sugar decreased, their fasting blood sugar decreased by 53%, and the amount of insulin, triglyceride, LDL, and fat in the liver decreased too (Park 2015). The researchers also proved that there is a direct causation link between sugar and metabolic syndrome after comparing the results of kids who lost weight and kids who didn’t lose weight during the experiment.

In addition to their findings, the scientists linked that the reduction of fat in the kids’ livers indicates that sugar is a main cause of metabolic syndrome and other chronic diseases. Despite many discoveries made during this experiment, many scientists are still skeptical. Experts and nutritionists want people to take away from this experiment that the main problem is people are over eating, which is the biggest problem related to weight gain, not just from sugar (Park 2015). I personally, however, agree with both the study findings and the idea of over eating causing weight gain. My Aunt had struggled with her weight for many years until she spoke with a nutritionist who told her to cut back sugar from her diet and eat less calorie-rich foods. She ended up losing around 70 pounds in a little under a year by cutting back on sugary foods and eating healthier options. Overall, this study holds valuable information and statistics that can not only help people who are struggling with their weight, but also help people who are looking for ways to stay healthy.

Sources:

Sugar Is Definitely Toxic, a New Study Says

 

http://www.iifym.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sugar-intake-with-IIFYM.jpg

The truth behind Lucy’s death

I’ve always been intrigued in the evolution of humans and the mysterious lives of our distant ancestors. Speculation swirls around the religious and scientific world over the concept of evolution and where exactly the human race originates. On November 24th, 1974 some of those questions were answered thanks to the discovery of a Hominidae fossil, later named Lucy, at a site in Ethiopia.

Lucy’s remains have provided insight into the development of today’s most elaborate species, Homo sapiens. The most groundbreaking discovery is that Lucy had the ability to walk straight up as humans now do. Thus, providing further evidence for the pro-evolution argument. Technological developments have even made it possible to depict a hypothetical image of a living Lucy, essentially giving her fossils life. Her bones have been interpreted, copied, and studied in every way imaginable and her discovery has lead to an abundance of information for scientists to review for the last 42 years. However, a simple question has eluded scientists around the world who have been studying the remains of Lucy; how did she die?

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Image found here

There have been numerous studies and several hypotheses in hopes of determining Lucy’s cause of death. According to the ASU Institute of Human Origins, evidence on Lucy’s bones has previously provided insight into her death. However, a predator could possibly have made this wound post-death. Basically, there was inconclusive evidence regarding the cause of death. That was until a recent discovery unearthed some hidden secrets potentially shedding light on the Lucy mystery. According to the researchers articles in Nature, the newest theory is… wait for it… that she fell out of a tree! The lead scientists have reasoned that the wounds suffered by Lucy parallel those of human fractured bones from high falls. As a result, it has been hypothesized that Lucy had fallen from a high distance, ultimately resulting in wounds that ruptured key organs leading to her death.

Personally, I found the potential cause of Lucy’s death, falling out of a tree, as rather underwhelming. But, the circumstance of which the human-like fossil was discovered and the insights she provides about our species past is truly incredible. With advancing technology, the possibilities are seemingly endless in discovering more and more valuable information. Lucy may provide information regarding the origins of human life and ultimately has the potential to change the course of science like never before.

Giving these fossils both a name and image to identify with is unlike anything I have heard or seen before. It seems to make all of the research just a little more special and personal then other studies.

 

Why Music Makes Us Feel So Good

Since I was a baby, I’ve always had a strong love for music. There are home videos of me at two years old bopping to Paul Simon and at seven quietly singing along to the Grease soundtrack. Through my teenage years I relied on music as an escape; I would go home after a bad day at school and immediately put on a Fleetwood Mac record, because I knew that would cheer me up. I always have known that music has a strong effect on me and my emotions, especially music that reminds me of past memories (I still love to listen to Graceland, the same Paul Simon album that I listened to as a toddler), but I never really looked into why.


I first wanted to find out why music has such an emotional effect on people, having the ability to make us happy, sad, or allow for an emotional release. This Time article explains the connection between music and the brain by discussing a recent Science report by neuroscientist Valorie Salimpoor, which claims that listening to music increases the neural activity in the nucleus accumbens—the area of the brain that releases dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure, and it can be released during a variety of rewarding activities including sex, eating, drug use, exercise, or in this case, music. The researchers also found that music activated the amygdala—the area of the brain that processes our emotions. This discovery provides one explanation as to why music allows us to feel such a rush of pleasant emotions or helps us decompress after a stressful day. If music causes a release in dopamine, that means that music is triggering positive emotions.

But I didn’t just want to find out the connection between music and our emotions, I was also curious about why we often cling onto old, familiar music and typically feel stronger emotions toward those nostalgic songs. This Mic article interestingly explains some of the reasons behind why we listen to the same song over and over again, but what I found most interesting and helpful toward my own question was the idea known as the mere exposure effect.

The mere exposure effect states that we experience an increased liking toward things that we have more exposure to. So in the case of music, we enjoy music more when it is something that we are more familiar with. For example, that “something familiar” could be a particular artist, because we would be familiar with their voice and therefore experience greater pleasure in listening to any of their songs, it could be a particular song that we’ve grown to know very well by repeatedly listening to it, or it could even be a particular sound or style, which would explain why people generally have a favorite genre of music, because within genres there are repeated sounds, shared styles, forms etc.

The idea of the mere exposure effect’s relation to music isn’t just conjecture. A recent experiment studied the relationship between music and the brain, specifically testing if familiar music had a different effect on the brain than unfamiliar music. With the use of fMRI scans, the researchers began by playing various pop and rock songs to the subjects, which the subjects then individually rated by familiarity and how much they liked the song. With these ratings, the researchers developed a different grouping of songs for every subject, which they then played to the subjects while using an fMRI to track their brain activity. The collected data revealed that familiar music versus unfamiliar music led to much more increased activity in the areas of the brain associated with emotion and pleasure/reward. This shows that familiarity with music leads to a stronger emotional reaction in the brain—a scientific illustration of the mere exposure effect. For more scientific evidence, here’s another study that was conducted at UC Davis, which found that there is a direct correlation between the strength of a past memory’s connection to a song and the amount of brain activity in the emotion centers of the brain.

So, with all of this newfound information, I think that we can clearly see that there’s a reason why we love music so much, why we rely on it to cheer ourselves up, or why we feel a rush of emotion when we listen to that Backstreet Boys song that we used to play all the time as a kid. It’s nice to know that the pleasant reactions that we have while listening to music come directly from pleasure-transmitters in our brain, and that those great childhood memories really can be carried through time just by the tune of a song.

Runner’s Fighting “Runner’s Knee”

As someone who loves running, I decided that I wanted to post a blog about this exercise. This past summer, I trained for my first half marathon race so I know first-hand that this healthy activity can also be tough on joints and causes many injuries. I know of many other runners who injured themselves while training for a race and I am constantly told by others that I need to watch out for “runner’s knee”. My previous knowledge on “runner’s knee” is that running takes a toll on joints and is tough on the knee so many runners end up with injuries in that area. Contrary to popular belief, a study in the Huffington Post states that middle-aged adults who run more have less knee pain. This might not be causation;however, because this lack of pain can be attributed to other factors, such as having other healthy habits and having more durable muscles compared to non-runners. The article also states that other studies have found similar results where running is not a direct cause of joint paint or arthritis in the knee.

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Image found here

Although this first article does not associate running with knee pain, I found another interesting article which discusses treatments that pro-athletes use to alleviate knee pain that they have. There is a method called dry needling which uses a needle to help fight pain in sore muscle areas. It is a very similar practice to acupuncture, but some experts do not suggest overdoing this therapeutic technique. Ohio State researchers are looking into whether this therapy affects the way we feel pain by our brain and our spinal cord. Dry needling appears to be a good practice to alleviate the pain in their knees by increasing blood flow in that area. So even if knee pain is not caused by extensive running, many athletes-runners especially, are turning to this technique of dry needling to soothe their aches and pains.

http://www.gq.com/story/runners-knee-dry-kneedling

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/running-knee-pain_us_57c85e28e4b0e60d31ddb89d

Why do I own a kitten?

I am a proud new (long distance) owner of a kitten. How this came to happen was, my friend’s cat had a litter. Since this was the cats second litter of the summer, she decided that she wasn’t going to keep the kittens from this litter. At first I joked around saying that this one kitten was going to be mine, always going over to hold, play, and take snapchats with it. One day my friend told me she was thinking about giving the kitten away to another family, and for some reason I started to consider actually making the kitten mine. When going through the process, all I could think about was how weird it was that I was getting a kitten, especially before ever getting my own puppy first! I have always been more of a dog person my whole life and always told myself I would never get my own a cat, but for some reason I just couldn’t resist. So really, how did this come to happen?!

Are we attracted to the cuteness of the animal rather than the animal itself? Can we feel a connection with an animal that makes us want to be the owner?

I think when agreeing to make the kitten mine, I wasn’t thinking about how she’s eventually going to turn into a full grown cat. In the moment, I was focused on her small round body, her soft and fluffy fur, her big white paws, her big bright eyes, her little meows, and her clumsy attempts at walking and playing. I just wanted that cute kitten to be mine. After doing some exploring online, I learned that there’s a scientific reasoning behind why we think the babies of species are so cute and why we feel obligated to care for them.

It just so happens that what we see as cute has to do with traits called kinderschema. Basically, the traits are utilized in our biology when trying to identify if something we see is cute or not. There are certain characteristics this trait looks for when trying to classify something as cute. According to Clark, Irenaus Eibl-Eibesfedlt, founder of the field of human ethology, says the characteristics of cuteness the traits looks for are as follows: a large, round head; big eyes; round, chubby cheeks; round body; and a soft body. Interestingly enough, the kitten happened to have all of these qualities! Why we find these traits cute has to do with our human nature of caring for infants. (Clark 2013) This is why we want to hold, touch, and care for things that remind us of the babies of our species.

To add, studies done by the University of Texas and researcher Denise Guastello show that the type of pet owner you are can say a lot about your personality as well. The studies surveyed a large group of people on the type of animal they prefer to own, their personality traits, and what attracts them to that animal. The results of the studies helped to identify common traits of a dog person, cat person, neither or both.

Both studies typically resulted in finding that dog people are more extroverted, self-disciplined, agreeable, trusting, affectionate, talkative, easy-going and energetic. They found that a typical cat person tends to be more stressed, anxious, curious, creative, independent, conscientious and intelligent. Someone who is neither would possess little or none of these traits, and someone who is both would comprise of a majority of these traits.

Both studies also mentioned how environment may have a possible influence on these personality traits. If you think about it, this makes sense because someone who is more extroverted is going to want to do something with their outgoing and energetic nature such as be outdoors or go out and socialize, like a dog would. As someone who is more introverted is going to want to stay indoors and keep to themselves, like a cat would. Dogs are more social in their play because they always want to run around, go on a walk, or play catch with you. As cats are more commonly known to be indoor animals who like to explore the house, be cautious about what they’re playing with, hide, and rub up against the people they’re comfortable with.

According to both studies, majority of the people that were surveyed classified as being more of a dog person than cat person. But why are dogs more attractive furry friends than cats? According to Rettner, dog people enjoy the companionship that comes with a dog, as cat people are attracted to the clingy affection they get from cats. People find more things to do with dogs over cats, so they see them as not only a cuddle buddy, but a play pal as well. For example, people can’t go on runs or walks with their cat like they can with their dog.

After reading both descriptions of dog and cat people, I would definitely classify myself as both a dog and cat person. I believe my personality traits fall on both sides of the dog/cat spectrum, concluding why I may not mind the fact that I now am an owner of a cute kitten. I actually took a short quiz online (here) to see which category I placed into. Shockingly, the results of that test said I was 52% dog person and 48% cat person, definitely more than I expected for the cat side. The results basically told me that I have the qualities to get along with and love both animals equally. My assumption of being both a dog and cat person was correct, according to this one online survey. What are you? Comment letting me know or go take the quiz to find out!

Here’s a picture of my kitten (:

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Do music and exercises make us feel psychologically better?

What brought psychology to my attention was when I read a comment for a student last year about how his brother’s autism got better when he ate gluten-free food. I did not imagine that changing an eating habit can help someone who has psychological disorder get better. I did not really have much knowledge about psychological disorders. So I did some research about how the is body directly affected by psychological disorders and what would the solution or the medicine be. I also discovered that even doing out-door activities such as running or walking and listening to music can help make one psychologically feel better even if he/she did not have any mental diseases or disorders.

 

Doing out-door activities can greatly affect someone psychologically. According to Huffington Post, March 27, 2013 By Sophia Breene, walking can help manage mental stress. It increases the concentration of many chemicals in your body that are related to your mental health such as nor-epinephrine. Not to mention that people who work out have a healthy and fit body.

 

Listening to music can also help us feel better. Many people listen to music when they are stressed, sad, or even happy. They listen to music as an inspiration or a way of relaxing.  So how is this related to your mental stability? According to an article in a website called Psychologies, music can help control the nervous system in our body. The nervous system is responsible for controlling our feelings and emotions. And it helps make us mentally stable and of course happy. Music can also reduce other serious issues in our body such as heart attacks.

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Image found here

Links and sources

 

https://www.psychologies.co.uk/music-makes-you-feel-better

13 Mental Health Benefits Of Exercise

Does Music Preference Change With Age

Ever since I was little, it was always clear that my parents liked different music than me. Although I didn’t quite understand how or why they didn’t enjoy listening to the newest rap songs with me, I always just accepted the fact that they didn’t. Although my parents and I have never been a fan of the same artists, my brother—who’s only four years older than me—and I have usually had similar taste in music…up until a couple of years ago. My brother is now in his twenties, and our music preferences have never been more different. Curious as to why his sudden preference change has happened as he has gotten older, and our recent discussions in class if certain relationships are correlational or not, I decided to research if there is in fact a correlation relationship between age and music preference.

In a recent study, Ajay Kalia, put this question to the test. To figure out when we, on average, stop listening to popular music, Kalia looked at Spotify user data along with an artist popularity database, Echo Nest to see who is listening to recent popular music. 

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image link

In this study, three major revelations were found. First, on average, teens mostly listen to what is considered popular at that point in time. They then slowly start to fade away with their liking of popular music in their twenties, and then ultimately have no to little preference in popular music anymore by their thirties. This data clearly explains why my brother, who is twenty-two, now has a differing music taste than me, eighteen. The second revelation found was that although both men and women listen to similar, popular music in their teens, men typically stop listening to this type of music faster than it takes women to stop listening to mainstream music. Again, this explains why my brother is already showing signs of a change in music preference, even though he is only in his early twenties. The last major concept discovered in this study was that people who have children, no matter their age, listen to less mainstream music than other people of their age, who do not have kids.

Although it may seem sudden when someone, or your own, music preference has changed, there are actually a few reasons for this. First of all, as you get older, you are more likely to discover music from different artists and genres who are less popular. This is due to listening to the radio less, or merely listening to different stations. The second reason is that when you age, then listen to music that was popular music when you were younger, those artists are most likely not considered popular anymore. Therefore, although you once liked what was popular, that music is now considered old and unpopular. As for a reason why parents listen to less popular music than other people their age, it is due to the fact that these people are listening to a mixture of children songs and nursery rhymes more often than music they actually enjoy. It was even found in the same study that having a child is equal to having the same music preference as someone four years older.

In conclusion, it is clear there is a correlation between age and music preference—as you get older, your music preference changes. Although this is a correlation relationship, we can not say it is causal due to the fact that this was an observational study, not an experimental experimental. In other words, no variables were manipulated in this study. 

https://skynetandebert.com/2015/04/22/music-was-better-back-then-when-do-we-stop-keeping-up-with-popular-music/  

 

 

Is Multitasking Good?

Should you brush your teeth and comb you hear at the same time or do them separately?  What about using your phone while focusing on what the teacher says? Is it possible? Is there any danger involved in doing this? If you happen to think that you are a multitasker, then you will certainly want to read this post.

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image was found here

Multitasking is doing two tasks or more at the same time. Many people think that they can multitask. However, doing two tasks or more is almost impossible for your brain to process or do at the same time. It is common among a lot of people, especially college students to try to finish more than one task at the same time. I as a college students used to do tasks at the same time such using my phone while watching Television without caring about the cognitive damage that multitasking can do to my brain.

This questions and concerns has come to my mind when I read about the extra credits on the syllabus where the student can handle his/her phone to the TAs in order to reduce multitasking in the class. This made me realize that multitasking may have some effects on me. So, I did some research about it, as I strongly believe that time management is very important and that multi-tasking can help finish many tasks at the same time but this was not the same idea after I researched the danger of multitasking.

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image was found here

So I did some research and this is what I found. According to an article written by Larry Kim, founder of CTO, WordStream, multitasking is not what people often think it is. Your brain is actually switching from doing one task to doing another. However, a small number of people who can actually multitask at the same time, but are not able to do both tasks efficiently. He also says that switching from a task to another very rapidly can also result in serious cognitive damage by forcing your brain to produce more cortisol which can result in you being stressed more often and making your brain feel exhausted. Not to mention that many studies have suggested that multitasking can also cause permanent problems to your brain. So please stop multitasking. It is a bad habit not a skill!!

 

links and sources

https://www.powerofpositivity.com/5-reasons-to-stop-multitasking/

http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/why-multi-tasking-is-killing-your-brain.html

Stem Cell Therapy helps Paralyzed Man

The use of embryonic stem cells has been a topic of hot debate over the years. It is controversial because in order to retrieve the embryonic stem cells- the embryo is destroyed. Nonetheless, research into the use of embryonic stem cells has continued over the years. This research has continued because of the potential of embryonic stem cells as they have the ability to become any cell in the human body. As a result of this ability, embryonic stem cells are being researched for their potential in curing cancer, spinal cord injury, diabetes, and other diseases/injuries that do not yet have a cure.

Kreck Medical Center of USC is one of the many researchers in the field of embryonic stem cells. Kreck recently performed a study in which inserted embryonic stem cells into a paralyzed man. This man has since regained motion in his hands and arms. According to the study, the embryonic stem cells are transformed into spinal and brain cord cells, oligodendrocyte progenitor. The function of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells is to support nerve cells. In the lab, the dose of these cells was seen to improve various functions that are important to nerve impulse. This improvement is what helped the paralyzed man regain function in his hands and arms.

Dr. Lui, the head of the research team, showing the patient's spinal cord injury.

Dr. Lui, the head of the research team, showing the patient’s spinal cord injury.

This study is important because there is no known way to cure a spinal cord. Once an accident that injures one’s spinal cord happens- that person is paralyzed for life. This incidence of a man regaining function in his arms and hands- as he was paralyzed from the neck down- is a huge step in finding a way to heal spinal cord injuries. Gaining this function is the difference between living a life entirely dependent on a caregiver and being able to be independent and do basic functions of day to day life. This man was just 21 years old. Imagine being 21 years old and going from being completely independent to needed a caregiver to do something as basic as comb your hair. This study has made a huge impact in this man’s life after injury.

Over the summer I interned for the not-for-profit organization, Paralyzed Veterans of America. During my internship I went to the National Veteran’s Wheelchair Games. At these Games, I interacted with many paralyzed Veterans. These interactions have made me realize how much we take for granted. For a lot of these Veterans, they have to depend on a caregiver to basic things like eat- an action able bodied people do not think twice about. When I saw this study it resonated with me as I thought of how many lives this could improve. This study is the first step into continuing embryonic stem cell research and advancing to completely regaining function in one’s whole body. I’m excited to see in the future the advance the science community makes in healing spinal cord injuries. Also, to see embryonic stem cells at work healing the spinal cord and whether spinal cord pre-injury and post-injury would look identical or would resemble something else, but is still functioning? The advancements the science community is making with embryonic stem cells is fascinating as there are so many potential benefits that can occur for people who at one time did not have any hope for a cure- just treatments.

Advertisement for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games that I attended and met many paralyzed veterans.

Advertisement for the National Veterans Wheelchair Games that I attended and met many paralyzed veterans.

Image Credit:
image one: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160907082248.htm
image two: http://www.saltlakecity.va.gov/36th_NVWG_Comes_to_SLC.asp

Link to the study.

Spiders are our friends

I’ve been looking around for an interesting topic to write on. I figured I would write something that pertains to me and likely the general public. If you’re anything like me you are deathly afraid of spiders (or bugs in general). This past summer I managed to nearly kill my entire family because a spider crawled onto my lap while I was driving. I’m convinced my irrational fear of bugs will somehow bring me to my demise.

spider-memeBeing that I am relatively interested in mental health, I thought I’d share some information on how phobias (more specifically arachnophobia) physically alter the chemical dynamics of the brain. According to Science Daily, the amygdala is an almond shape bundle of neurons deep in the brain. It is linked to understanding emotions (i.e fear and pleasure). Miranda White of Bryn Mawr College stated these neural connections emerge all over the brain, giving us little control over what we fear. There is a possibility that if your amygdala has been damaged, you will have consistent irrational fears; regardless if they are deemed harmless.

Psychologist came to the conclusion that phobia’s come from both experience and conditioning. An example of conditioning is getting a stomach flu from Chipotle and never eating at the restaurant again because it made you sick. According to psychologist Davey’s behavior study on children and arachnophobia, it found most children either stated they had no negative history with spiders or simply couldn’t remember the first time they became fearful of them. Interesting how you can be conditioned to fear something you have no experience with.

Steps to take if you’re having an anxiety attack. I don’t have anxiety attacks due to my fear of insects, however you never know who’s reading this that may need help.

  • Ground yourself. It’s harmless and will be over soon.
  • Try and control your breathing.
  • Distract yourself by thinking of something else or putting your mind in a place where you feel safe.
  • Tell someone about how you feel if you’re with people. If not, see if you can call someone.

Every now and then I stumble upon a meme that is a bathroom full of roaches; the caption asks “Would you stay in this bathroom over night for ten million dollars?”. As for me there’s not enough money available on this planet to make me to sit in a bathroom full of roaches. What about you?

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Caffeine in Our Everyday Lives

Every single student that has ever taken classes has no doubt, knowingly or unknowingly, consumed some form of caffeine. Whether it be through their morning mocha-frappe-electro-turbo grande sized drink from Starbucks for that early jolt of energy, or the more bubbly cola product with the occasional burger, we are all guilty of it.

Even Santa Enjoys a Coca-Cola! Source: http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article4773905.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Coca-Cola-christmas.jpg

But there comes a point where we must ask the hard-hitting questions on this blog, regardless of how much caffeine we may consume. Just how healthy is caffeine for our bodies, and how much caffeine, if such a thing exists, is too much?

Firstly, we must understand what caffeine IS. It is, first and foremost, a drug, and in fact the only drug that we either find naturally in, and physically add into, the drinks and food we consume. These drinks and food include, but are not limited to, coffee, tea, soft drinks, energy drinks, ice cream, and candy bars. Consuming caffeine, whether through medication or a substance, also comes with a wide range of side-effects aside from the typical hours-long burst of energy, all ranging from a slight hike in blood pressure to, in some cases, thirst, anxiety, dry mouth, and insomnia. It also does not help drunk college students sober up at all, sorry everyone!

Not Unless Our Course Loads Get to Us First… Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/01/3f/92/013f92d57e1a9637a6cfd31863503254.jpg

“But is it healthy, Sean?! Come on already!”

Alright, alright! A good way to imagine caffeine is as a double-edged sword. When consumed in moderation, caffeine-based products can have healthy benefits. These include protection against a number of cancers, lower risks of dementia and Parkinson’s, and even an increase in one’s life span by a few years when consumed daily. But do not rush to your nearest coffee shop just yet! While consuming caffeine may have some positives, it also has the potential to lead to becoming more jittery, having mood swings, an altering of effects from medications being taken, and experiencing cases of insomnia. Most important of all, however, is the possibility of building up an addiction to caffeine as a drug, meaning that unless a cup of joe (or typically more) a day is gulped down, symptoms of caffeine withdrawal will start to kick in, such as anxiety, depression, headaches/migraines, and more!

Cup of Joe? More Like Cup of No. Source: http://www.cfau-pd.net/images/coffee-cup-images/coffee-cup-images-11.jpg

“Okay… but Starbucks’ Teavana® Teas are so good and I really want one. What should I do?”

Luckily, the Teavana® Teas contain very little, if any caffeine (see hyperlink above). However, the recommended caffeine intake of an average adult is about 400mgs, or roughly four cups of coffee, per day. Anything above that, and someone may risk running into some of the negative side effects I mentioned above. This allowable amount also changes depending on age, whether or not someone is pregnant, or their personality, meaning it is possible to ingest more than six cups a day and feel perfectly fine. Keep all of this in mind next time you go to grab that trenta sized iced coffee, which has nearly 300mgs of caffeine in it already!

There is a Reason Starbucks has Used a Siren as Their Logo For Decades. Source: http://www.designboom.com/cms/images/—andy/star3.jpg

As an alternative, perhaps try leaving a cup of water near your bed or in the fridge and drinking it first thing in the morning to help wake you up – after all we can hardly go a few hours without needing a refreshing drink, let alone eight hours. I personally found that the cup of water helps to wake me up and get me moving in the morning much more efficiently than waiting for a cup of coffee or tea to kick in long after drinking it. Another alternative is to try and keep tabs of every day products that you may consume so you do not go overboard on the caffeine!

Fun Fact: 100% of Humans that Drink Water Have Died. Is it just Chance or a Correlation? Source: http://www.cityofbelmont.org/images/CivicAlerts/1/glass-of-water.jpg

So, for those of you who just skipped to the end – caffeine is a drug and can be healthy when consumed in a moderate fashion. Roughly 400mg per day is the recommend amount an adult should consume up to, and anything more than that can lead to some pretty damaging stuff. Try to be mindful of how much caffeine you ingest regularly for a more fulfilling life!

Do you agree or disagree with anything I said in my post? Have something interesting to add? Was I paid by Starbucks to advertise in this space for them? Feel free to leave a reply below, and any feedback is greatly appreciated!