What Happens Guide

Posts Tagged ‘Health’

Trying to understand what happens when someone dies will never be easy. There are many theories and opinions as to what is happening, and what takes place afterwards.

The End of Existence

The contention of many scientists is that when a person dies, it is the end of existence. The consciousness ceases to exist. Consciousness here is defined as the “I”. It is true that everything is made of energy and energy cannot be destroyed.

However, that doesn’t mean consciousness continues. Based on this theory, when the organs of the body cease to work, existence is over. From the scientific point of view, there is no soul or spirit; life ends the moment the physical body expires.

Religious Views on Death

The majority of religions believe that what happens when someone dies is the soul residing in the body is released. In Christian theology, a person that lives according to the principles set by Christ will ascend to Heaven.

Those who live wicked lives will be sent to Hell. The idea of a soul or that people go on after death, is reflected in other religions too. The concept of rewards and punishment in the afterlife can also be seen in other religions and philosophies.

People are Born Again

Hindus and Buddhists believe there is a soul. At the moment of death however, the spirit does not go to Heaven or Hell. Instead the soul will be born again into a new body. The circumstances surrounding its rebirth will depend on its karma.

In this philosophy, what happens when someone dies is entirely dependent on their karma. If their karma is positive (i.e., they did good things during their lifetime), they can be reborn under more comfortable situations.

If they have negative karma, they will experience difficulties in the next life and make amends to the people they wronged. When the karma is balanced, the soul will no longer have to reincarnate. The soul experiences a state known as Nirvana.

What is the Near Death Experience?

People who have had near death experiences believe there is life after death. These people often recount going through a dark tunnel and emerging in a place full of light and love. Usually they undergo a review of their life. Their purpose for living is explained and afterwards they are told they have to return to their body.

Scientists still doubt these are really accounts of what happens when someone dies. Their notion is that a person cannot come back from the dead; the person who underwent a near death experience did not die and is just seeing the actions of an injured brain.

Other Theories to Consider

There are many other theories. Some believe the consciousness does expire after death, but the individual ends up being one with God. There are also those who attest souls of the departed stay and watch over their loved ones still living.

Because death is a part of life, this subject will never be far away from the mind of man. The question of what happens when someone dies is something that most people have and will always contemplate.

What happens if you stop eating?

Many people like to go through a form of diet or abstinence in certain foods during the day to lose a bit of pounds, and gain a more appealing physique. Thus, there are thousands of dietary tips that are made to help answer the problems on how to get a more desirable figure.

However, together with the tons of diets that can help one go through the day lessening the calorie intake, and urge the person to adopt a healthier manner of living, there are some people who take the challenge of dieting alone in their hands, and sometimes take the route to a more drastic manner of eliminating foods in one’s daily diet. These people go overboard and eliminate every morsel of food for a day or more.

Another way of saying it is: These people starve themselves completely. That brings fasting to a more dangerous level. And that’s sounds horrible!

If they would know what happens if you stop eating, they may probably think twice about opting to fast on days on end just to lose more pounds than what may be considered a safe range for losing weight.

The question is: Is it worth it? Is this deliberate choice to fast for days worthy of doing just to gain a more beautiful body?

Here are some of the possible effects that may result when one chooses to eliminate foods and stop eating for one day or more:

When you choose to stop eating, the body goes into a “famine” condition where it gets its energy from the body. Basically, there are three forms for this: The Glycogen, the stored protein (or amino acids), and the fat or what is also referred to as adipose tissue.

Glycogen is found in the muscles and the liver. While the muscle glycogen is usually used by the muscles, the liver glycogen can be used for most of the cells of the body. That is why after a fasting period, the glycogen in the liver is the first one to be lessened since it is used by other cells like the brain, which use about sixty percent (60%) of glucose. And since the glycogen is actually also glucose in a polysaccharide form, the brain uses up some of the energy reserves from the liver.

The amino acids in the body are the next ones to lessen its supply of energy after the body uses up glycogen. A process known as gluconeo-genesis breaks the amino acids in order to create glucose. This process is done by the liver.

The body, then, would turn to the adipose tissue or fat to get more energy when there is a low supply of amino acids in the body just to meet the needs of the body for energy.

The body works overtime just to meet the body’s standards and keep it functioning properly even without the source of food. Prolonged fasting may make you lose a few pounds in a faster manner, about 10 to 20 percent together with the BMR (or basal metabolic rate). Two thirds of body fats may be gone; and about one third of muscle tissue may be lost.

If this continues for more days, the body would lose a lot of muscle tissue, and that may lead to harmful and debilitating effects.

So what happens if you stop eating? While, at first, this may not produce harmful consequences, prolonged fasting may bring you to the road of annihilation faster than you can lose all the pounds in your body.

The following information will reveal what happens when you sleep. It will also point out why it is so important.

Characteristics of Sleep

A person asleep will have closed eyelids. The muscles are relaxed. The heartbeat is slowed down as is the breathing rate. People asleep are not aware of what is happening around them until they are awakened.

Rejuvenating the Body

The most important thing that happens during sleep is your body is rejuvenated. During sleep, the body is rested. The process by which this is done is not yet fully understood. Some scientists believe that energy is delivered to the body, the nerves and other vital organs.

Although the exact process isn’t clear, the effects cannot be denied. After a good night’s sleep, a person feels rejuvenated upon waking. That is what happens when you sleep. People who don’t get enough sleep feel groggy, dizzy and irritable when they wake up.

How Much Sleep is Necessary?

Adults need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily. Newborn babies and small children need more sleep. People who are sick also need plenty of sleep. People who lack sleep will involuntary doze off during the day.

People who don’t sleep for two days will be prone to make errors at work. Not sleeping for three days or more can result in hallucinations. Studies have shown people who don’t sleep for 10 days or more become paranoid and suspicious of others.

REM Sleep

When studying what happens when you sleep, you will come across REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. These are the two stages of sleep. The sleep cycle starts with NREM sleep. The next stage is a short REM sleep.

During REM sleep, a person may exhibit any or all of the following physiological activities: eye movement, muscle relaxation, increased activity in the brain and fast respiration.

In most cases, REM sleep begins 90 minutes after a person is asleep. Stage 1 REM is 10 minutes long. Other REM stages follow, each longer than the previous one. The last REM stage lasts for an hour.

What happens when you sleep (at the REM stage) is the heart rate accelerates. It isn’t unusual for fingers, the legs or face to twitch. It has been observed in laboratories that most vivid dreams take place during REM sleep.

At the same time, paralysis of muscle groups takes place. This stage has been called the paradoxical sleep. The reason is that while brain activity is heightened, the major muscles are immobilized.

NREM Sleep

NREM sleep is made up of four stages. Every stage endures 5 to 15 minutes. At stage 1, a 50% brain activity reduction takes place as a person goes to sleep. During stage 2, the muscles start to relax. The heart rate slows down too. Stages 3 and 4 are deep sleep. These deep sleep states are called delta sleep.

A lot of what happens when you sleep is still not fully understood, like dreams. But what is clear is that people need it.

Have you ever wondered what happens when you pass out? Do you think it is something that can be harmful and may have lasting disastrous effects in the long run?

To learn what happens when you pass out, here are some of the important things to bear in mind:

Typically, there may be three different cases that you have to study to understand the effects of fainting to your body.

One type, which usually occurs to some people, may be considered as simple fainting. The other, an uncommon type of fainting, is caused by what doctors refer to as a “grand mal seizure,” which actually involves an abnormality in brain responses or activity. And another, more serious cause, may stem out of a heart stroke, cardiovascular problems, a diabetic coma condition, arrhythmia (an abnormal condition of the heart’s rhythm), and other dangerous causes.

Let’s expound on these three causes of fainting so you could have a clearer idea on what goes on inside.

For the simple fainting spells, studies have shown that there is a dilation of blood vessels when you pass out; your blood pressure would also suddenly go down. These effects may cause a lesser amount of blood flow to pass through the brain. All these things may happen simultaneously – making you faint, in the process.

You may only awaken when the brain once again would have an adequate supply of blood flow to trigger consciousness. Basically, when this type of fainting spell happens to you, you usually would come out of it unharmed.

For the grand mal seizure, fainting spells are usually caused (as aforementioned) by a certain abnormality in the brain impulses or activity. In appearance, this type of fainting may seem different from the simple fainting spells because of the onset of random movements that may occur while the person is an unconscious state. Still, you may have nothing to worry about, as studies for this type of fainting state that a person may also return to consciousness without any harmful effects. However, for this case, it may be wise to consult your physician further if this would happen more than once.

The third cause of fainting that would result from a host of dangerous and more serious physical ailments should be a cause for concern. Delays should never be allowed during these occasions. As much as possible, emergency procedures and medical intervention and care should be immediately done to prevent disastrous effects on the person’s physical condition.

To avoid any type of fainting spells, it may be best to check dietary habits and present physical condition. Since doctors pinpoint a host of factors that may trigger this loss of consciousness, it is best to avoid them if you do not want to faint. Such factors may include hypoglycemia, sleep deprivation, inadequate supply of food or fluids in the body, low blood pressure, and stressful exercises.

That’s why it is still best to stay with healthy habits and make this an everyday thing. In doing so, you may not need to worry further about what happens when you pass out since you know that you can actually do something to help prevent this from happening to you.

It is important to understand what happens when you smoke. Although most know it is unhealthy, not everyone comprehends how damaging it can be.

How Smoking Causes Cough

When people smoke, the substance gets in the eyes, throat and nose. The eyes water, you get a runny nose and the throat becomes irritable. Hairs called the cilia try to clean the gases from your lungs.

The cilia removes all the dirty foreign objects in the lungs. Smoke kills the cilia. The cilia that still live try to remove the smoke. The result is coughing.

When you cough, it means the cilia are trying to clear your throat. What happens when you smoke is the cilia become paralyzed and the coughing ceases. Simply put, when you stop coughing, it means the cilia are unable to clear the lungs of smoke because you keep adding to it by lighting cigarettes.

Tar Gets in the Lungs

70% of the stuff you inhale is kept in the lungs. This stuff becomes tar and kills the cells responsible for cleaning the lungs. This tar also sticks to the throat and lungs, causing respiratory problems. If you smoke a pack a day, you’re putting a cup of tar in your lungs every year.

Cigarettes Affect the Heart

From the throat and lungs, the cigarette chemicals find their way into the bloodstream. Once here, they penetrate the heart and all the other vital organs in the body.

What happens when you smoke a cigarette is it forces the heart to increase by up to 25 beats a minute. Over the day that is an increase of 36,000 beats. This can lead to heart ailments like arrhythmia and irregular heartbeat.

Smoking Reduces Oxygen Supply in the Body

Cigarette smoke produces carbon monoxide which the body mistakes for oxygen. This deprives the cells of oxygen. To make up for this, the heart works double time to supply it. An overworked heart renders it susceptible to heart attacks and other ailments.

Senses of Taste and Smell Reduced

What happens when you smoke is your sense of taste and smell are reduced. This is due to the presence of the tar in the lungs and nasal area. Most smokers notice this when they quit smoking. The tar is the reason why smokers say the food taste different when they stop smoking.

Other Health Problems Caused by Smoking

Cigarettes and tobacco do more than just cause lung cancer; they are also responsible for weakening the body and making it vulnerable to other types of cancer.

Smoking by pregnant women leads to premature birth. In some cases it results in low birth weight too. The carbon monoxide in the body affects the functions of the brain and other important body tissues.

To sum it up, what happens when you smoke is you kill yourself slowly. Not only that, but the people around you get sick too.

It’s not widely known, but there are potential ill effects that may arise from imbibing too much water. The following describes what happens if you drink too much water.

Water Intoxication and Hyponatremia

Consuming too much water leads to a condition known as water intoxication. This in turn causes the related condition known as hyponatremia. Hyponatremia occurs when sodium in the body gets diluted. Water intoxication occurs when a dehydrated individual drinks a lot of water minus the electrolytes.

Who Gets Affected by Water Intoxication?

The condition often affects babies below six months of age as well as athletes. A baby gets water intoxicated after consuming infant formula that is too diluted. Athletes sweat a lot and need to drink a lot of water. However, they also lose electrolytes along with their sweat. If they just drink water without electrolytes, water intoxication sets in.

What Happens to People When Water Intoxicated?

This is what happens if you drink too much water: the water goes into the cells and because there’s too much, the tissue swells up. The cells have an exact specification gradient. Too much water outside the cells will draw sodium from inside the cells.

The more excess water present, the more the serum sodium level drops. Hyponatremia then occurs. If the swelling is excessive, the cells could burst.

In simple terms, the cells drown and the electrolytes become imbalanced. The swelling tissues may cause irregular heartbeat. The condition may lead to water entering the lungs. Cases have shown that what happens if you drink too much water is the eyelids start to flutter uncontrollably as well.

Other Symptoms of Water Intoxication

The excess water puts great pressure on the nervous system and the brain. This affects the balance and the person may end up behaving as if drunk. In more severe cases, the swelling in the brain leads to seizures and even coma.

Treatment

The most basic treatment is to reduce the water intake of the individual. A hypertonic saline (salt) solution is given to the patient (the amount to be determined by the doctor). If treatment is administered prior to excessive tissue swelling, recovery is possible. Left untreated, water intoxication can lead to death.

How to Drink Water Properly

Aside from knowing what happens if you drink too much water, how to drink right is also necessary. What you have to do is drink lots of water spread over a period of time. A healthy adult can take 15 liters per day.

However, you shouldn’t drink water in one go; spread it over the day. 8 to 12 eight ounce glasses will be fine. Do increase the amount if the weather is dry or if you’re working out. You’ll also need to increase the amount if you’re on certain medications.

The electrolytes are the salt ions in the body. They are used by the cells as electricity to transport fluids to the cell membranes. What happens if you drink too much water is the imbalance, resulting in the health conditions cited earlier.

What happens when you crack your knuckles? Will it give you a permanent setback that will leave you scarred for life? Or will problems with cracking knuckles merely give you a temporary dilemma that you can actually handle with some helpful measures? What do you really think goes on when you do this?

To explain what happens when you crack your knuckles, we may have to first check out what goes on inside with our bones before checking whatever problems this habit may cause.

What Happens Inside

In cracking knuckles, joints of the bones are usually pushed beyond its actual position.

Cracking knuckles actually produces a reaction with one of your body fluids, referred to as the synovial fluid in the joints. Bones are actually pulled apart when you crack knuckles, and this clear and thick synovial fluid between the bones reduces pressure.

Bubbles would usually form in the fluid as bones are pulled apart before your knuckles snap or pop. These bubbles expand in a matter of seconds, and burst – causing your knuckles to have that popping sound.

Why You Can’t Crack Knuckles Again after Doing So

There is actually a process referring to the expansion of the bubbles in the clear fluid that acts as a helpful lubricant for the bones as you crack your knuckles. It’s simply called “cavitation.” Cracking knuckles causes this process to take place.

After cracking knuckles, you may notice that you are unable to crack your knuckles and make this act produce a popping sensation once again. There is actually an interesting explanation to this. You are unable to crack and pop your knuckles after your first successful attempt because it may take around twenty five (25) to thirty (30) minutes for the gas or the bubbles in the fluid to dissolve. For that span of time, you won’t be able to crack your knuckles again.

But there is no need to worry. You may just have to wait for the time to pass, and check if you can once again successfully make your joints snap and pop. Usually, after those few minutes, the process of cavitation (or the act of cracking your knuckles) can be done again.

What Possible Problems May be Encountered

So what are the problems you have to face in the long run if you like to crack your knuckles? Well, if you crack your knuckles occasionally, reports have shown that there is actually no reason to worry. Occasional knuckle-crackers do not typically have long-term problems to deal with. However, there may be minor problems that may occur for these habitual knuckle-crackers – a loss of strength when you grip and damage in your soft tissues. Nevertheless, there are certain studies that have shown that the act of cracking knuckles actually give you a few advantages – better mobility and a lose feeling in your joints.

With all these things, you are now (at least) in a better state of mind to know what happens when you crack your knuckles. Sure, it may be someone else’s worst pet peeve, but if you like to do it occasionally, that’s fine. Just be sure not to overdo it if you still want to retain the strength of your grip and prevent damage in your soft tissues that support your joints.