Ever since I was a kid I have always had a fan on while I sleep. Through my own experiments I have discovered that without a fan I wake up to any sudden noise, and the sleep was actually not a restful. When I sleep with a fan I sleep like a rock the white noise in the background drones out all the other sound, which is actually a bad thing for me because I never hear my alarm in the morning. After researching this I found that the brain craves sensory input, and having a constant white noise in the background actually allows your brain to stop thinking as much so it can rest. The white noise feeds the brains need for sensory input and allows a person to sleep better. Seth S. Horowitz, a neuroscientist said that you still hear while you are asleep (Popular Science). So the reason that I am a heavy sleeper is because the white noise cancels out all the other noises, which allows me to sleep through most things.

Which is more effective: White noise or Pink noise?

It really comes down to personal preference, but a study recently discovered that when exposed to pink noise while sleeping there is a “significant enhancement in the percentage of stable sleep time compared to the control group” (NCBI). The control group in this case is the people sleeping in silence.

White noise is also effective when attempting to sleep. In a study done with newborns, 80% of the newborns fell asleep within five minutes due to the white noise (NCBI). Comparing babies and adults maybe be a bit of a stretch, but as I said before it is all about personal preference. Getting a good night sleep is critical for everyone especially college students. Sleep lose can actually decrease academic performance (University Health Center). Sleeping is very critical to a healthy lifestyle without it you do not feel one hundred percent, so if you find yourself having trouble sleeping try using some white noise or even pink noise.

Sources:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sleep-better-the-science-of-sound-machines-168208

http://www.popsci.com/article/science/fyi-why-does-white-noise-help-people-sleep

https://www.uhs.uga.edu/sleep/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNqERBWaJeM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC578OQYGf8

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22726808

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2405784

I have ADHD and am currently prescribed medication to counter act the effects of ADHD. The drug he prescribed was Adderall, and that was about 6 years ago. Since then I have switched off of Adderall because I did not like the way it made me feel. Currently I am taking Focalin because I did not like the way Adderall made me feel, and have been taking it since I was a sophomore in high school. When the doctor was writing my prescription he told me about the possible side effects and told me to call him if it was too much. He also said that any form of ADHD medicine is a legal form of speed, or methamphetamine, which worried me because meth heads are not the most attractive people.

The short term effects from Focalin are as followed:

• “dangerously high blood pressure (severe headache, ringing in your ears, chest pain, numbness);
• seizure (convulsions);
• fast or uneven heart rate;
• blurred vision or other visual changes;
• unusual behavior, confusion; or
• twitching or tics.

Less serious side effects may include:

• sleep problems (insomnia);
• loss of appetite;
• upset stomach;
• feeling restless, anxious, or jittery;
• dry mouth, sore throat; or headache.”   (RxList)

Do Speed and Focalin have the same long-term affects?

The long-term affects from meth abuse are mostly seen in the brain because meth is a stimulant and stimulants affect how the brain operates (Med Shadow). It is said that after long-term meth abuse that the subject “displays a number of psychotic features, including paranoia, visual and auditory hallucinations, and delusions (for example, the sensation of insects creeping under the skin)” (Drug Abuse). This sever side effect is a result of continuous use, and increasing the dosage.

Since Focalin is also a stimulant it does alter brain functionality, but unless you are abusing Focalin like a meth addict than there isn’t much to worried about. If you are prescribed Focalin or any type of ADHD medication and wish to not suffer from the same long-term effects from meth then I suggest you follow the doctor’s orders. No matter the stimulant they are all addictive, so if you are deciding whether or not to take a stimulant for ADHD just remember that it is safe as long as you do not abuse it.

Source:

http://www.rxlist.com/focalin-xr-side-effects-drug-center.htm

http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2014-5-6-what-we-know-long-term-effects-adhd-medication

http://medshadow.org/adhd/adhd-resources/

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/methamphetamine/what-are-long-term-effects-methamphetamine-abuse

While I was scrolling through reddit’s front page I came across this article. After reading the article, I was curious to see if the affects of overfishing are reversible. Overfishing is when fish are being caught faster than they can reproduce; this results in a constant decrease of the fish population. Civilization has been doing this for centuries; in fact “The earliest overfishing occurred in the early 1800s when humans, seeking blubber for lamp oil, decimated the whale population” (National Geographic). The specie of whales that was targeted was the sperm whale, and before decades of whaling there was estimated to be around one million sperm whales in the ocean, while today there is around 360,000 sperms whales left (Smithsonian). Sperm whales did not go extinct because in the 1980’s the International Whaling Commission placed a ban on commercial whaling for the 1985 to 1986 whaling season. The restriction on whaling is still in place today, but after nearly 30 years of this embargo the sperm whale population has yielded little to no growth. This infers that the countries are disregarding the pause on commercial whaling, which inhibits the whale’s ability to sustain a growing population.

The original article I read is about the significant decline in tuna and mackerel population. The article blames the decline on overfishing and pollution. The question that came to my mind was is there any way to reverse what has happened to these fish? Since the ban on whaling has been in place there hasn’t been a significant growth in sperm whale population and that was after 30 years. I would expect after 30 years there would be a rather significant increase in whale population. If we cannot stop people from whaling, then how would we prevent them for fishing for tuna? Especially since pollution is also a factor. The ocean makes up ¾ of the surface of the earth, so it would be nearly impossible to regulate fishing. Pollution of the ocean is almost unavoidable because we still pollute land. I think these are two very large problems with no easy or simple solutions, so I do not believe that there is really any solution to the decrease in tuna and mackerel population.

Do you think there is any solution for the decrease in tuna and mackerel population?

Sources:

https://iwc.int/commercial

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-sperm-whales-deadly-call-94653/?no-ist

https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Sperm-Whale.aspx

http://overfishing.org/pages/what_is_overfishing.php

http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean/explore/pristine-seas/critical-issues-overfishing/

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/15/tuna-and-mackerel-populations-suffer-catastrophic-74-decline-research-shows

“I have never seen a thin person drinking Diet Coke.”

–Donald Trump

I cannot help but smile whenever I read this quote, and why not? When I really think about it, it seems to be true. People today are always looking for a way to loose weight or cut out calories. A very popular response for most people is to stop drinking normal soda and replaces it with diet soda. Switching from normal to diet will not have any noticeable effects on the appearance of a person, but will it have any serious consequences later on in the person’s life?

The reason people switch to diet soda is because it does not have any calories like normal soda, but it does have something that adds the sweetness of sugar. And that product is an artificial sweetener called aspartame. Aspartame has been questioned many times because there are many studies proving it is linked to cancer. A study that consisted of around 125,000 people “found a link between consumption of aspartame sweetened soda and the risk of leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma in men” (Aspartame). This study was later shot down because they found a link between normal soda and lymphoma. The results were caused by chance so the study was deemed inconclusive. Scientist have been conducting studies on aspartame ever since it was discovered in the 60’s, but every time they link it to cancer it ends up being dismissed because there is no mechanism proving that Aspartame causes cancer.

Here is a great video about aspartame. It supports the idea that aspartame does not cause cancer, but it does provide some insight on why people think it causes cancer.

Although there is no evidence proving that aspartame causes cancer people are still searching. People are not sure how the chemical reacts when in the body, so it scares them. It seems like in today’s age people will question anything if it provides them with any clues about what causes cancer. With that being said if you want to loose weight and not get cancer at the same time I suggest you drink water.

Sources:

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/othercarcinogens/athome/aspartame

http://www.greenfacts.org/en/aspartame/l-3/aspartame-1.htm#3p0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=135&v=92r1oOul0kM

http://www.businessinsider.com/aspartame-sensitivity-and-health-effects-2015-6

The PGA Tour average for driving distance is 289.7 yards (PGA tour), but the most successful players on tour are also the longest hitters. Three out of the five top ranked golfers in the world hit it the ball at least 20 yards further than the tour average. The second ranked golfer in the world, Rory McIlroy, has an average drive of 310.5 (PGA Tour), and in the last year he has won five tournaments and total winnings of $12.5 million. As you can see hitting the ball far gives you an advantage over the field.

Two tour pros whose names are always atop of driving distance are Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson. ESPN did a Sport’s Science on these two which helps explain how they hit the ball so far. These two combined have a total of 2 major championships, and 15 PGA tour wins. On average they drive the ball 318 yards and over (PGA tour), with distance like that it makes scoring much easier. It allows pros to be able to reach par 5’s in two and have eagle attempts. Bubba and Dustin both have 14 eagles this season and are tied for 3^rd in total eagles (PGA tour). Distance and low scoring go hand in hand, but in a world dominated by long hitter why are they not winning every week?

It all comes down to putting. As most people remember Dustin Johnson missed a three-foot birdie putt to force a playoff with Jordan Speith at the U.S. Open. Whenever I saw Dustin Johnson’s name during the week of the 2015 U.S. Open there was always the hash tag #madeforchambersbay (chambers bay is the name of the course that hosted the U.S. Open). Chambers Bay is a long golf course, and it played at about 7,500 yards during the U.S. Open. Dustin was overpowering the course all week, driving the ball 327 yards on average (PGA tour). His length put him into contention, but his putting cost him a major. When it comes down to it distance does matter, but it can only get you so far.

Luke Donald, former number one golfer in the world, proved four years ago that a great short game could produce results. It is 2015 and Luke Donald is not the best golfer anymore. Why you may ask? The answer is simple. Luke drives the ball 277 yards on average, which is 12 yards shorter than the Tour average, but he does sit at number three on the leaderboard for approach shots from125-150 yards. Even with an impressive short game Luke has only 2 top ten finishes this season (PGA tour). Another player who is the polar opposite to Luke Donald is Bubba Watson. As mentioned earlier, Bubba is atop of the leaderboard in driving distance, but his rank in approach shots from 125-150 yards is 89^th. This season Bubba has 2 wins and 8 top ten’s. Although Luke is better at approach shots, his distance hinders his ability to compete each week. Bubba, on the other hand, is able to compete because he hits the ball so far, which allows him to have more scoring opportunities.

Sources:

http://www.pgatour.com/stats.html

http://www.pgatour.com/players/player.28237.rory-mcilroy.html/statistics

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR2AWiC2Ts0

http://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.106.html

http://www.pgatour.com/statsreport/2015/06/20/leaders-stats-us-open-round-3.html

http://www.pgatour.com/players/player.23983.luke-donald.html/statistics

Hello Everyone,

My name is Steve Murta and I am from West Chester Pennsylvania, which is about 45 minutes from Philadelphia.I am a sophomore and going for a degree in Finance. I am taking this class because I do not like science and need one more science credit. I really like chemistry, so much that I took Chem twice in high school, but the reason I am not becoming a Chem major or even any science major is because I dislike every other science class I have taken. In order to become a Chemistry major I would have to take Bio, and Physics, which are not my cup of tea. 

Here is something I think is cool

And here is a picture of the Eiffel Tower that I took a few years ago