Author Archives: Jessica Hasker

You Snooze, You Lose

Posted on November 13, 2017 | 3 comments

If you are like me, and have a hard time waking up in the morning, then you will definitely want to read this post.

A recent survey by Sleep Junkie found that just under 2/3 of people hit the snooze button at least once in the morning.

The majority of people hit their snooze buttons at least once in the morning. Source: Jam Loceng

You may hit the snooze button to get a couple more minutes of sleep, and then repeat several more times, thinking that those minutes will make you feel more rejuvenated.  However, according to researchers, hitting the snooze button can actually make you more tired and less productive throughout the day.

When we go to sleep, our bodies follow the Circadian Rhythm, a 24-hour cycle which controls our sleep cycle and releases chemicals like melatonin, a hormone that makes you drowsy and sleepy.  Melatonin production increases at night by a 4-step chemical mechanism in the brain and then decreases as you begin to wake up.  During the night, your body enters REM stages (light sleeping/dreaming) before going into deeper sleep stages.

This graph shows the REM and deep sleep stages that occur during a normal, uninterrupted Circadian Rhythm. Source: Lucid Dream Explorers

What happens when you wake up, hit the snooze button and go back to sleep? Melatonin releases and your body restarts the sleep cycle, going from REM into deep sleep stages.  When your alarm clock goes off again and you press the snooze button, you interrupt your body in the beginning of its sleep cycle, making you feel more tired and groggy.

This video by AsapSCIENCE shows the chemicals that are released both when you wake up and when you are falling asleep, and shows why you are tired and groggy in the morning.

I found these results really interesting because I hit the snooze button at least 3-5 times in the morning.  So I decided not to hit the snooze button for a couple mornings in a row, and even though I felt tired right when I got up, I definitely felt less tired during the day compared to days when I constantly hit the snooze button.

However, researchers say that not hitting the snooze button won’t prevent you from being tired if you aren’t getting enough sleep.  We mainly press the snooze button because we didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

This article by Business Insider shows the pros and cons of snoozing and that in certain sleep stages, hitting the snooze button will have a stronger negative impact. The worst case for hitting the snooze button is if you are overtired because then you are more likely to enter a deep sleep.

So next time you are about to hit the snooze button, stop yourself and see how you feel if you get up on the first try.

– Jessica Hasker

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Concussions – Not Just a Knock on the Head

Posted on October 23, 2017 | 1 comment

One in five Canadians have been concussed from playing a sport according to a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute.

1 in 5 Canadians have had a concussion from playing a sport. Source: Twitter – Healthy Minds Canada

Within the last 4 years, I have had 3 concussions from playing soccer, making me one of five Canadians to get concussed from a sport.  My most recent concussion happened last October and I still have symptoms including: light sensitivity, headaches and trouble focusing.  I saw a neurologist during the summer and he explained how chemical influxes of potassium and calcium are the major causes of these concussive symptoms, especially for the first few weeks or even months after.

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury from a blow to the head, that causes the brain to move around in the skull.  This short video by Smithsonian, describes a concussion in simple terms.

What most of you might not know, is that concussive symptoms are not just from the brain being shaken and bruised.  Secondary symptoms, which increase a concussion’s effect, are from the chemical imbalances released when the brain is hit.  Free-radical overproduction and ion imbalances decrease the energy that nerves use to function.  The ion imbalance prevents the nerve cells from generating energy to recover from the injuries.

A paper by Christoper Giza and David Howa describes how neuronal depolarization and neurotransmitter release delays recovery from concussions and causes secondary symptoms.

Right after the blow to the head, neurotransmitters and ions like potassium and calcium are released in large quantities.  Neuronal depolarization, when positively charged ions enter the cell, occurs when potassium ions flow out and calcium ions flow into the cell disrupting the normal concentrations.

The figure below shows the overall trends of these ions during a concussion.

Potassium and calcium levels in the brain after a concussion. Data source: National Athletic Trainers’ Association

The influx of calcium ions disrupt neuron connections, slowing brain processes, causing confusion and trouble focusing.  Calcium build-up also prevents mitochondria from making energy, causing headaches.

The potassium ions pushed out of the cells cannot be balanced by the cell’s normal processes.  The excess potassium increases depolarization, creating a positive feedback cycle that suppresses the neuron, and significantly slows neuron activity, causing slower thinking and trouble formulating thoughts.

Lastly, neurotransmitter influxes inhibit neuron activity causing temporary memory loss and learning difficulties, for a week up until even 8 weeks after.  This release of neurotransmitters in higher amounts causes the initial potassium and calcium ions influx.

Currently, the scientific knowledge available about concussions is limited, so researchers have been looking at the biochemical changes that occur in the brain after a concussion happens.  By understanding the biochemical processes of concussions and how long these effects last, researchers can make a positive impact on athletes’ health and well-being.

-Jessica Hasker

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Fuelling Up – Is Cooking Oil the Next Generation of Energy?

Posted on September 25, 2017 | Leave a comment

Have you ever had a craving for something greasy or deep-fried, like onion rings, calamari, deep-fried mars bars or some McNuggets?

Deep-fried foods, like the ones pictured, use cooking oil. Source: Shock Mansion

Those food items all share a common factor; restaurants fry and cook these foods with cooking oil, especially for those deep-fried items going in the fryer.

Now when you think of the cooking oil that is used, you’d probably expect it to be disposed as waste after use and that would be the end of it.

However, multiple studies have been done around the world, specifically in China and Vietnam, where researchers produce biodiesel – a biofuel, using cooking oil.

Biofuels sustainably replace fossil fuels.  Biofuels are typically plant based fuels similar to fossil fuels, which we fill our cars with. The key difference is that biofuels use plants grown in the present day, whereas fossil fuels are ancient sources of plant and biological matter.

Biofuels, while more sustainable, are not as easily produced as originally thought. Maintaining and growing crops are highly energy intensive and many conservationists, including Jane Goodall, think that the crops should remain strictly as a food source. However, with oil prices rising and carbon dioxide levels in the air increasing, finding a sustainable approach to fossil fuels will help reduce global warming and provide both ecological and economical benefits.

This is where biodiesel comes in. Biodiesel is a well known biofuel that is used throughout Europe as a fuel source for cars. Presently, it is still being produced using plant crops, but new advancements are being made for how biodiesel can be sourced.

Biodiesel already fuels cars in certain European countries. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Two different studies, one done in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam and the other in China have successfully converted waste cooking oil from local restaurants into biodiesel. Both methods use transesterfication, and reagents – potassium hydroxide (KOH) and methanol to synthesize biodiesel.  Each study used a two-step synthesis, where the reagents were heated for an extended time.

These have been highly successful, producing biodiesel yields between 88-97%. Besides the high yields, the researchers from the study in Ho Chi Minh City, say that their biodiesel required only minor modifications to work in engines.

While places around the globe are looking at cooking oils as the alternative, a similar study is going on in our own backyard. Student members of Enactus, a non-profit organization at UBC have been researching and converting cooking oil used by UBC Food Services into biodiesel, in an initiative called Green Pursuit.

With so many different groups and organizations looking for the solution, it could be in the near future where you are enjoying a greasy burger with fries and the oil produced from it would then fuel your car.

Biodiesel converted from cooking oil could be what we fill up our cars with in the near future. Source: Pixabay

– Jessica Hasker

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