Unit 2 Reflection

10/7/15

Unit 2 Reflection

   Health is, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), "a state of complete physical mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of ideas of infirmity". There are actually five pillars of health which few people know about: nutrition, sleep, stress, social, and exercise. 

   Some of the essential themes covered in this unit were what makes you healthy and the effect of each pillar of health on our lives. In this unit, I learned a lot of new information about myself and my body which I did not know. I gained more insight into the workings of my hormones such as leptin and insulin, which affect blood sugar levels and appetite. I also learned about the correct types of exercise (cardio, bone-strengthening, muscle- strengthening) and how my regimen matches up to the requirements of a healthy workout. Also, I realized how important sleep is due to its regenerative abilities and assistance in integrating memory and information. On the flip side, I saw how harmful stress is to the body. I still feel a little fuzzy on the stress pillar, partially because I happened to miss the lecture for a college presentation and got the notes from friends. The next unit I hope to improve on keeping track of the topic learned and the concepts and vocabulary that come with each section. 

   Based on the criteria for health (i.e. five pillars), I feel that people at Saratoga High are generally pretty health, as the majority of the school participates in some sort of sport, eat healthy, and socialize with classmates. However, our campus is lacking in the sleep and stress department, which I believe stems from the homework and rigor of the course at the high school. Although some would argue that it is the student's responsibility to plan ahead, most of the time it is unavoidable. Starting off the week on a Monday means homework from all 7 classes, more than half of which is due the next day and leaves little to no time to get a jump of Wednesday's work. Also, extracurriculars take time as well, which subtracts hours from our homework time. For me, I lose about an average of 2 hours of homework time each day to outside activities. To promote greater health, I suggest assigning homework with the consideration of the amount of time the students have that day to complete the work because sometimes two days is not as much time as it seems. 

  

  

My health goals

One day of my food tracking on SuperTracker

Collage about the 5 pillars of stress