Kinesiology

Flashcards based on lecture notes for exam preparation.

Health

The overall condition of body or mind and the presence/absence of illness or injury.

Wellness

Optimal health and vitality, encompassing all the dimensions of well-being.

Risk factors

A condition that increases your chances of disease or injury.

Physical wellness

Your body’s condition, absence of disease, your fitness level, and your ability to take care of yourself.

Emotional wellness

Self-trust, self-confidence, optimism, satisfying relationships, and self-esteem.

Intellectual wellness

Having an active mind and challenging it in order to detect problems/find solutions.

Interpersonal wellness

Developing satisfying and supportive relationships while you contribute to your community/society.

Cultural wellness

The way you interact with others who are different from you and the extent to which you value cultural identities.

Spiritual wellness

Possessing a set of guiding beliefs, principles, or values that give meaning and purpose to your life.

Environmental wellness

The livability of your surroundings.

Financial wellness

Your ability to live within your means and manage your money.

Occupational wellness

The level of happiness and fulfillment you gain through your work.

Life expectancy

The period of time a member of a given population is expected to live.

Healthspan

How long we stay healthy.

Morbidity rate

A measure of the prevalence of a disease or illness within a population.

Mortality rate

The number of deaths in a population in a given period.

Health promotion

Process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants.

Affordable Care Act (ACA)

Known as Obamacare, signed into law in 2010 to make health insurance more affordable and accessible.

Healthy People Initiative

Reports aimed to prevent disease and improve Americans’ quality of life.

Health disparities

Differences linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantages.

Behavior change

Lifestyle management process that involves cultivating healthy behaviors and working to overcome unhealthy ones.

Target behavior

An isolated behavior selected as the object for a behavior change program.

Self efficacy

Your belief in your ability to take action.

Locus of control

The extent to which we believe we have control over the events in our lives.

Precontemplation

You think you have no problem and don’t intend to change.

Contemplation

You know you have a problem and intend to do something about it but don’t know how to proceed.

Preparation

You plan to take action or may already have begun to make small changes in your behavior.

Action

You outwardly modify your behavior and your environment.

Maintenance

You maintain your new, healthier lifestyle for at least 6 months.

Termination

You exited the cycle of change and are no longer tempted to lapse back into your old behavior.

Stress

The mental states or events that trigger physical/physiological reactions (Stressors) and the reactions themselves (Stress response).

Acute stress

Immediately follows a stressor, lasting only minutes, but may turn into chronic stress.

Chronic stress

Stress that continues for days, weeks, or longer.

Parasympathetic division

System in control when you are relaxed. Aids digesting food, storing energy, and promoting growth.

Sympathetic division

The system is activated when your body is stimulated by exercise, when facing an emergency, or when experiencing severe pain, anger, and fear.

Endocrine system

System of glands, tissues, and cells that secrete hormones into the bloodstream to influence metabolism/other body processes.

Hormone

A chemical messenger produced in the body and transported in the bloodstream to target cells or organs for specific regulation of their activities.

Cortisol

A steroid hormone secreted by the cortex that triggers an energy source for large muscles.

Epinephrine

A hormone secreted by the medulla, also called adrenaline.

Flight or flight

Defense reaction that prepares a person for conflict or escape by triggering hormonal, cardiovascular, metabolic, and behavioral changes.

Homeostasis

A state of balance in which blood pressure, heart rate, hormone levels, and other vital functions are maintained normally.

Resilience

A personality trait associated with the ability to face adversity and recover quickly from difficulties.

Gender role

The activities, abilities, and characteristics deemed culturally appropriate for us based on our sex.

GAS (General Adaptation Syndrome)

A pattern of stress responses consisting of 3 stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Eustress

Stress resulting from a stressor perceived to be pleasant.

Distress

Stress resulting from a stressor perceived to be unpleasant.

Allostatic load

The “wear and tear” on the body that results from long- term exposure to repeated or chronic stress.

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

The study of the interactions among the nervous system, endocrine system, and immune system.

Sleep architecture

Sleep stages characterized by different patterns of electrical activity and how these patterns come together.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

A monitoring device that records brain activity.

Circadian rhythm

The body’s 24-hour sleep and wake pattern coordinated by the brain’s master clock.

Nervous system

Consists of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Part of the system is under voluntary control while the other is not (Autonomic nervous system).

Personality

The sum of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional tendencies.

Alarm stage of GAS

The sequence of events brought on by the fight, flight, or freeze reaction. Adrenaline and cortisol are released. The body mobilizes but is susceptible to disease and injury.

Resistance stage of GAS

The body develops a new level of homeostasis to resist disease and injury.

Exhaustion stage of GAS

If the stressor persists, life-threatening physiological exhaustion sets in. The body’s resources are depleted.

NREM Sleep

The first 3 stages of sleep, it improves neural connections, facilitates information processing, cell repair, and waste removal.

Stage I of NREM

Transitional phase from wakefulness to sleep, it’s light sleep easily disturbed by outside stimuli.

Stage II of NREM

The heart rate slows and body temperature drops. Bursts of brain activity but sensory stimuli no longer reach the brain.

Stage III of NREM

The deepest stage of sleep and most necessary for feeling well rested. This stage supports restorative functions.

REM Sleep

The final stage of sleep, when most dreaming occurs and eyes rapidly move under closed eyelids.

Sleep cycles

When people fall asleep, they first cycle through the 3 stages of NREM sleep. Then they go into a period of REM sleep, the final stage. Lasts about 90 minutes.

Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

The body’s master clock that sets/controls the sleep wake cycle, sending signals to the brain and every cell in your organs.

Zeitgebers

Phenomena that can influence and reset the body’s master clock such as light, activity, exercise, or eating.

Melatonin

Hormone secreted by the pineal gland, especially in response to darkness and in inverse proportion to the amount of light.

Homeostatic sleep drive

Pressure to sleep that builds the longer you’re awake. Mainly driven by adenosine, a neurochemical that accumulates in the brain.

Adenosine

Important neurochemical that accumulates during wakefulness, and after a prolonged period will mediate sleepiness.

Sleep apnea

Repeated involuntary breathing pauses during sleep, caused by blocked airways or faulty brain signals.

Microsleep

A momentary lapse in which some parts of the brain lose consciousness.

Sleep disruptors

Factors that interfere with the ability to fall asleep or stay asleep. They can be corrected if targeted specifically.

Insomnia

A sleep problem involving the inability to fall or stay asleep.

Restless leg syndrome (RLS)

A sleep disrupter characterized by a feeling of discomfort or body tension often affecting the legs.

Narcolepsy

Rare neurological disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, and a sudden loss of muscle control.