Science: Unlocking potential
Dr Caroline Oprandi Keeping you up to date with science and technology at PACA
The science of happiness seems like such a bizarre thing to study yet we have enough medical evidence now to show that your psychological health can have very serious effects on your physical health.
Stress can impact on our body by activation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). The ANS is a vast network of nerves reaching out from the spinal cord, directly affecting every organ in the body. It has two branches, the sympathetic ANS helps us deal with stressful situations by imitating a ‘fight or flight’ response. The fight or flight response was first noted by one of the early pioneers in stress research, Walter Cannon. In 1932 he established that when an organism experiences a shock or perceives a threat, it quickly releases hormones that help us to run faster and fight harder.
After the danger has passed, the parasympathetic ANS takes over, decreasing heartbeat and relaxing blood vessels. In healthy people, the two branches of the ANS maintain a balance: action followed by relaxation. Unfortunately many people’s sympathetic ANS stays on guard, making them unable to relax and let the parasympathetic system take over. If this situation becomes chronic, a whole variety of stress-related symptoms and illnesses can follow.
Stress in teenagers is a real issue. During my childhood, I didn’t have to face any peer pressure on fashion. I would have found social media horrendous and would be a nervous wreck worrying about impending environmental doom. I want teenagers to learn the art of finding happiness, to develop coping strategies and skills in order to make them thrive and survive stress. Recently, James May bought many smiles to our pupil’s faces. Thanks James, what a true star you are!
Furthermore, more smiles were had at the Big Bang Fair when we won the Coast 2 Capital STEM club of the year award and the Gatwick Airport Prize for Electronics. I was so proud of all of the STEM club members, their hard work and enthusiasm just shone through. They really are a wonderful bunch of kids.
When I asked them what they wanted to spend their winnings on, one of the lads from the Starburst Electronics project replied “let’s put it back into developing next year’s STEM project!” It does say something though when one of the judges couldn’t believe that we weren’t from the independent/private sector. So watch this space…. we are “releasing potential” at an alarming rate, changing mindsets and ensuring that our children have a sense of entitlement to a bright, secure future.
