Unit Two Lab Project: Exercise Physiology

HOW DO I THINK MY METABOLIC RATES WILL COMPARE TO BASELINE AFTER:

Coffee - Why coffee? I've had a lot of patients blame their coffee for elevated blood pressures. I wanted to know if this was a valid accusation. Understanding that caffeine is a stimulant, I believe that my heart rate will increase and my systolic blood pressure will rise only slightly because caffeine is not a vasoconstrictor. I don't believe that the diastolic pressure will change. I don't think my respirations will change measurably due to the fact that I will remain sedentary while drinking the coffee. I do this for the safety and well-being of myself and those around me. Changes will continue to increase porportionately with more caffeine ingestion. I may drink 3 cups of coffee in the name of scientific research. . .

Scary Movie - not the funny one. Given that I don't care for scary movies, I propose that my pulse rate will increase alarmingly, my blood pressure and respirations will also rise. All symptoms associated with the "fight or flight response" will exhibit themselves; except the soiling one's pants. "When our fight or flight response is activated, sequences of nerve cell firing occur and chemicals like adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released into our bloodstream. These patterns of nerve cell firing and chemical release cause our body to undergo a series of very dramatic changes. Our respiratory rate increases. Blood is shunted away from our digestive tract and directed into our muscles and limbs, which require extra energy and fuel for running and fighting. Our pupils dilate. Our awareness intensifies. Our sight sharpens. Our impulses quicken. Our perception of pain diminishes. Our immune system mobilizes with increased activation. We become prepared—physically and psychologically—for fight or flight. We scan and search our environment, "looking for the enemy."Mind/Body Education Center © Neil F. Neimark, M.D. at http://www.thebodysoulconnection.com/

Walking the Dog - The most strenous lab in a physical sense. Since I'm out of shape - it's been at least a year since I've walked the dog - I imagine my pulse will probably increase by 50% due to the incredible demand placed on it by muscle cells rudely awakened and imposed upon to actually perform. The donuts circulating in my blood as glucose will be converted to ATP. However, since I won't be walking for very long, the remaining glucose will be stored as glycogen in my liver and muscles. Respirations will triple (exaggeration, most likely also increase by 50%) to suppport the increased demand for oxygen needed to support glycolysis. Both systolic and diastolic blood pressures will increase substantially. I shall break out in a sweat and may have to call someone for a ride home. This is a cruel and unusual assignment.

Chart of hypothesis

Baseline

I believe I was there way longer than 10 mintes . . .

Coffee

Oh, yeah, we have "Starbucks" at our house . . .

Actual Means vs Predicted

I thought my pulse would increase more and the BP would increase less than it actually did. Perhaps there is some validity in the patient's blaming the coffee on their elevated BPs. Caffeine is "a central nervous system stimulant, diuretic, striated muscle stimulant, and acts on the cardiovascular system."<a href="http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Caffiene">caffeine

Scary Movie

Stressed out . . . scary movies must be bad for your health!

Actual means vs Predicted

Obviously, the movies were scarier than I had feared. I think I need counseling.

Walking the Dog

This may be the last picture taken of me alive . . .

I believe that these results are slightly skewed because the first measurements were much lower than all the subsequent ones.

below is a table of results (mean) with the lowest numbers removed.

%

I was surprised when taking my blood pressure during the "walking the dog" lab. It did not immediately rise, then 10-15 minutes into the walk was up to 128/82. The BP then lowered to 110/80 and the pulse remained slightly rapid at 92-104. Respirations were a constant at 20 per minute after the first measurements. I think the cells signalled for more oxygen (in my case, panic button)and the body responded irratically and then stabilized when all demands were met and could be maintained at the lower BP. I did not think that the diastolic would rise that much; however it is pretty low to begin with. Walking the dog was the most uncomfortable during the adjustment of the BP and I felt as though I could walk a few more miles after it lowered and homeostasis was met during exertion.

I believe that given that response, it would be more accurate to analyze a table with all the measurements on X and time spent walking on Y instead of averaging all the values into one set of figures.

I wanted to see how the walking the dog would look on a line

with all the data posted from one event.

Here's the 4 (in one) that you asked for:

Mean results of all 4 activities.

Conclusion: Our metabolism is obviously affected by rest and physical stimulation. Chemical and psychological influences have also been demonstrated by this lab to have their influences as well. Most of my hypothesis were low and I believe most people would underestimate the affects that these stressors have in our lives.

The changes were proportionate to the types of stimulants as indicated on the chart. Coffee mildly increased the metabolic rate with caffeine. Scary movies were more stimulating than coffee, but don't think I'll be using that to wake up in the morning. Of course, walking posed the greatest demand evidenced by the systems response.