I came to Penn State almost a month ago, and I quickly found out that college students don’t get enough sleep, or no sleep at all. Sleeping has become an option, not a necessity, for us college kids. I, as a 4-week college student, too don’t get enough sleep. It became normal not to go to bed until at least 2 in the morning! (and yes, I used to go to bed before midnight before)

I thought I was going to be so tired all the time to do anything because I don’t get enough sleep. However, I experienced something interesting instead. I’m not that tired!

Then I began to think, why do we need sleep at all then? Our parents and our older people say that we need sleep. But sleeping is for restoring energy, if we have that energy without sleep, then why sleep?

Well, This article, Why do we sleep, Anyway?, suggests several theories as to why we need sleep.

 First theory is “Inactivity Theory”; this theory suggests that “animals that were able to stay still and quiet during these periods of vulnerability had an advantage over other animals that remained active”.

 Second theory is “Energy Conversation Theory”; it suggests that “the primary function of sleep is to reduce an individual’s energy demand and expenditure during part of the day or night, especially at times when it is least efficient to search for food.”

Third Theory is “Restorative Theory”; and it says that sleep in some way serves to “restore” what is lost in the body while we are awake. Sleep provides an opportunity for the body to repair and rejuvenate itself.”

Last theory is “Brain Plasticity Theory” which illustrates that sleep is correlated to changes in the structure and organization of the brain. This phenomenon, known as brain plasticity, is not entirely understood, but its connection to sleep has several critical implications.”

Then what happens if we don’t sleep? This article, Sleep, Learning, Memory, indicates that “when we are sleep deprived, our focus, attention, and vigilance drift, making it more difficult to receive information. Without adequate sleep and rest, over-worked neurons can no longer function to coordinate information properly, and we lose our ability to access previously learned information” and it might affect our interpretation, no sleeping makes us not capable of making fair judgments on life because “we can no longer accurately assess the situation, plan accordingly, and choose the correct behavior.”

Here is a video on Why Do We Sleep.

So guys, whether you party or study, make sure you get sleep daily!

Have you ever fallen in love? If you said yes to the question, let me ask you this, why did you fall in love? Personally, yes, I have fallen in love before, at least I think it was love. If you ask me why I fell in love with the guy, I would say, it was because it was him. I don’t know the specific reasons as to why I fell for this guy.

According to dictionary.com, love is a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person; or a feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, as for a parent, child, or friend. In the article Science of Attraction, to Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist and professor at Rutgers University who studied love for over 30 years, love is a drive that happens in three parts, the first is lust, stimulated by the sex hormones testosterone and estrogen; the second part is romantic love, driven by dopamine and serotonin and activated by cocaine and heroin. Finally, attachment is cultivated by oxytocin,  and vasopressin, an important chemical for commitment. And she says love is a chemical concoction and an addiction.

But why do we fall in love though? Appearance, right? In the article Why Do People Fall In Love?,  The researchers at the University of Texas found that women with a low waist-to-hip ratio (in which the waist is significantly narrower than the hips) are more attractive to men than those with wider waists. They believe that a good waist-to-hip ratio may subconsciously signal to a man that a woman has good health and reproductive ability.

Next, Chivalry. A survey by the University of Chicago showed that people who agreed with altruistic statements, like “I’d rather suffer myself than let the one I love suffer,” reported more happiness in their marriage than those who did not concur with those statements.

There is a saying that “opposites attract each other” but the researchers who has helped explained the phenomenon of doppelganger couples, found that people are actually more attracted to people who have similar traits and appearances. 

But let’s get real here. Even though there are billions of researches on love, nobody truly knows about love. I think that is why love is so great. (even though it could be very much so hurtful sometimes) When you fall in love, you don’t study love, you just feel it.

P.S there are some tips on how to keep the flame alive in case you are in love right now.

– “Do novel things” – that drives up the dopamine system.

– “Stay in touch physically” – hold hands, lie in your lover’s arms. Touch drives up oxytocin.

– “Say nice things to each other on a daily basis” – positive illusion is the ability to look past the negative and accentuate the positive.

from Science of Attraction

Hello Everyone my name is Sean Peyton, I am from Collegeville, PA which is about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia. I am a freshmen and currently my major is undecided, however, I intend to major in one of the numerous business majors. I come from a family of 5 and have a dog named molly. My favorite place in the world is Beaver Creek, Colorado (I love to ski). Feel free to follow me on twitter.

If I said was currently enrolled in Science 200 because I needed fulfill my last general education requirements for natural sciences, I wouldn’t be lying. However, I chose this course specifically because it is an interactive one and I find the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of other students to be extremely valuable. Blogs create the opportunity for students to connect with the material on a more personal level and to pick the brains of their classmates. And, for me, nothing is more interesting than what goes on in a person’s mind. That being said, I am a psychology major with a minor in human development and family studies. Yes, I am aware that psychology is a science. For me though, it is unlike any of the science classes I was forced to take in high school or to fulfill general education requirements. I am not a science major because when I think back to my high school physics class all I can picture is me squinting at the formulas on the chalk board and papers with smudges and rips all over them. I have perfect vision and sat towards the front of the room, so I was squinting because I felt like I was staring at symbols from an ancient tribal language. The papers were torn and sloppy from my constant erasing and occasional fury. So, I guess it’s safe to say science and I were not on the best of terms. Since attending college and having some reign over my curricula, science and I are no longer enemies. I now know all about the pH balance of the ocean, random facts about plate tectonics, that diesel fuel is more energy efficient than regular petroleum, the marine food web, among other things. While almost none of this is going to be useful when I am one day working in a therapeutic setting, I realize that science doesn’t have to be this huge struggle and could even be enjoyable. However, I am almost certain that the knowledge I will acquire from taking this course will be useful for my future.

Here is the single reason my brain didn’t explode from chemistry and physics during high school (his devilishly good looks kept me captivated):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXyYbQ0SmDQ

Here’s a picture of a scene from my favorite movie:

https://blogs.psu.edu/mt4/mt.cgi?__mode=dashboard&blog_id=88160

      Hello and good evening to my fellow Science 200 classmates! My name is Michael Rangel, and I am a graduating Psychology (B.S.) Major with a focus within Neuropsychology. I was born in Philadelphia, and I frequently travel out of the country (Colombia specifically) to visit my family. I am going to be the first person in my entire family to graduate from a University, and I am honestly proud to say that it was Penn State that gave me the opportunity to do so. However, as a Senior, there is a stronger sense of pride to know that according to the United Stated 2012 Census, 27.5% of the population have acquired a College education and as of 2013, the ‘Pennsylvania State University’ is also ranked the top 50 University in the world!

     Now, as a Psychology major, I feel as though I have the upmost curiosity to learn more, not only about how one interacts with one another and their environment, but more so about the natural world around us. Albeit, despite being a Neuropsychology major, I’m required to take plenty of Science related courses, including Chemistry, Neurobiology and Biology courses. Never the less,  I absolutely love Science, and originally, I was a Biology major, but due to a severe burnout, I decided to retire from the major and pursue a mixture of both Natural Science, and Social Science. In the end, I’m happy with my decision to become a Neuropsychology major. If anyone is curious about Neuropsychology, feel free to ask questions about the major, but it is truly a fascinating major.

       If I had any words of advice for anyone whose a lower class-men, I would say the following: Enjoy the next 4 years of your life. This is a moment in your life where a lot of self-discovering occurs, from the good, bad and the ugly. One will make memorable friends who would walk through Hell and back for you, and most likely, you would do that same for them. Join clubs, go out and socialize, learn about your Professors’ but above all, study. Do not forget the reason why you are here at Penn State. Do not fear failure either, instead learn from these faults and improve on them, trust me, I’ve made my fair share of screw-ups, but I am proud of them.

So, whose ready to do Science?

Hello everybody! My name is Ryan, but you can call me Bender because Ryan apparently is a pretty boring name. I am a Freshman and I am an Undecided major but I want to do something with business. I am taking this class because I needed to take a science course and the description of this class made it sound pretty cool. I’m not gonna be a science major because throughout high school I hated all of the science classes we had to take even though I was pretty good at all of them. Also click here to see some funny clips from a funny show!

Hey all! My name is Joffrey and I’m from Coatesville, PA. I am a sophomore in the college of communications and I am still unsure of what to major in. A big passion of mine is music. I love to play, write, and listen to it. I listen to all sorts of music but if I had to listen to one band only for the rest of my life I would quickly choose The Beatles.

r

I am taking this course (SC200) because it was recommended to me by my guidance counsellor and I needed the science credits. I am not planning to be a science major. Why? Honestly, I never really gave it any thought but I guess I never excelled in my high school science courses and never felt like I made significant contribution in labs. I think science is very interesting but I have never felt that it is necessary for me to know all aspects of it.