Maintenance of Constant Cycling
During the second semester of my freshman year, I took Biological Principles II. For this class, I researched predetermined topics and wrote papers on those topics. One of the paper topics was nicotine addiction and how it disrupts the natural harmony of neurotransmitters and the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the brain and transmit information between neurons (nerve cells). There have been at least 50 different neurotransmitters identified, and they each have specific roles that they play within the body. These neurotransmitters are in balance with one another and they can only bind to receptors on neurons that fit their specific shape. In other words, neurotransmitters exhibit a lock and key mechanism with their receptors. Nicotine disrupts the natural state of the receptors and the brain by mimicking the shape of neurotransmitters. In particular, nicotine binds to receptors of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine stimulates muscle movement, heart rate, learning and breathing. Nicotine also causes levels of dopamine (a hormone that aids in rewards senses of the brain) to increase, thus causing the brain and body to feel rewarded with the contact of nicotine. By blocking and disrupting natural orders of the brain, nicotine changes the way the brain, body and person behaves.
When I was writing this paper, I made sure to explain to my mom the processes of nicotine addiction. My mom started smoking when she was young. When I started middle school, she decided to quit smoking and did for years. However, when I was in high school, she started smoking again. My mom, unbeknownst to me, was secretly frustrated that she began to smoke again. At the time, there were stressors in her life that drove her back to nicotine addiction, but she was disappointed with her willpower against smoking. I explained to her that nicotine addiction is much bigger than just smoking, and it actually disrupts the balance in her brain. My mom felt much better about herself after knowing the power that nicotine can have over people.
In Anatomy and Physiology, my class discussed the order in which blood flowed through the heart and body. Blood flows through the systemic circuit to supply the body with nutrients and oxygen, through coronary circuit to supply to heart with oxygen and nutrients and through the pulmonary circuit to obtain oxygen from the lungs. Blood flow always runs through the body through a cycle. As seen in my artifact below, I actually drew out the orders of blood flow in a circular cycle to study for the class. If the blood cannot participate in gas exchange in the capillaries, it cannot provide the body with the oxygen and nutrients that the body needs. If this cycle is disrupted by poor gas exchange, a clot or a clogged vessel, a domino effect occurs. The natural order of the body is distorted, and there could be severe damage.
In August of 2018, I applied for my first job on campus. I decided to complete the lifeguard training here at our YMCA pool and become a lifeguard. During the training, I was taught the process of CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The purpose of CPR is to keep the heart pumping, maintain blood flow through the body, and to supply the lungs with breath to obtain oxygen flow. CPR is a disruption of circulation and therefore, a cycle. For an adult and child, cardiopulmonary resuscitation consists of thirty chest compressions at a steady beat and two rescue breaths. Rescue breaths are when the lifeguard, or whomever is performing CPR, breathes a little bit of air into the person’s mouth to transmit air and oxygen to the lungs. The repetitive cycle of thirty compressions and two breaths are performed until the person’s heart begins to beat or until emergency services can arrive on scene. The intentional cyclical design of CPR is used to restore the natural circulation of the cardiopulmonary system.
In research, my peers and I developed a participant recruitment and retention cycle of how to get participants in and out most efficiently. This was necessary because most of our participants were coming to and from classes and had very little time. Participants always were explained the aspects of the study first and signed consent forms to participate. Height and weight were obtained after consent forms. The last station participants visit is to measure different circumferences of the body. The participants are always paired with a student researcher to go to each station with and the cycle repeats with participants beginning and ending their contribution to our study. This steady circulation helps us as researchers maintain conscious awareness of what has been completed and where tools and information is located. The process of how we conduct our research keeps us all in balance with the work to be completed.
Cycles are natural and harmonic. I have discovered through my learnings that cycles are here to maintain balance. Cycles are embedded in our everyday lives from the routines that we have each day to the way our heart performs and how we breathe. These cycles are performed naturally in the way of their intent, but one small complication can cause major disruption. Cycles are useful, but it is important that we as people do not get caught up in monotonous routine. When we recognize our actions, and strive for mindfulness of these cycles, we can better reduce the consequence of a disruptions or be able to quickly return to harmony when a disruption or distraction occurs.
During the second semester of my freshman year, I took Biological Principles II. For this class, I researched predetermined topics and wrote papers on those topics. One of the paper topics was nicotine addiction and how it disrupts the natural harmony of neurotransmitters and the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers in the brain and transmit information between neurons (nerve cells). There have been at least 50 different neurotransmitters identified, and they each have specific roles that they play within the body. These neurotransmitters are in balance with one another and they can only bind to receptors on neurons that fit their specific shape. In other words, neurotransmitters exhibit a lock and key mechanism with their receptors. Nicotine disrupts the natural state of the receptors and the brain by mimicking the shape of neurotransmitters. In particular, nicotine binds to receptors of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine stimulates muscle movement, heart rate, learning and breathing. Nicotine also causes levels of dopamine (a hormone that aids in rewards senses of the brain) to increase, thus causing the brain and body to feel rewarded with the contact of nicotine. By blocking and disrupting natural orders of the brain, nicotine changes the way the brain, body and person behaves.
When I was writing this paper, I made sure to explain to my mom the processes of nicotine addiction. My mom started smoking when she was young. When I started middle school, she decided to quit smoking and did for years. However, when I was in high school, she started smoking again. My mom, unbeknownst to me, was secretly frustrated that she began to smoke again. At the time, there were stressors in her life that drove her back to nicotine addiction, but she was disappointed with her willpower against smoking. I explained to her that nicotine addiction is much bigger than just smoking, and it actually disrupts the balance in her brain. My mom felt much better about herself after knowing the power that nicotine can have over people.
In Anatomy and Physiology, my class discussed the order in which blood flowed through the heart and body. Blood flows through the systemic circuit to supply the body with nutrients and oxygen, through coronary circuit to supply to heart with oxygen and nutrients and through the pulmonary circuit to obtain oxygen from the lungs. Blood flow always runs through the body through a cycle. As seen in my artifact below, I actually drew out the orders of blood flow in a circular cycle to study for the class. If the blood cannot participate in gas exchange in the capillaries, it cannot provide the body with the oxygen and nutrients that the body needs. If this cycle is disrupted by poor gas exchange, a clot or a clogged vessel, a domino effect occurs. The natural order of the body is distorted, and there could be severe damage.
In August of 2018, I applied for my first job on campus. I decided to complete the lifeguard training here at our YMCA pool and become a lifeguard. During the training, I was taught the process of CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The purpose of CPR is to keep the heart pumping, maintain blood flow through the body, and to supply the lungs with breath to obtain oxygen flow. CPR is a disruption of circulation and therefore, a cycle. For an adult and child, cardiopulmonary resuscitation consists of thirty chest compressions at a steady beat and two rescue breaths. Rescue breaths are when the lifeguard, or whomever is performing CPR, breathes a little bit of air into the person’s mouth to transmit air and oxygen to the lungs. The repetitive cycle of thirty compressions and two breaths are performed until the person’s heart begins to beat or until emergency services can arrive on scene. The intentional cyclical design of CPR is used to restore the natural circulation of the cardiopulmonary system.
In research, my peers and I developed a participant recruitment and retention cycle of how to get participants in and out most efficiently. This was necessary because most of our participants were coming to and from classes and had very little time. Participants always were explained the aspects of the study first and signed consent forms to participate. Height and weight were obtained after consent forms. The last station participants visit is to measure different circumferences of the body. The participants are always paired with a student researcher to go to each station with and the cycle repeats with participants beginning and ending their contribution to our study. This steady circulation helps us as researchers maintain conscious awareness of what has been completed and where tools and information is located. The process of how we conduct our research keeps us all in balance with the work to be completed.
Cycles are natural and harmonic. I have discovered through my learnings that cycles are here to maintain balance. Cycles are embedded in our everyday lives from the routines that we have each day to the way our heart performs and how we breathe. These cycles are performed naturally in the way of their intent, but one small complication can cause major disruption. Cycles are useful, but it is important that we as people do not get caught up in monotonous routine. When we recognize our actions, and strive for mindfulness of these cycles, we can better reduce the consequence of a disruptions or be able to quickly return to harmony when a disruption or distraction occurs.