Author Archives: swa5395

Getting those Winter blues

For most people, winter time is a dread especially here in State College, PA. Its freezing cold, we have to trudge to class in the snow and colds are around every corner. Especially right now, its not only cold but the beginning of winter typically means finals are on their way. Stress is over whelming and the weather doesn’t help.

Seasonal affective disorder ( also called SAD) is a type of depression that occurs at the same time every year. This could be the resin for your winter blues. Most people’s symptoms start in the fall and lead to the winter. it is much more uncommon for SAD to occur during the spring and summer because people tend to be happier with the warmer weather.

There are many treatments for SAD, some are self induced while others can be done by a doctor or a professional. Some treatments are phototherapy, psychotherapy, and medication. Its important to work towards fixing your winter blues. Theres no need for them to have a down on your life. This is a depression disorder and it is important to know the facts before deciding that you are someone with this disorder.

Surprisingly Wikepedia has some great facts on Major depressive disorder if you’d like to further your research on depression disorders. Look HERE

What makes people happy?

Is Tea good for you?

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Get drinking because tea has officially been proven to be good for you! Before you start boiling that pot of water make sure you’re drinking actual tea. Real “tea” comes from a plant called Camellia sinensis. Any other infusion of other plants isn’t real tea and therefore doesn’t have the same benefits of actual tea. There is less variety in real tea but there are many more health benefits. The types of tea are black, green, white and oolong. Some scientist researchers attribute the tea’s health benefits to polphenols which is an antioxidant and phytochemicals. Scientists have looked more into black and green tea leaves because they are more popular but research has been done on all different types of tea.

Tea can give one more exercise endurance because of the antioxidants found in the tea leaves. The body can then burn more fat as fuel and therefore have better muscle endurance. Another plus of drinking tea is the decrease in the risk of heart attack. The antioxidants can also help prevent a ton of different cancers which is always a plus.

Despite the caffeine in tea, it is extremely hydrating to the body. Also when pertaining to the body, tea, green tea in specific can be used as a back-up sunscreen as it helps protect the body from UV rays. There are many benefits to drinking tea but they are not all concrete for everyone.

On the other side of tea, its not good to drink when its too hot because this could do the opposite of preventing esophagus cancer. Make sure your tea cools before drinking it. These findings were also found in a lab on rats and rats are not humans so the conclusions are not always concrete. But drink up your tea because there are definitely some great benefits which come from it!!

Also check out why Tea is better for you than Coffee Here!

Why is New York water better water?

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One thing I miss the most about home is the water and food. Home for me is Westchester, New York, the county just north of New York City. I live approximately 5 minutes from the Bronx and 15 minutes from Manhattan. It isn’t news to anyone that a New Yorker will defend their pizza and bagels till the day they die and I’m no different. New York has THE BEST pizza and bagels in the world. But the question is why, well I like many others believe its the water.

(For more about NY pizza check out Why New York Pizza is so Irreplaceable)

There has been recent talk of fracking in New York’s water supply causing people to become skeptical on the safety of the water. According to Marc Wilkenfeld, M.D., director of the Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola the water is pretty darn safe and tasty too. The wear comes from upstate about 100 miles north and transported down to the city. There is also a program installed in the city which regularly monitors the bacteria levels in the water. This is unlike underground water supple which can be contaminated by the industrial process with chemicals.

Truthfully all tap water is safe for you to drink, the myth that drinking bottled water is better for you is just as it is, a myth. The scariest thing you need to worry about when it comes to you’re tap water at home is how dirty your pipes that the water travels through are. Keep your pipes clean or let your water run for 30 eons before drinking the water and you should be fine!

Let’s talk sex baby!

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Sure we’re all college students filled with hormones and stress just looking for a way to release all of these built up feelings and stressors. So what better way than sex… for those who choose to partake in abstinence then you must find another way to release your anxieties but sex has been proven to have many surprising health benefits other than pleasure.

Did you know people who have sex have higher levels of what defends your body against germs and viruses. And we all know how important it is to avoid getting sick and having to miss classes. “Researchers at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania found that college students who had sex once or twice a week had higher levels of the a certain antibody compared to students who had sex less often.”

Some researchers suggest sex even helps people lower blood pressure. One study found that sexual intercourse specifically (not masturbation) lowered systolic blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure is the first number which appears on your blood pressure test at the doctor’s office.

Although this may seem obvious, sex is also a great form of exercise. This doesn’t mean stop going to the gym routinely and just count of your sex life to keep the freshman 15 off but it does count for something. Every minute of sex helps you burn approximately 5 calories. “Like with exercise, consistency helps maximize the benefits,” Pinzone says.

Guess what, just like Cheerios, sex is also good for your heart. Besides being a great way to raise your heart rate, sex helps keep your estrogen and testosterone levels in balance. One study showed men who had sex regularly twice a week were half as likely to get some sort of heart disease as compared to men who rarely had sex.

Sex can also help you go to sleep easier. “After orgasm, the hormone prolactin is released, which is responsible for the feelings of relaxation and sleepiness” after sex, says Sheenie Ambardar, MD. She is a psychiatrist in West Hollywood, Calif. This is a cause of why after sex many people tend to roll over tired and nod off.

For more facts about why Sex is good for you check out this article 17 Reasons why Sex is Good for You

Naps are good for you!!! Say whaaaaaa

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Are you tired of your parents getting aggravated at you for taking power naps between classes because they think you’re wasting precious daylight when you could be doing something better with your life… Sure you could be studying for an exam, writing an essay, or going to the gym but taking a power nap during the day is doing much more than just giving an energy boost!

Scientists are beginning to look more into the advantages of napping during the day. Most other mammals sleep multiple types a day while humans rest once a day for a longer period of time. Questions are arising whether or not humans sleep once a day because society has made us this way or if thats how we were meant to be. Whatever the answer it has become evident that most hum as aren’t getting enough sleep daily.

Naps during the day aid in improvements in creative problem solving, verbal memory, perceptual learning, object learning, and statistical learning. Napping also helps to improve feeling of sleepiness and fatigue and our mood and feelings during the day. They have also been proved to be good for our heart, blood pressure, weight management, and stress.

It’s important to realize that scientist are arguing power naps are good for you not long naps in the middle of the day. A power nap lasts from about 10-30 minutes. Longer than this leaves a risk of “sleep inertia” which is the groggy feeling one gets after waking up after a longer nap. Napping should also take place between 1:00pm and 4:00pm, any later than 4:00pm and theres rise of having difficulty sleeping at night.

Many of us run to the HUB’s Starbucks for a quick cup of joe and pray for a short line but we all know that lines gonna take forever. A 2008 study showed naps are better than getting that extra boost of caffeine, and as college students we should be saint every cent as it is. Naps can also do things coffee can’t necessarily do like reduce stress or lower blood pressure.

So go ahead!! Go back to your dorm room in-between those mind-numbing classes and take a nap before cracking that book open, you’ll probably be better off in the long run!

Check this video out for some cool input on power naps How to Power Nap

WTF is Science

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Hey Everyone! My name is Shanna and I’m from Scarsdale NY. Scarsdale is the typical Suburbia about 15 minutes north of New York City. Living near the city makes it extremely convenient to go out on weekends and find fun and interesting things to do. My friends and I tend to go to raves and concerts like Electric Zoo, here’s a recap of last years festival if you’re interested, its super fun and crazy. EZoo 2012 Offical Recap!

Here’s a typical Scarsdale girl train picture before going out or in this case going to a festival!

I’m a freshman in the College of Communications majoring in Advertisement, well as long as my GPA stays high enough for their standards. Why am I taking this class you may be wondering since I’m a Advertisement major… well I’ll tell you… I hate science but this lovely school called Penn State requires us to take science credits so why not take a class with science credits for people who don’t have a single idea what science is… but not going to lie this course does seem pretty cool so far so I’m excited to see what this semester has in store for us.

If you’re one of those people who likes to stalk others check out my Instagram! or check out my second dorky Insta Profile with all my nail art…. Nail Art Instagram

SiOWfa13: Science in Our World

Certainty and Controversy