Healthy Snacking

Guidelines for snacking: People should snack 2-3 times a day. A healthy snack is something nutrient rich, low in calories, and high in fiber. People should stay away from high in carbohydrates, high in sodium, high in fat, processed foods when snacking.

In class we made a healthy snack out of apples, which are good sources of fiber; almonds, which are good sources of protein, and peanut butter, which is a good source of protein and vitamins. I liked how they made this healthy snack so creative.

Monday Wellness Reflection

Here is a link to this presentation: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1GWQCxRh2lqS35KoIcmU-1ubmw8O0KsoS43_y_-aCimQ/edit#slide=id.p 

I choose this topic because music has always been a big part of my life. I'm a dancer so without music my art form wouldn't be as vibrant or appreciated as it is now. Music has been a great outlet for me especially this year, with lots of homework and tests and overall stress that comes along with it. Listening to music while doing homework or studying calms me down and lets me focus better. So, naturally I was interested in how this scientifically actually worked. 

It was really interesting to see that the people in our class all had very different tastes in music. I somewhat just assumed people would all like pop and then have some sort of other preference, but what we found was the opposite. Some people were die hard alternative rockers, some had a passion for country, and others really liked classical. More scientifically speaking, we found that dopamine does a lot more than just make you feel better. It actually affects the flow of information from other parts of the brain to the frontal lobes, which affects memory, problem solving skills, and attention span. I also didn't know that it affected cortisol levels, lots of studies showed that listening to music you like lowers your cortisol levels. 

This topic is important for health and wellness, because it affects two important signals of the body, cortisol and dopamine. Cortisol is a hormone that affects stress and anxiety and like I previously learned in my Anatomy class, too much stress is bad for your health. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that affects the frontal lobe of brain which controls memory, problem solving skills, and emotional expression. Which are important skills for everyday life. On top of these things Dopamine is known as the "feel good" neurotransmitter and promotes positivity and healthy attitude.

On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give my project a 9.5. The project was long enough, had appropriate activities and information. But I felt as though we could of asked for specific songs and genres, instead of just genres so we could more accurately compare like and dislike. The information could have gone more in depth, but i felt it was a good amount and type.

I thoroughly enjoyed this topic and I want to learn more about how music affects health. Such as how do certain notes, lyrics, beats, etc., affect the human brain.

Lab: Measuring Blood Pressure

1) Compare the systole and diastole
Systole is the pressure when the heart contracts and diastole is the pressure when the heart relaxes.

2)What equipment is used to measure heart rate and blood pressure?
 A Sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope are used to measure blood pressure and heart rate. 

3)Why is using your thumb to measure pulse not ideal?
Using thumb to measure pulse is not ideal because you already have a strong pulse in your thumb, so it is conflicting.

4)InYour own words, describe how to use a blood pressure cuff (sphygmomanometer). 
Start by wrapping the cuff around your upper arm (where brachial artery is). Place a stethoscope just under the bottom of the cuff. Pump the bulb to about 140-150. Then begin releasing some of the air out(slowly). When you first hear the "whoosh" sound take note of that number(this is the systolic). You should hear the heart beat begin to get louder. Take note of the number when you can no longer hear the heart beat(this is the diastolic). Deflate cuff and remove the sphygmomanometer and stethoscope from patient. 

Unit 2 Reflection

To me health is your overall well-being. Not simply the food you eat or how much you exercise, but your mental, physical, and social health. More specifically relating to the five pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, and social. All of these must be in good balance in order to be "healthy". 

I believe I'm pretty healthy. Nutrition and exercise have never been a problem for me, but stress and sleep have. Same with the people at SHS. With all these APs classes and after school activities there is barely any time left to even get a solid 8 hours of sleep in. And less sleep means more stress, more stress less sleep. As to help with this problem, I'd suggest not overloading yourself with courses and not PROCRASTINATING. Sorry for the yelling, but I've found that the root of my stress and lack of sleep is my procrastination.

The essential themes and learning of this unit were the definition of health/aspects, how hormones affect health, how micro nutrients and nutrition play a role in health, how exercise enhances health, importance of sleep, affects of stress, and social connections with health. I learned all of these things, but specifically about the importance and effects of a these things at a more precise level. For example we learned that sleep is good for you, but also went in depth and looked at different stages of sleep  and hormones that make you go to sleep and wake you up.I didn't fully understand the social aspect of health, I thought it was kind of confusing and I wish we could of gone more in depth with the physiological workings of social interactions.

Next unit I will improve my study habits and make sure I'm study a week or so in advance.


A job that I can relate to this unit is a Nutritionist. According to wikipedia A nutritionist is a person who advises on matters of food and nutrition impacts on health. So this directly correlates with the nutrition pillar of health.