In California,
there's no doubt that it is going to be hot. Deserts and inland
areas are hotter than most beach cities along the coast. Everyone
enjoys the heat every once in awhile because it's nice to get away
from the cold after winter. Although many people can enjoy the heat,
when it is that it is TOO hot? Around 75 degrees seems to me to be
the perfect temperature, when you can feel the sun's rays beating
down on you and yet it's not scorching hot. If it's in the 100's,
then it is way too hot even if there's a cold pool nearby because no
matter what you do, you will be sweating without a doubt. Heat has a
huge impact on people. Many don't see it or notice it but it does.
Think of it this way, if you are really hot and you are just sitting
down watching tv while sweating, don't you feel uncomfortable? I
would. The heat tends to dehydrate people quickly which is the
reason why we all need to drink a lot of water every day during
spring and summer mostly. Being dehydrated can lead to death because
of the lack of water being consumed. The heat affects the way we
live also. Heat waves are the worst and it can cause many issues
within people. Heat stroke is a severe example as to why the heat
can be a problem because it needs medical attention immediately.
Symptoms of this are a body temperature of 103 or higher and
unconsciousness. There are approximately 688 deaths a year from heat
waves within the U.S. If a person is too hot, they will not want to
do anything which can cause them to just sit there and not move.
These types of people need to be given water and possibly a water
bottle to be spritzed with.
An example of
a short-term adaptation can be swimming. On a hot day, it's nice to
take a dip in the pool to cool off. However, the water might not be
cold, it just depends on how hot the weather is. Submerging yourself
in water is the best possible way to adapting to this stress because
it doesn't just cool one part of your body off but your whole body.
An example of
a facultative adaptation may be fainting. It allows the body to
relax and enables oxygen flow throughout our bodies. Fainting can
help stabilize the energy level and cool the body off.
An example of
a developmental adaptation can be our bodies. Having less fat means
less cells throughout our skin which is less body that the sun sees.
The thinner our bodies the less hot we seem to be.
An example of
a cultural adaptation is
tank top, shorts, and flip flops. This allows us to have less
clothing on too stay cool. If we were to be wearing long sleeves on
a hot day, everyone would have sweating arm pits and possibly get
dehydrated.
It
is a great learning experience when talking about these stresses
especially heat. It gives everyone an eye opener of how serious it
is when it's really hot outside. It gives us examples on how to cool
our bodies off and keep healthy. Nobody wants to faint and I'm sure
nobody likes sweating. Even during the cold weather, we all need to
know how to survive through these types of environmental experiences.
Blankets, jackets, and gloves to shorts, flip flops, and a pool is
what keeps us all warm and cool.
You
cannot determine the way humans react to different environmental
stress by race. Everyone is different. Seeing that someone has
darker skin does not mean they experience the stresses differently.
Different body shapes are another thing why we can't use race as to
determine these experiences. All over the world, there are different
ways people handle the weather conditions and stresses within their
community. It does not necessarily mean they are a different race,
it's just the environment they live in.
I like your cultural adaptation of the clothing we wear when it's hot out. It's totally true, especially as the fashions change. For instance, men's tank tops got really popular the past couple of summers and lot of guys started wearing them to avoid the heat. It's interesting that our bodies adapt in so many different ways to maintain homeostasis and we aren't even aware of them.
ReplyDeleteThorough discussion on the repercussions of heat stress.
ReplyDeleteShort term, facultative and developmental adaptations are all physiological adjustments our bodies make to help us adapt to a given stress.
Given that, swimming is not a short term adaptation. It is a behavior, not a physiological change in the body over the short term. A short term adaptation to heat stress is evaporative cooling (i.e., sweating).
Fainting is not an adaptation. It is an indication that something is wrong, not a change in the body that is helpful. A facultative adaptation to heat stress is vasodilation, which helps open the capillaries just under the skin to disperse heat from the body.
You are more on track for your developmental trait, but the key is not just body mass but the relationship between surface area and body mass. In hotter climates, you tend to see longer, thinner body structures (think of the Maasai in Africa), which brings the body core closer to the surface to help release body heat and keep the body cooler. Review Bergmann and Allen's rules on body and limb shape to better understand this adaptation and to learn what to expect in colder climates.
Yes, in our culture, less clothing is one approach to heat, but in other cultures, particularly in the middle east, they deal with heat by completely covering up in dark colors to reflect heat away from their bodies. Given the incidence of skin cancer, which is may be the most adaptive approach?
Good explanation for the benefits of the adaptive approach.
Good discussion on race. I agree with your conclusions.
Hi Kylie,
ReplyDeleteI like how you formatted your post, with that intro, specifically. You gave the reader more information and background and made your points clear and easy to follow. I also agree with what you said everyone is different and race can not help you determine different reactions to environmental stress. Great job
Ps: I love your picture of Taylor Lautner! :)