As society and lifestyles change the amount of time needed to sleep has declined. The time spent awake seems to have taken over. From the early morning risers to the late night insomnia, over the years sleeing habits have definitely changed.
According to The National Sleep Foundation women definitely have a reason to lose more sleep than men. One of the reasons that was brought out was the rotating shifts and night shift schedules, this makes it hard to have a regular healthy sleep habit. Of course 20 years ago, less women worked, many stayed home taking care of their families. They were able to at least sleep at night and maybe take a nap now and then.
Another reason why women get less sleep than men do is because of pain. Again the National Foundation for Sleep brought out that (58%) more women suffer from night time pain than men (48%) according to a 1996 NSF Gallup poll. In more recent (2000) NSF Sleep in America poll, one in four women reported that pain or physical discomfort interrupted their sleep three nights a week or more.
A social factor that may account for this gender difference would be again their rotating shifts. Working a rotating shift takes away from time spent with family/home responsibilities and enjoying recreational activites (National Sleep Foundation).
A psychological factor may be menopause. Menopause is a time for hormonal, physical and a psychological change for a womans body. Understanding menopause and the changes that occur can help with insomnia during this period.
A physiological factor would be insomnia. According to the National Sleep Foundation more women are more likely to report insomnia than men. Fortunately, their are a number of approaches to improving sleep, including those you can do yourself , such as exercise, establishing regular bed and wake times, dietary changes (less or no caffine or alcohol) and improving your sleep environment. One recent study found that overweight, post-menopausal,
women who exercise in the morning experience less difficulty falling asleep and better quality sleep than evening exercisers.
Some factors that may explain why sleep disorders go untreated according to the National Sleep Foundation people disregard talking to their physician about their sleep disorders. Two out of ten people in a survey would not seek help from a doctor.
I have learned from this unit the importance of our senses and how they are used to determine our perception of the world around us.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Classic Theories of Human Development
Deciding to open a summer camp for children from the ages of 18 months to 18 years i would choose the following activies.
Ages 18 months: (1. Sensorimotor stimulation activities. According to Piaget stages of human development for the first year or two and a half years of life, infants are only aware of sensorimotor experience. They do not connect with things outside themselves. They do not know how things react so they are always experimenting (A Science Odyssey). I would choose toys and ojects that are soft and that could not be easily broken. Items that could not be swallowed. For example soft books with things that make souds and with many colors. Books like these would also prepare a toddler for reading later on.
(2. Another activity would be blocks, the old time favorite which cannot be ingested and will help build motor skills and coordination.
Ages 5 years: (1. The cognitive mind has progressed. At this age they are well familiar with sight and sound. Therefore the next level of learning begins. Again according to Piaget when he helped standardize tests for gauging the reasoning abilities of five to eight year olds. He was fascinated to find that at a certain age, children could solve particular reasoning problems, but more than that, at an earlier age, they nearly always gave the same wrong answer.(A Science Odyssey). The first activity I would choose would be a learning game, something like a V-Tech computer or V-tech handheld game since it resembles the handheld gaming systems. These learning systems are designed to teach them problem solving, computer and technology skills and creativity.
(2. The next activity would be plenty of books believe or not children at this age love books. They also need books. Without reading skills they surely would not be able to play and understand some of the activites they are involved with. Words are everywhere and at that age would be the best time to push lots of words and phonics on them.
Ages 8 years: (1. At this age motor skill and coordination are fairly well developed. According to Piget's stages they are aware of events outside of their lives. (A Science Odyssey). They have entered the concrete operational stage. Given concrete materials, they begin to grasp conversation-that change in shape does not mean change in quantity. During this stage Piaget said that, children fully gain the mental ability to comprehend mathmatical transformations and conservation. (Exploring Psychology in Modules, David G Myers, pg. 115). My first activity would be more comprehensive math and reading games. Challenging mind games such as Monopoly and scrabble help a child at that age to reach deep into their brain and really use counting, reasonong and spelling skills.
(2. My next activity for them would be an outside sport, something that would require plenty of hand and eye coordination, such as bike riding, jumping rope and skating. These activities also help with jugdement skills
Ages 18 years: (1. Theorist Erik Erikson (1963) Contended that each stage of life has it's own "psychosocial" task, a crisis that needs resolution. The adolescent's task is to synthesize past, present and future possibilities into a clearer sense of self. "Adolescent's wonder, Who am I as an individual? What do I want to do with my life? What values should I live by? What do I believe in?" Erikson called this quest the adolescent's" search for identity". (Exploring Psychology in Modules, David Myers, pg. 128.) My first activity would be books and information and computers. Looking up and finding out information on what they want to do for their career. The internet can be very helpful. Exploring what they really want to do, and what they enjoy doing could also be an activity.
(2. My next activity would be sports or some kind of craft and cooking project. The new technology in cooking and crafts make these projects more interesting and fun.
In this unit I learned that a child's developing mind is not like that of an adult. They do not think like adults do. They do not reason or comprehend the way an adult does. Sometimes I forget that with my son. This unit helped me to remember that he will be a kid until he grows up.
Ages 18 months: (1. Sensorimotor stimulation activities. According to Piaget stages of human development for the first year or two and a half years of life, infants are only aware of sensorimotor experience. They do not connect with things outside themselves. They do not know how things react so they are always experimenting (A Science Odyssey). I would choose toys and ojects that are soft and that could not be easily broken. Items that could not be swallowed. For example soft books with things that make souds and with many colors. Books like these would also prepare a toddler for reading later on.
(2. Another activity would be blocks, the old time favorite which cannot be ingested and will help build motor skills and coordination.
Ages 5 years: (1. The cognitive mind has progressed. At this age they are well familiar with sight and sound. Therefore the next level of learning begins. Again according to Piaget when he helped standardize tests for gauging the reasoning abilities of five to eight year olds. He was fascinated to find that at a certain age, children could solve particular reasoning problems, but more than that, at an earlier age, they nearly always gave the same wrong answer.(A Science Odyssey). The first activity I would choose would be a learning game, something like a V-Tech computer or V-tech handheld game since it resembles the handheld gaming systems. These learning systems are designed to teach them problem solving, computer and technology skills and creativity.
(2. The next activity would be plenty of books believe or not children at this age love books. They also need books. Without reading skills they surely would not be able to play and understand some of the activites they are involved with. Words are everywhere and at that age would be the best time to push lots of words and phonics on them.
Ages 8 years: (1. At this age motor skill and coordination are fairly well developed. According to Piget's stages they are aware of events outside of their lives. (A Science Odyssey). They have entered the concrete operational stage. Given concrete materials, they begin to grasp conversation-that change in shape does not mean change in quantity. During this stage Piaget said that, children fully gain the mental ability to comprehend mathmatical transformations and conservation. (Exploring Psychology in Modules, David G Myers, pg. 115). My first activity would be more comprehensive math and reading games. Challenging mind games such as Monopoly and scrabble help a child at that age to reach deep into their brain and really use counting, reasonong and spelling skills.
(2. My next activity for them would be an outside sport, something that would require plenty of hand and eye coordination, such as bike riding, jumping rope and skating. These activities also help with jugdement skills
Ages 18 years: (1. Theorist Erik Erikson (1963) Contended that each stage of life has it's own "psychosocial" task, a crisis that needs resolution. The adolescent's task is to synthesize past, present and future possibilities into a clearer sense of self. "Adolescent's wonder, Who am I as an individual? What do I want to do with my life? What values should I live by? What do I believe in?" Erikson called this quest the adolescent's" search for identity". (Exploring Psychology in Modules, David Myers, pg. 128.) My first activity would be books and information and computers. Looking up and finding out information on what they want to do for their career. The internet can be very helpful. Exploring what they really want to do, and what they enjoy doing could also be an activity.
(2. My next activity would be sports or some kind of craft and cooking project. The new technology in cooking and crafts make these projects more interesting and fun.
In this unit I learned that a child's developing mind is not like that of an adult. They do not think like adults do. They do not reason or comprehend the way an adult does. Sometimes I forget that with my son. This unit helped me to remember that he will be a kid until he grows up.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Biology
The saying that people use only ten percent of their total capacity brain is false. This may have originated by William James who wrote in 1908, "We are only making use of a small part of our possible mental and physical resources"(from The Energies of Men,p.12). We all know that if any part of or brain is damaged that it would have devastating effects on our behavior.
Albert Einstien's brain was at first missing when he died in 1955. The rest of his body was cremated but his brain was saved. In the 1970's a man named Steven Levy, a reporter for the New Jersey Monthly set out to find Albert Einstien's brain. Levy found Einstein's brain with Dr. Harvey, the one who removed Einsteins brain when he died. Einstein's brain differs from the average brain because he had more glial cells than normal brains. Glial cells are the cells that clean up and get rid of dead brain debris. These cells also transport nutients to neurons and they insulate and support neurons. Einstien had more of these cells allowing him to have a greater metabolic need.
Later research showed that he also had an unusual pattern pattern of groves, called (sulci). His brain was also fifteen percent wider than most humans. Researchers think that these unique characteristics in his brain may have allowed for better connections between neurons imortant for math and spatial reasoning.
The current metaphor for the brain is that it is like a computer. This metaphor holds true. According to an article written by, Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D., Odyssey magazine 10:6-7, 2001(march), Cobblestone Publishing Co. Both the brain and a computer both need energy and both store memories. They also both have the ability to monitor their surroundings. And just as your computer is protected by a hard cover, the brain too is protected by your skull.
The major difference between your brain and a computer is that the brain has a consciousness and a computer does not. You know you are here a computer doesn't. Also unlike a computer the brain does not have a power switch. The brain is constantly working, even when we are sleep.
The brain and a computer are very similar in ways but are very much different as mentioned. It all makes a person wonder how the brain really works and what is the special mystery behind it.
With all its neurons and special glial cells the brain is a working process center. But why and how has it come to be so complex that every day there can yet be something learned from the thoughts that we hold and our behavior behind it?
From this unit I learned about the scienrific attitude how a scientist wants to see the evidence of a crazy idea. I also learned about critical thinking, how to think smarter and analyze things differently.
Information in this article is from Neuroscience for Kids website, provided by host: http//faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nuerok.html
Albert Einstien's brain was at first missing when he died in 1955. The rest of his body was cremated but his brain was saved. In the 1970's a man named Steven Levy, a reporter for the New Jersey Monthly set out to find Albert Einstien's brain. Levy found Einstein's brain with Dr. Harvey, the one who removed Einsteins brain when he died. Einstein's brain differs from the average brain because he had more glial cells than normal brains. Glial cells are the cells that clean up and get rid of dead brain debris. These cells also transport nutients to neurons and they insulate and support neurons. Einstien had more of these cells allowing him to have a greater metabolic need.
Later research showed that he also had an unusual pattern pattern of groves, called (sulci). His brain was also fifteen percent wider than most humans. Researchers think that these unique characteristics in his brain may have allowed for better connections between neurons imortant for math and spatial reasoning.
The current metaphor for the brain is that it is like a computer. This metaphor holds true. According to an article written by, Eric H. Chudler, Ph.D., Odyssey magazine 10:6-7, 2001(march), Cobblestone Publishing Co. Both the brain and a computer both need energy and both store memories. They also both have the ability to monitor their surroundings. And just as your computer is protected by a hard cover, the brain too is protected by your skull.
The major difference between your brain and a computer is that the brain has a consciousness and a computer does not. You know you are here a computer doesn't. Also unlike a computer the brain does not have a power switch. The brain is constantly working, even when we are sleep.
The brain and a computer are very similar in ways but are very much different as mentioned. It all makes a person wonder how the brain really works and what is the special mystery behind it.
With all its neurons and special glial cells the brain is a working process center. But why and how has it come to be so complex that every day there can yet be something learned from the thoughts that we hold and our behavior behind it?
From this unit I learned about the scienrific attitude how a scientist wants to see the evidence of a crazy idea. I also learned about critical thinking, how to think smarter and analyze things differently.
Information in this article is from Neuroscience for Kids website, provided by host: http//faculty.washington.edu/chudler/nuerok.html
Genetics
I had difficulty with Elizabeths' choice whether or not she should keep her breasts or remove them due to the cancer and the genetic mutation. This was a difficult decision because it does involve removing a part of her body. This could cause a lot of psychological damage, at the same time she would be at less risk for the cancer to return.
If I had a history of breast cancer in my family I would want to have genetic testing done to determine my risk. I would do this to ease my mind and to keep myself aware of what is going on with my body. I could also prepare and get more knowledge on cancer to treat my condition.
If I had a family history of breast cancer I would advise my children to get routine checks to find out if they have inherited any genetic signs of cancer.
The knowledge that Iam carrying genes for a potential fatal disorder would influence my decision to have children. I would not want to pass those genes on to any offspring. Not even if there was a fifty-percent chance the gene would not pass on.
This information was provided by a website; http://dnafiles.org/interact/brca/index.html
If I had a history of breast cancer in my family I would want to have genetic testing done to determine my risk. I would do this to ease my mind and to keep myself aware of what is going on with my body. I could also prepare and get more knowledge on cancer to treat my condition.
If I had a family history of breast cancer I would advise my children to get routine checks to find out if they have inherited any genetic signs of cancer.
The knowledge that Iam carrying genes for a potential fatal disorder would influence my decision to have children. I would not want to pass those genes on to any offspring. Not even if there was a fifty-percent chance the gene would not pass on.
This information was provided by a website; http://dnafiles.org/interact/brca/index.html
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