Inside COVID-19 Hospitals

By: Roxanne Cortner 

    New gowns and gloves must be put on every hour or before entering any patient’s room. Vitals are checked before a tech sets up their desk for the shift and are checked again every four hour. Patients are bed ridden and confined to a room and most people don’t know how long they have been there. No contact can be made on skin from anything in a patient’s room. This is the nightly protocol for a nurse in the COVID-19 unit of a hospital. 

2020 was a year of uncertainty brought on by the sudden viral disease COVID-19. For some,  COVID-19 is seen as not a big deal. For others, the reality is COVID-19 is a matter that should be taken seriously. Lindsey Ward, patient care technician, and Amber Biggers, staff nurse, stress the severity of COVID-19 as they see everyday the impact it is having on their patients’ lives. 

“We’ve had a lot more deaths since COVID-19 hit and sent a lot more patients to the ICU. The whole hospital is at capacity other than the women’s center,” Biggers said. 

COVID-19 severely impacts the lungs making it harder to breathe, and some patients have developed pneumonia. 

Catherine Priest, a patient care tech, described of COVID-19 unit having a lot of patients hooked up to oxygen machines and machines she had never heard of before through nursing school.

There is no cure for COVID-19 and the new vaccine is only available to select groups of people as they carry out phases. Viruses must have time to go away on their own, so nurses and doctors are treating the symptoms of COVID-19 such as pneumonia, cough, and cold. 

Plasma transfusions have been effective in treating COVID-19 patients. Survivors of COVID-19 are encouraged to donate plasma within three months of testing positive for COVID-19. Survivors carry antibodies that have been beneficial for those battling COVID-19.

Nurses have also found it effective for patients to lay prone-on their stomach. Prone position allows for the lungs to open and relieves pressure on the lungs which allows more oxygen to the lungs. 

Priest shared a story of a guy who was maxed out on oxygen and they tried everything for him and nothing was working. They got him to lay prone and within a couple hours he barely needed oxygen assistance. 

As the patient technicians and nurses care for these patients, everything is monitored and everything must be done carefully. Being “gowned up” is most important as technicians interact with patients and give them their treatments. 

While being “gowned up,” the nurse or technician is the only one allowed to enter a patient’s room and if something were to happen, a code happens, a technician has to determine if they would break protocol or if someone else is attending to a patient do they drop everything and help? 

“Nurses will come only in the doorway and throw the supplies at us because they cannot touch us,” Ward said. 

If a patient feels bad enough that they are at the hospital, but they have the right to refuse treatment. Patients who are refusing treatment are asked to sign an “against medical advice” form and sent home.

Biggers said that Zinc is the only Food and Drug Administration approved mineral proven effective in battling viral diseases. Biggers also shared that her hospital is giving patients vitamin C as a way to prevent deterioration while in isolation. 

More vaccines are being made and the U.S. is adding more phases to allow more of the population to get the vaccine. Nurses are cautioning the U.S. to stay aware of the virus and its symptoms until the vaccine is more accessible and the U.S. can begin moving towards a new normal. 

Women in Science During COVID-19: The Unsung Heroes or Bigger Targets?

By: Taylor Dunn 

There was more focus than ever on women scientists during this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11th, due to their importance during the fight against COVID-19.

 In the STEM field, women and girls and largely misrepresented and women and girls of color even more so. Before 2020, there was a bigger push happening to get girls involved in the STEM field. 

A previous member of her high school robotics team, Gabbie Jackson says in a phone interview she “remembers going to science camp during the summer when {she} was younger and the robotics team from the high school would come and show us how to build little robots. It made {her} feel confident.”

 While robotics and technology are just one branch of STEM, the women scientists at work in the hospitals and labs are the ones that are celebrated during COVID-19. Due to their majority in the hospital workplace, they are commonly portrayed at the forefront of the pandemic.

However, behind the scenes they are wildly misrepresented. According to the OECD Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index, women carry out far more work than men, especially during the pandemic. 

 As scientist worked tirelessly around the globe to find out the cure to the pandemic in 2020, there was a spotlight upon the doctors and the brains behind the idea, and their frontman was Dr. Fauci. A renowned scientist and doctor in his field, his contributions and findings were helpful and good for the public to understand. However, behind the scenes, there were teams of women like the ones at the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta breaking down the science of the vaccine one by one.

 Shawna Meyers, a public health professional at the CDC in Atlanta spoke a here ㅤ more focus than ever ㅤ women scientists during this year’s international day ㅤ women ㅤ girls ㅤ science ㅤ february 11th, due ㅤ their importance during ㅤ fight against covid-19.

 

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"SARC Village" Continues Progress During COVID-19

By John Roberts 

   Georgia Southern University's Sustainable Aquaponics Research Center has continued to research and serve the community following the changes that have impacted all of society from COVID-19.

    The research center on the Armstrong campus is an outdoor facility conducting research on the process of aquaponics, as well as selling and donating food from their work to people and places in the surrounding area.

    The facility contains four individual systems, each with 900-gallon tanks, holding around 100 mature tilapia, and 224 square foot runways for the plants.

    The method mixes aquaculture and hydronics to create a complementary relationship where the water that the fish are raised in takes the excrement of the fish, provides nutrients for the plants being grown in water, and the water that plants are growing in recirculates back to clean the water that the fish are in.

    Brigette Brinton, curator at the research center, handles maintenance and training for the facility, and was one of the essential personnel that remained on campus when classes were moved online during the spring.

     COVID-19 moving forward brought precautionary measures to SARC with limited people in the lab and greenhouse, masks and social distance when harvesting, and delivery options for the marketplace.

     Brinton said the facility's maintenance process did not change much with the pandemic, as the building was subject to all of the food safety restrictions, tests, and requirements that would keep the place properly sanitized. 

    These safety precautions allowed SARC to still contribute produce to the community. One of these donations included large quantities of lettuce and swiss chard to local businesses Spudnik Cafe and Pounce Cat Cafe, who provide lunches to those in need around Forsyth Park in Savannah.

    DeVon Kind, Spudnik Cafe customer and Savannah resident, said that its been special to able to see the impact of this research.

    "It's one thing to hear about a study and the impact its intended to make, but it's beautiful when people from all walks in the community are impacted by either experiencing or witnessing the work of this research at the school,” Kind said.

    Research itself has slowly continued through the 2020-2021 school year with fewer students on campus, and most staff focusing on completing projects rather than beginning new ones.

    "I've kept busy, even with the decreased research time since the pandemic began, since fish need to eat, and plants keep growing everyday," said Brinton.

    SARC itself acts as a research center, a produce marketplace, an outlet for community service, and a place made for hands-on learning.

    Eboni Jackson, a senior biology major at Georgia Southern, said, “It's actually really encouraging to know that the very information I am learning in class is being used to reshape our society into one that is more effectively sustained.” 

    Jackson said that the impact and information coming from research centers like SARC show the importance of the educating more than just the people who are graduating with the degree, but for everyone to know.

    COVID-19 gave SARC less opportunities for community outreach over the fall semester. Public schools in Savannah were prohibited from taking field trips, and STEM events were less frequent.

    Brinton said that they would usually attend many more STEM events, and would have at least 1-2 field trips each semester.

   The pandemic has not stopped the growing process of SARC, with a fish hatchery and experimental facility being built beside the greenhouse, and a small marsh that is exploring working with marsh plants for wetland restoration efforts. 

    The long-term goal for SARC is to create an economically sustainable method that allows aquaponics to expand to provide food in urban areas and third world countries.

    "We keep feeding people, we keep each other safe, and we continue making progress," said Brinton.

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

    

The Super Hero Plant

The plant Spartina Alterniflora, also known as , S. Alterniflora or Spartina, is the dominant marsh plant in the coastal plain of eastern North America. According to CAB International, many coastal engineers see the plant as one that could be used to create natural erosion control barriers which would help with numerous environmental problems that the world is soon to face.

The marshes support ecosystems and they support humans. The benefits that they offer prove to be a great way to recycle and shed light on a new form of restoration that could help with erosion and a number of environmental problems . Marshes can also act as a nursery to fish which are very important in the sea food industry as fish can use these marshes as their breeding grounds.

Trinity Storm, a sophomore biology major at Georgia Southern University, describes her common assumptions about aqua culture and what she knows about how it works.

“I know about aquaculture and how waste water can contain some nutrients, but they aren’t really all good nutrients,” she said. “ Fresh water waste is usually the best waste water because it has little salt and it can be used to produce and help other organisms”.

Scientist are constantly looking for solutions to protect and restore the environment. Erosion, intense flooding, hurricanes, and sea levels rising are among some of the issues that have plagued coasts . Spartina Alterniflora proves to be the plant that can offer a solution that will tackle several major environmental and economic issues and their repercussions.

Dr.Heather Joesting, a professor at Georgia Southern University Armstrong, has done research and is currently conducting a study that is experimenting with the properties of this plant and how it can be used for restoration purposes. 

Her current research is directly related to coastal management because of the high importance of marshes and how they function in different environments. She described a new movement to restore living shorelines by using natural materials to help stabilize coasts.

She began her study of the Spartina Alterniflora in 2019 . Since then, she has made progress along with the help of a few undergraduate students as well as one graduate student . Germination begun in February of 2019 and it would have typically lasted 3 months ,but COVID-19 effected the progress of her research. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances ,the seeds did not see very high success rates. Dr. Joesting described another problem of seed production as low viability ,so that may have been another factor as well.

“ What we are doing together is ,we are constructing an artificial wetland ,and what we’re going to do is have a fish hatchery attached to that. And the waste water from that, which we call effluent, that will cycle through the constructed wetland and the wetland will be divided into two cells, ” said Alexander Gregory, the graduate student assisting Dr. Joesting with the study.

Some of the points her research has required her to be knowledgeable on is when the best time of year is to collect Spartina seeds, the examination of the best marshes, and the rate of germination of the seeds. They plan on sampling the water before it enters the system, sample the water in each cell, and the sample the water as it leaves the cell to test how well it cleans the waste water.

“ So, this new movement has been to restore using something called living shorelines where you use natural materials to help stabilize the coast,” she said. “A lot of those living shore line projects are accompanied by planting some of the native vegetation”.

 Spartina is an important part of building and maintaining the marsh for restoration . Armoring and putting up sea walls or permanent structures are temporary fixes to coastal issues. The research by Dr. Joesting is trying to help the pressures of coastal issues but one problem with the conduction of the research is that state of Georgia has no local place to get Spartina plugs for living shorelines, so it has to buy Spartina from other states . Another interesting fact is that Georgia’s coast line is unique because it has high tides compared to rest of east coast. Dr. Joesting’s study focuses on the best way to cultivate Spartina by collecting their seeds from marshes . 

President Biden Executive Order

 Semaj Williams

 

    President Biden started his presidency by addressing the United States' participation in the fight to slow climate change. The president signed an executive order on January 27, to strengthen America’s engagement in the global crisis. The executive includes actions such as the deployment of new clean energy technologies and infrastructure. 

    The executive order that was signed by Biden has the potential to improve the Statesboro environment in the future. The Statesboro region has been impacted by climate change over the years as temperatures have increased.

    This has affected the wildlife in Statesboro, as according to Georgia Southern Professor Dr. Ray Chandler who teaches conservation biology,  birds such as the Painted Bunting have been spending their winters in Statesboro recently as in more previous years they were spent elsewhere.

    Dr. Chandler believes that climate change is an issue in Statesboro. “It is critically important. Although we are far enough from the coast to not suffer directly from sea level rise, we will face many of the other challenges: temperature rise, excessive heat days, changed rainfall patterns, greater risk of drought, risks to wildlife and plant populations, and increased wildfire risk. Of course, sea-level rise at the coast will have implications for the regional economy that will most certainly affect Statesboro,” said Chandler via email.

    President Biden’s deployment of new clean energy infrastructure could impact the Statesboro region in the future. Though it may not completely resolve the issues in Statesboro, it can help lead Statesboro in the right direction against climate change.

    The new buildings are built to help lower the carbon footprint by reducing the burning of fossil fuels, which Statesboro will benefit from. Georgia generates electricity by burning fossil fuels, these plants also coal ash which is a toxic waste product. The elimination of these plants would lower carbon dioxide production and also reduce the number of pollutants that fall into Georgia waterways such as Mercury. 

    Local Statesboro resident Taylor Pollard seems to be excited about the new executive order. “ I feel as though this is something that is long overdue, unfortunately, the way we as humans live causes strain on the earth and its resources, so whatever we can do to combat that it is always a positive,” said Pollard.

With innovation heading away from fossil and leading more towards using electricity for machines such as cars, this may begin to accelerate with President Biden’s new executive order. Electric cars generally have a lower carbon footprint than gas-powered cars, which can be used to help lower carbon dioxide levels. 
    Though Statesboro is not a heavily populated area, it does receive a considerable amount of traffic during the school year. President Biden’s executive order looks to develop a comprehensive federal clean electricity and zero-emission vehicle procurement strategy. These steady advancements in cars could have a positive long term effect on the Statesboro environment with less and less carbon dioxide being released over the years. 
    Electric car owner John Delgado feels as though electric cars are necessary and that everyone should have one. “If we know that using fossil fuels and the emissions of carbon dioxide is bad for the environment, why would we not take the steps to help make the world better, I mean that’s why I bought my car,” said Delgado.
    The executive order put in place by President Biden does more than promote the ending of burning fossil fuels and the deployment of clean energy technologies. The executive order also pauses new oil and gas leasing on public lands and offshore waters. The executive order makes climate change a top priority for every agency, it also makes it a goal to double offshore wind power by the year 2030. 

Time-Restricting Diet Causes Controversy

 

An Associate Professor at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) has come up with what she believes is the best way to burn fat quicker.

Courtney Peterson, a professor in the Nutritional Sciences Department at UAB, discovered a diet plan back in 2017 in that focused not necessarily on what people were eating, but when they were eating.

The diet called for three meals per day, but all within a 6-hour time period of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., a technique referred to as “time-restricted feeding.” Food usually takes between three and five hours to digest. The time-restricted diet allows for the food to be metabolized by bedtime.

Peterson followed 11 overweight men and women over eight total days. Four of the days involved an eating schedule of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., while the other four days had a window of 12 hours.

The men and women who were tested were only given a certain window to consume food, they were not limited when it came to what they were eating. After the 2 p.m. timestamp, participants were only allowed to have water and black coffee until the next morning.

While watching everything the participants consumed over the time period, Peterson found that their daily hunger swings were reduced and metabolic flexibility increased. The results also showed a lower blood pressure and better insulin processing, though the experiment still does not come without question from fellow nutritionists.

Dr. Amy Riggs is one of those who question it. Riggs, a professor at Georgia Southern University. Her interests and past work include eating disorders and weight management. She believes that everyone’s body reacts differently to different tactics.

“Eleven people is not enough for me to trust this experiment to be a valid, reliable study,” said Riggs. We are all individuals. What works for your friend may not work for you.”  

Riggs believes that social media also plays a role in how people perceive weight loss, as it can send negative signals and can make people unhappy with their look. “If we would listen to our bodies instead of social media, then we would be much happier,” she says. “If we are miserable in the way that we are dieting, then it is not sustainable.”

Riggs is not the only nutritionist who had doubts with this study. Maddie Devries also had very strong feelings about Paterson’s study. Devries, a Georgia Southern alum, has her master’s degree in Kinesiology and has studied dieting for four years

 “Not eating for 18 hours out of the day is incredibly unhealthy and she is only losing fat because she is not getting a healthy number of calories,” said Devries.

For years, doctors have used the number on the scale as well as body mass index (BMI) to determine if someone is healthy or obese. Over the years, they have become more educated and have found different ways to determine health.

Georgia Southern senior, Orion Caldwell was 230 pounds in his freshman year at Georgia Southern in 2017. He began working out and lost 30 pounds in one year, though he did not change much about his diet. 

“I lost most of my weight through caloric deficit and by working out,” said Caldwell. “I was eating the same thing that I was eating before I lost the weight. I just started eating slower, which made me full quicker.”

It takes the body 10 to 30 minutes to determine whether or not the stomach is full. Tips from nutrition experts include eating slower and focusing on the food while chewing it. Studies show that watching TV or listening to music are a few ways that distract someone as they are eating.

As a result, they are not processing what they are eating and do not feel full, which makes them intake more calories.

This study has not shown whether or not the time-restricted fasting will work long term. The experts interviewed all agree that a larger study will need to be conducted to prove the validity of Paterson’s work.

Studying how Sharks see their Prey

  Nia Dorsey

 

A Georgia Southern Professor has introduced a research that involves sharks and how they see their prey under different environmental circumstances by studying the psychology through their eyes. Her goal was to see how sharks and stingrays are viewing their prey and other predators. 

Christine Bedore is an associate professor at Georgia Southern. She has a passion for learning about the dangerous sea animals living at the top of the food chain. She enjoys working with the organization, OCEARCH,  a nonprofit organization that tags sharks to conduct research off the East Coast. 

Bedore likes a focus on studying the eyes of sharks and stingrays, so she takes many pictures when onboard with OCEARCH. 

“We get a bunch of eye measurements and bring that back to the lab and match it up with museum specimens,” she said. Bedore models the act of tracing the path of light through the eyes. She is able to examine how far a shark can see its prey, or another shark when it is put under different environmental conditions

Bedore also likes to study the stress levels of sharks and to achieve this, she takes blood samples to test their physiology in certain situations. Skin samples are also collected to measure bacteria and antibiotics that reside on the body. They then remove parasites and look at the health of the sharks. 

She also works with shrimpers and wants to understand how sharks and stingrays act around shrimp boat equipment.

“We are interested in how sharks and stingrays act with the trawl gear,” she said. “Whenever a shrimp boat is actively fishing, they have nets they put down on the bottom of the ocean and tow them along and basically catch whatever is in the path of the net, which is what we call bycatch.”

The small fish caught in these nets usually act as bait that attracts sharks. The nets end up ripping. Bedore wants to produce a way or method that would deter predators from the gear. But her study is more focused on what happens when sharks and stingrays are caught with the bycatch.

“Part of what we’re doing is trying to understand how many sharks and stingrays are being caught by shrimpers,” she said. “What areas along the coast are they being caught, are they catching newborns or adults and how is that going to be significant for the environment?”

Bedore, who teaches biology and holds a Ph.D is fascinated with her studies on sharks and hopes to learn more about the top predators. She wants to conduct more research and expand on her passion of knowing how sharks and stingrays work and live.

“This is such an early project so we’re just trying to get an overall picture of what’s happening,” she said. “What we’ve figured out so far is that most of the species (of shark) caught as bycatch are some of the most reproductively successful species, and since they are putting out a lot of young, the impact on shark populations is probably pretty minimal.”

Trawl nets have an impact on stingrays, interestingly. Most trawl nets have devices that help prevent sea animals like sharks, turtles and others from getting stuck in them.

“What’s kind of interesting is that stingrays, because they’re flat, can turn sideways, so the turtle excluder devices don’t seem to work for the stingrays,” she said. “But stingrays tend to be pretty prolific, so they’re probably similar to some of the sharks we’re seeing that are caught in the net and there may be minimal impact.”

Stingrays are known to not have many children. They only birth about one or two a year. Because of this, scientists have trouble studying long term effects on them. 

“Stingrays can also have some trauma from going through the net; they’re potentially towed for hours, and they have stingers that can get caught in the webbing so it can damage their tails,” she said.

Bedore continues to work with OCEARCH and during these times finds something fascinating though her research.

“The most interesting thing I’ve learned is how incredible it is to see people from so many different areas of life coming together for a common goal,” she said. “We get used to working with other scientists but we don’t often have the opportunity to work with these fishing groups and production teams. That’s a really cool learning experience.”

The Paleo Diet: Because eating like a caveman helps lose weight?

Everyday there is a new diet trend claiming to be the best way to lose weight and the Paleo diet is based on the diet that our ancestors may have had with promises to turn anyone from “not to hot.”

 

The Paleo diet is based on food that our cavemen (cavewomen) ancestors may have eaten.

 

Foods such as, fish, meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. In essence anything that a hunter or gatherer would have been able to obtain.

 

Its purpose is to return the body to its original way of eating because what the average person eats is not right for them genetically. 

 

However, is this really how our ancestors ate? Does this diet work?

 

In general, yes, this is what humans 10,000 to 25 million years ago ate. Whatever they were able to get their hands on and was edible was all fair game.

 

“Of all the diets the paleo diet is the number one googled diet two years in a row,” Doctor Oz said on his show.

 

Its popularity with society must mean that the diet must work.

 

 “I tried it for a few weeks,” Iris Rivera said. “But I didn’t see any results I wanted, so I ended up doing keto.”

 

As the founded of the paleo diet, also known as whole30, Dallas Heartwig said, “different diets work for different people.”

 

Each persons body is different and reacts differently to different diets.

 

“I did paleo for a few months,” Imna Rodriguez said. “And I lost a lot of weight, but I also did zumba exercise everyday.”

 

Rivera found that the diet didn’t work for her, while Rodriguez said that it did. 

 

A big factor that plays into weight loss is exercise. While speaking to Rivera she didn’t mention doing any vigorous exercises, aside from walking around her neighborhood.

 

Rodriguez coupled her diet with doing zumba daily. 

 

In an article by Ellen Healy for genetics health club, she states that the key to weight loss is not going to the gym or changing the way you eat, but going to the gym AND changing the way you eat. 

 

Rivera found results doing the ketogenic diet because by cutting out carbs from her diet, she was able to put her body into ketosis which is when your body uses fat for fuel rather than the carbs.

 

In the paleo diet you are cutting out all carbs. Another name for the paleo diet is whole30. 

 

In this diet you have the ability to eat carbs that come from whole foods, such as fruits, potatoes and whole grains, all of which are not allowed in the keto diet. 

 

Doctor Mike, a popular youtuber and practicing physician said, because you are eliminating processed foods and sugars, “that itself will cause you to lose weight.”

 

Any diet that you couple with exercise will help you lose weight.

 

The dangers of going along with diet trends, such as paleo being the most searched, is everyones body reacts differently and for those who do not see results can find frustration and quit.

 

The science behind paleo shows that, yes, eating like a caveman did will help you lose weight, but it is something you have to test and see if it works for yourself.

 

With trial and error you can cut out certain foods and add foods based on what helps you lose the most weight in the healthiest way possible.

The Psychological Powers of Meditation

 By: Aniya Hatten 

    Meditation is a contemplative practice that requires the body and mind to relax while your eyes remain closed. The origin of meditation has been dated as far back as 1500 B.C. in India and 6th Century B.C. in China. The main objective of this practice is to achieve emotional balance therefore, researchers have been studying the neurophysiological processes that occur in meditation.

    In 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital was the first to study how daily meditation can alter the brain’s gray-matter density. 16 human subjects participated in an eight-week mindfulness meditation program and reported spending an average of 27 minutes per day meditating. 

    Participants completed a mindfulness questionnaire and an MRI scan of the brain structure prior to the study and were asked to complete another one following the study. They found that the questionnaire responses showed remarkable improvements and the MRI scans showed an increased gray-matter density in the hippocampus and a decreased gray-matter in the amygdala. 

    The hippocampus region of the brain functions to regulate memory, emotion and learning while the amygdala functions to develop fear and regulate anxiety responses in stressful situations.

    Tiara Edge, Biology Major at Georgia State University, suggests that the increase of grey-matter density in the hippocampus is due to the learning improvements achieved by meditation. 

    “More neuron cell bodies are found in this area,” she said, “because during meditation, the body is learning different relaxing techniques and muscle memory that sends signals to the brain to increase the activity of the hippocampus region.”

    Edge states that the amygdala showed a decrease in grey-matter density because the brain is receiving fewer signals of fear and stress to initiate activities.  

     Meditation practices often encourage participants to focus on their breathing, with deep inhalations through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. According to the University of Toledo’s Counseling Center, “Deep breathing and relaxation activate the other part of your nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, which sends a signal to your brain to tell the anxious part that you're safe and don't need to use the fight, flight, or freeze response.”  

    Henry Perry, Georgia Southern Alumnus, was introduced to meditating in high school but made it an everyday practice once he took a yoga class in college. He claims that meditation has allowed him to become more in control of his emotions and less closed-minded. He mentions that he only participated in this practice at first because it was relaxing. Then he conducted some research and figured out how it was really altering his mind.   

    “When we meditate we create new neural pathways in our brain,” he said. “It's this idea that our reality, our thoughts and our feelings… all those things aren’t fixed so we create new ways of coping when we slow down and connect with all of our senses.” 

    According to Jessica Styles, Ph.D. Candidate in the Psychology Program at the University of Georgia, “Meditation helps with emotional dysregulation. It relaxes the body, decreases the heart rate and increases mindfulness,” she said. “It impacts the brain because you are training it. The things we consistently expose our brain to is what it will remember.” 

    Styles believes meditation is a good practice to help individuals work on staying present, but when doing her therapy session she feels that it is important to assess the patient's style. She finds often that a lot of people are turned off by the idea of mediation.

     “You have to take into consideration culture, gender and the presenting concerns that the patient is having,” Styles said. “Also you have to think about people who have experienced trauma or PTSD… closing their eyes and relaxing may trigger some recurring memories. Closing their eyes may make them more hypervigilant… it reminds them of the negative experiences they had.” 

     Styles points out that although meditation increases awareness and suppresses stress, it is not something that she blindly recommends to all of her patients. The current research concludes that meditation has an overall positive impact on the brain. More research is being done regarding the underlying mechanisms that alter the brain through meditation.

Mood Management: How Lifestyle Imbalance Contributes to an Imbalanced Mental Health

 Cassandra Buchanan

            Whether you’re a student, a parent, a boss, or an employee-- most people struggle with balancing their lifestyle in a way that is cohesive with their mental health. What most people don’t know is the effect that an imbalanced lifestyle can cause in terms of wellness and mental health. An imbalanced lifestyle can deteriorate a person’s mental health or contribute to a mental illness that may already exist. 

Essentially, lifestyle refers to the way in which a person lives. There are several factors that contribute to maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle. According to research provided from thescienceofpsychotherapy.com, these factors include physical health, basic needs, quality beliefs, personal resilience, and clear goals. When a person is feeling high volume demands from either of these life factors, it can initiate stress or sadness -- which ultimately can lead to a more serious mental health condition. 

Stress, according to healthline.com, “can over burden your mind with incessant worries.” When a person feels they are unable to handle everyday life tasks, they become overwhelmed. Tyler Thompkins is a first year Master of Science Rehabilitation Psychology student at the University of Providence. According to Thompkins,“lifestyle and mental health go hand-in-hand, If someone feels that they can't handle everyday life, it's pretty much going to cause stress.” Research from Healthline.com suggests that anxiety and depression are common results from a person who has suffered with long term stress. 

Lifestyle imbalance can affect anyone, if they let it. People who struggle with maintaining balance within their life may need to incorporate elements of neuropsychotherapy into their lives. Neuropsychotherapy is exactly as it sounds -- neurology, psychology, and therapy. However, researchers define it as “a meta-framework taking into account the dynamic interplay between the mind, body, society, and environment upon well-being.” 

According to the World Health Organization, mental health is defined as “a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”. A person who struggles with imbalance in their lifestyle may feel as though they can’t cope with normal stressors of life. Thompkins (23) said that he feels most people struggle with a cross between personal development and career balance. “A lot of people find themselves really stressed from trying to find out who they are as a person and what they were destined to do,” he said. “At times it can be hard for people to find their niche, or something they enjoy.”

Mental health and lifestyle are interconnected. Loriel Reynolds is a Master of Science Psychology student who doubles as a health aide for the Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center. According to Reynolds, there are 4 ways in which lifestyle imbalance can affect mental health. “The 4 D’s: deviance, dysfunction, distress, and danger,” Reynolds said. “If anything in an individual’s life causes any of the 4 D’s to occur, then mental health can be affected.” Reynolds exemplified this instance, “if an individual obtains an imbalance lifestyle of constantly counting or obsessing over cleaning their hands until their skin is raw, this can cause dysfunction or distress their lives. The dysfunction and distress of constant counting can lead to anxiety to leave the house due to the obsession of hand washing.” She says that living a lifestyle as such can cause a persons’ mental health to be directly related to the disorder commonly known as, Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Ricky Howell, father of two, shared his personal sentiments regarding lifestyle balance as it relates to mental health. Howell admits that his life has been mentally draining and impacting his interaction and relationship with his daughters. Howell was rushed to the hospital one instance for what he says was the result of frequent panic attacks. Since then, he has been struggling mentally. “I spazzed on my mom a few days ago when she called me at work,” Howell said. “After that, I knew it was time to get myself together. I’ve been in contact with HR and my job pays for therapy, I’m going to get some help soon. I never wanted to be a part-time father.”

Exercising Improves Academic Performance

 

A Georgia Southern nutritionist major has stated that students who work out at the RAC are more likely to perform better in the classroom than students who don’t use the RAC.

  In a conducted survey with 30 Georgia Southern students, 21 students who consistently workout made A’s and B’s last Fall semester, while the remaining 9 students academically performed lower than the 21 students last Fall semester.

  Nutritionist Grad student, Chelsey Reece contributed these results to a heightened focus. “New challenges, such as physical activity, social opportunities, and increased learning can stimulate the production of new cells in the brain,” she said. “A combination of all of those things can improve concentration, help keep the mind focused, and ultimately, boost work productivity and academic success in students.”

  In numerous studies, scientist have examined that students who workout have an increased level of energy. Chelsey’s professor Lissa Leege stated that, “with the effect that exercise had on the brains of people, scientist learned that daily workouts replenished their brain energy stores and also gave them extra energy, particularly in the areas of the brain that have to do with cognitive thinking.”

  Although this may seem counterproductive, disbursing energy in exercise will give students the boost they need to be more effective in their studies. A major factor that contributes to this, is the significant increase in mental health due to exercising.

 Exercise relieves tension and stress, boosts physical and mental energy, and enhances wellbeing through the release of endorphins. “Anything that gets you moving can help, but you’ll get a bigger benefit if you pay attention instead of zoning out.”

  Exercise is a natural and effective way to treat anxiety and stress. Any point in a semester, it’s a guarantee for any student to feel overwhelmed with the workload that college brings. Working out was a key factor towards helping Bio major, Austin Wise get through a grueling Fall semester last year.

  “Last semester I took four 4000 level science courses, and it took about six weeks before it started to get the best on me,” he said, When I felt overwhelmed, I relied on the gym to clear my mind, and shift my focus towards something else, this helped tremendously.”

 Exercise is a powerful depression fighter for several reasons. According to Austin, it promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It also releases powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good.

 Stress is the most common factor in the declination in academic performance for college students. When stressed, your muscles may tense all around body, it’ll leave you headaches, tightness around your chest, a pounding pulse, and muscle cramps.

  When feeling like this, it’s difficult to perform the way that you’re capable of in the classroom. Exercising is an effective way to break this cycle. As well as releasing endorphins in the brain, physical activity helps to relax the muscles and relieve tension in the body. Since the body and mind are so closely linked, when your body feels better so, too, will your mind.

  Skylar Young, a biology student at Georgia Southern thinks that it’s imperative for students to take advantage of the RAC since its, “right in our backyard”.

  “When working out on a consistent level, you will see positive results among your body,” she said, being happy with yourself goes a long way towards your mental state, which will have a huge contribution to what you do in the classroom.”

 

Preventive Care visits on Decline

 By Alexis Southward

Doctors are encouraging preventive and emergent medical care to become the norm again since its heavy decline starting at the peak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

 

Due to Covid-19’s inconsistencies and medical professionals being unaware of when the danger of the pandemic will dwindle, patients are being told to stop avoiding preventive care visits. 

 

Adults have held off on visits such as mammograms, colonoscopies, blood pressure tests, STD/STI screenings, etc. 

 

Some adults have even avoided sending their children in for preventive care as well such as lead checks, vision and hearing screening, and childhood vaccines. 

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, 41% of the United States have already avoided or delayed medical care during the pandemic due to the concerns of Covid-19 in June of 2020. 

 

Patients have held off on making what they deem as unnecessary doctors’ visits due to their fear of catching and/or spreading the virus.

 

“I’m honestly scared to even bring my littlest one to the doctor if it is not 100% necessary. The exposure she would have makes me nervous. But it conflicts me because of course I know how important it is to visit the doctor regularly for my child. And for me, I haven’t even gotten my pap smear because it just doesn’t seem important during all of this,” said Jessica Nesmith, a Statesboro resident and mother of 2. 

 

Since these patients are avoiding in-person visits, the world of telehealth medical visits and telemedicine overall has become the standard.

 

“Telehealth visits are a great way to assess problems without the panic followed by the pandemic. Some patients are extremely high risk, and we want safety all around. We can easily help them remotely, and if it is serious enough to come to an in-person visit, we will handle that when the time comes,” said Georgia Southern physician Angela Gerguis.

 

While many physicians agree that telehealth visits are greatly convenient and necessary during this time, some believe that it could be potentially dangerous or limited due to its lack of personalism. Some doctors believe that they are not able to fully assess certain problems without in-person visits.

 

“If I can’t feel or get a perfect view of a problem, it is difficult to make assessments and decipher what needs to be done for a patient which in turn leads to an in-person visit anyway,” Gerguis said.

 

Patients are also avoiding preventive and emergent medical visits due to their inability to afford care.

 

Since the pandemic hit, many people lost their jobs and have no access to affordable healthcare or are worried that coverage will not be available in the long run during the pandemic. 

 

Unemployment has caused many to weigh food and/or other essential financial obligations before their own personal health.

 

“First, I was Just worried about whether doctors were following strict protocol, and then it hit me that it maybe is not in my budget. Is it feasible to be paying for small health procedures when food needs to be out on the table, and the lights need to stay on” said previous Savannah construction employee Desmond Merrick.

 

Doctors are implementing strict covid-19 pathways that follow safety protocols and eliminate risk of catching the virus in order to encourage patients to set up in person preventive visits. 

 

 

 

 

How Covid-19 has impacted Scientific Research

 By: Tyler Miller

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed a lot of things for people, over the past year. It has especially changed how STEM professors and students have conducted their scientific research within the field. Especially when it comes to doing their research at Georgia Southern University since it’s tough with all the COVID-19 restrictions and barriers put in place.

Jamie Roberts, an environmental biology professor at Georgia Southern, has his own research program that he’s worked on and has specialized in. “My research program takes three main forms: 1). Field studies of fish and other wildlife in their natural habitats, 2). Lab-based molecular studies of population genetics, and 3). Synthesizing existing data and using models to access species’ extinction risks,” Roberts said in an email. 

Roberts also said that since COVID-19 has hit, he has placed a hiatus on all of his ongoing field projects because they always require multiple people working together in close proximity and riding in vehicles together to remote sites. He went on to say that the overall change he’s had to make due to covid is “close my doors to taking on any new undergrad researchers, because I have no way to safely supervise them, until the covid threat is over.”

Hillary Sklar, a teaching assistant in the Biology Department at Georgia Southern, said in an email that she didn’t have much research herself since she just recently started being a TA last year. She said that she was in a bit of a weird position when she began grad school last semester and didn’t have an advisor when she started.

According to Sklar, she didn’t have an advisor until a few weeks into the semester, and due to that, she decided to wait to start her research until after this semester. She also spoke to other colleges, graduate programs, and other graduate students, and said the research wasn’t heavily impacted by the pandemic.

Many of her peers do research either independently, or with one or two others assisting them with the research. If there were issues, she said that it could have came from shared office/lab space that could have halted the research being done there. She also added that if someone tested positive for COVID-19, the people they were working with, had to get tested and quarantined, and that would also halt the research being done during that period of time. It would take a bit of time to start that research back up, if some of the researchers were affected by COVID-19.

As for students in the STEM field and how their research has been affected by COVID-19, it is quite similar to teaching assistants and professors.

Ethan Layne, a STEM major at Georgia Southern, said that he has several clubs that would do research on campus before COVID-19 impacted it. They would get together in one of the stem buildings twice a week, and talk about their ideas and what research they would do for that next week.

According to Ethan, ever since COVID-19 happened, they have had to shift their club meetings online to zoom. He said it was because they didn’t want to risk it and wanted to take the safe route, and just shift to online club meetings for their research. They didn’t want to go online, but “felt like they had to because everyone in their clubs wanted to be safe about it,” said Ethan.

The COVID-19 pandemic has really affected students and professors in unique and different ways, and has clearly been shown the past year.