Unit 2 Reflection

Health is a measure of our well-being, physically, mentally, and socially. This includes maintaining our nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, and our social lives. As a high school student, health should be my top priority however, I have come to find that I am not as healthy as I believe myself to be. Although I run daily and have good relationships with my friends and family, the amount of nutrients and sleep I receive are not enough while my stress levels are too high. From what I have observed, many of my peers are in this position as well. Therefore, to promote greater health and wellness on campus, cheaper and healthier options should be served in the cafeteria and a weekend of no homework each semester could be enforced to help reduce stress and allow students more time to sleep. A couple weeks ago I had read an article about the necessity of good sleep and how our technology centered world has changed the sleeping patterns of many all around the globe.

This unit centered around the five pillars of health: nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress and social, and their physical effects on the body. I learned that the keys to a healthy diet follow four simple rules: adequacy, moderate, variety, and balance. By following these, it is actually quite simple to maintain a healthy and balanced diet with a variety and sufficient amount of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. In addition to nutrition, exercise is also essential to a body's well-being and is proven to have many health benefits. Sleep also has a strong correlation to health as it rests, renews, and repairs the body and restores, organizes, sorts out the brain. Studies on sleep deprivation have revealed its terrible effects and consequences such as impaired performance, mood, and immunity. Stress is another pillar of health that is commonly found in students and results in poor effects as well. Although we covered some anatomy that relates to the five pillars of health, the four major hormones that regulate our body mechanisms and maintain homeostasis, keeping us healthy, are still a little unclear. In the next unit, I aim to spend more time on sections that I do not fully understand and do extra research on those sections if necessary as well.




 Edward Wilson's new take on human nature raises new discussions regarding man's rise.