Oxidative stress is stress for the cells. But don't worry: you can easily support your cell balance by observing a few things.

1. WHAT IS OXIDATIVE STRESS?

Oxidative stress arises when our cells are exposed to certain oxygen reactions . The main cause of these reactions are the so-called " free radicals ".

Free radicals are atoms or molecules with at least one or more unpaired electrons . To achieve their biochemical goal, they have to find additional atoms or molecules with which they can react [1].

Free radicals are basically just intermediates in cell metabolism . A problem only arises when they multiply too quickly and thus steal their reaction partners from the other less reactive molecules.

In this way, on the one hand, central metabolic processes are interrupted and, on the other hand, the imbalance is further strengthened in favor of radical compounds. This quickly leads to unfavorable chain reactions , which are then called oxidative stress. Anyways, in current circumstance Covid-19, we should must fulfill the SOPs to remain save and use ppe prodcuts.

2. CAUSES OF OXIDATIVE STRESS

Oxidative stress can have many causes . Among other things, this even includes environmental influences , strong sunlight , too little sleep or emotional stress . From this perspective, it is of course difficult to completely prevent the development of oxidative stress.

But if you develop a feeling for which processes can have a negative effect on the oxidative balance of your body, you can simply tackle the problem in a very targeted manner.

The best known causes of oxidative stress include the following factors:

Smoking, alcohol and drugs

Low-nutrient diet

Excessive sugar consumption

Physical stress

Psychological stress

Lack of sleep diseases.

In addition, there are many, in some cases quite everyday, environmental factors that are often ignored in the discussion about free radicals:

UV radiation

Exhaust gases and fine dust

Environmental toxins or chemicals such as pesticides, aggressive solvents or heavy metals

passive smoking

Ozone.

If you want to keep free radicals under control in your cell metabolism, you should take care to protect your body from excessive contact with these things.

At the same time, however, there are also antioxidant substances that you can specifically include in your diet to restore the oxidative balance of your cells.

BRAINEFFECT HACK : Our ANTIOXIDANTS from 19 different types of fruit, vegetables and berries contain a lot of antioxidants to help you fight free radicals.

3. WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT

First and foremost, you should make sure to avoid or at least reduce the causes of oxidative stress mentioned here . If you have a very active everyday life and live in a big city with a lot of traffic , it will of course not be that easy .

In this case, however, it is more important that you your body zuführst targeted antioxidant substances to him by the neutralization of free radicals to help . So you should make sure to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and use high-quality vegetable oils when roasting and preparing food .

Antioxidants are the perfect antagonist to free radicals : they bind to the reactive molecules and thus prevent them from using others. Even if the development of oxidative stress can often not be avoided , you can always find a healthy balance in this way .

The top supporters in the fight against oxidative stress are above all the antioxidative vitamins C , E and the versatile trace element zinc .

But other nutrients such as selenium , manganese and copper as well as bioflavonoids or vitamin B12 also help your body to remain oxidatively balanced [2].

In addition, you should of course also ensure adequate sleep and regeneration. Especially if you want to achieve a lot professionally and have a very active everyday life, it can be stressful. This is completely okay, but you should keep in mind that a healthy diet rich in vital substances and a lot of rest are particularly important in this case.

One reason for the development of oxidative stress, which you should also take a closer look at, is excessive sport. Although there is nothing wrong with a hard workout, long and intensive training sessions can also lead to oxidative stress.

So if you do a lot of sport , you should also pay particular attention to your nutrient balance and your sleep rhythm . In addition to a healthy diet rich in vitamins, you can also various relaxation exercises  use to oxidative stress caused by emotional stress to avoid .

Breathing exercises or calm sports and moving meditations such as Yin Yoga, Tai Chi or Chi Gong are also well suited in this context .

In addition, a simple 10-minute meditation, progressive muscle relaxation or even autogenic training in connection with stress can achieve very good effects. 

BRAINEFFECT HACK : A balanced and varied diet can take a long time. With our ANTIOXIDANS you get antioxidants from 19 different types of fruit, vegetables and berries.

4. HOW HARMFUL IS OXIDATIVE STRESS REALLY?

In oxidative stress the motto of balance applies as with almost all things in life: Although a long-term imbalance between oxidant and antioxidant processes can be quite harmful, you need to you with a balanced lifestyle basically worry .

In addition, oxidative stress so not bad per se . The nitrosative stress about is also a form of oxidative stress . It is created by nitrogen radicals that specifically bind enzymes from the respiratory chain. Thus, they generate an energy deficit that can only be compensated for by mobilizing the mitochondria, i.e. the body's own cell power plants.

A positive consequence of this process is the programmed cell death , the so-called " apoptosis ". It was originally used to kill pathological cancer cells . In addition, there is also the so-called “oxidative burst” or “respiratory burst”, which leads to the destruction of pathogenic microorganisms [3].

Certain types of oxidative or nitrosative stress can also have added value for our organism. A long-term imbalance caused by unhealthy influences should always be avoided.

5. CONCLUSION

Oxidative stress arises when the cells become out of balance. Free radicals are the cause of such an imbalance. Their high reactivity often leads to unwanted chain reactions without counterweight, which can impair cell metabolism.

In order to avoid negative consequences such as premature skin aging or energy deficits, you should pay attention to a lot of rest and a healthy diet based on antioxidant nutrients. Targeted relaxation and the restriction of unhealthy habits can also be very helpful.

Although oxidative stress is a condition that should be largely avoided, free radicals aren't always bad. The “oxidative burst” can help to kill unwanted microorganisms. The nitrosative stress can even lead to cell death and the necessary neutralization of cancer cells

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, teachers and their students are separated. This is why it is important to keep in touch with your students during this period of confinement. This link is based on certain practices already used in class.

Caitlin Krause , teacher for two decades and educational consultant. She moved much of her online curriculum a decade ago. In addition, she used all of the tools to engage her students: an online collaborative text tool called TitanPad or other stationery items. It allows you to work with several people, from several different computers, on the same document, and to make direct modifications, visible at the same time by all the connected computers.

She created a class blog with her students to boost her lessons. The blog can encourage struggling students to get involved in writing and creating via pencils or brushes. Here she shares five effective tips for keeping in touch with her students:

1. Take care of yourself

This time of confinement which is imposed on us can be seen as an opportunity to take more care of ourselves. We are rethinking the good habits adopted during this period can become permanent. Do you have more time? This is most precious. Make good use of it.

Start your day with a moment "yours". For example,  mindfulness meditation can help us overcome our anxieties during confinement. This period of pandemic creates "stress, fear, anxiety and all kinds of parasitic thoughts which are not useful, even sometimes toxic". So ten minutes of meditation a day can transform our daily lives.

2. Icebreaker Activities

At this point, you should focus on building strong connections. It is a virtual community that looks like a tree: deeply rooted, with a feeling of anchoring, and also flexible in its branches, so that you adapt to changing conditions.

Start each online learning with an icebreaker activity: do a physical activity together, play music, take three collective breaths. The goal is to put young people at ease with a fun mystery game afterwards. You can offer students narration exercises.

3. Each student has a role

In Caitlin Krause's virtual classroom, each student has access to content asynchronously. They have online “journal spaces” to collect their thoughts and reflect, and to share and build idea cards, collaborating to reduce the need for live meetings.

You can keep a flow without everyone working at the same time by creating groups in which each has a role of authority. Some preferred to play the "lexicon builder", collect the new terms we encountered and discover the etymology, definition and connotations. Others are "reference archivists", bringing together useful websites, readings and sources. Others chose to be "curators" who researched the sites and assessed their validity and sources, placing them more in the context of the learning objective. Some preferred to create mind maps of related terms and links to increase their relevance, or models and artistic creations inspired by responses to learning.

You send a message to your students: everyone is important and everyone can contribute to the creation and development of the learning space.

4. Encourage students to speak

This is surely important for many students, perhaps for them especially because they are confined in smaller spaces, and they need to get out of this framework, and finally the virtual classroom and the fact to find their teacher and their comrades, that opens up the horizon a little bit. Second, giving students more opportunities to speak builds learning skills and social and emotional confidence, which are complementary to this type of interactive learning. 

5. Practice active listening

Active listening is a relational skill, knowing how to listen is showing interest and respect for others. So the secret of successful communication is above all active listening.

The teacher should focus on the words of his students without doing anything else or thinking about another subject. In addition, he takes care not to give advice or solutions when his students speak.

When there is an exercise involving group sharing, you can start with smaller groups - where it is easier to make sure everyone is contributing - or try partnership sharing which involves a "stakeout" activity. in mirror ”, where the pupils listen in turn to each other's story or reflection. The listener is silent while the speaker shares, and after a minute or two, reflects on the keywords that stood out, and some of what they heard, without judgment. Then the two students change roles.

In large groups, you can plan the sharing order in advance and publish it in the chat window of your distance learning conference space, to facilitate transitions. Along the way, continue to encourage listening without judgment.

Since the content has been proclaimed king of promotion, every day you need more and more materials - interesting, high-quality, catchy. Where can I find an inexhaustible source of content if resources are limited?

Curation comes to the rescue. This is a content marketing method that you probably use yourself, even if you call it differently. Curata determined that marketers prefer to mix content like coupons in this way: 65% unique, 25% curated and 10% syndicated ( authoring content that you post on your site + on other sites) .

How to mix content

But back to curation. As Curata figures show, today it is a full-fledged content marketing strategy along with creating your own materials. So why is this method so popular? I highlighted 6 reasons to use it :

He saves time and money.

Supervising is much easier than creating. What do you think is faster and cheaper: to hire an author who will write an article from scratch, or to make a selection of finished materials? Of course, it will also take effort to find and repack the finished content, but you will save more than you spend.

He increases the number of publications

Supervised content saves entrepreneurs who are forced to choose what to publish today: an article on a blog, 3 posts on Facebook or send an email newsletter. The faster you generate deals content, the more often you post it. A regular update of materials increases brand awareness and reader loyalty.

He engages the audience

Imagine that someone instead of you attended a large-scale conference, retold the speeches of the speakers and compiled a summary of cool ideas. Convenient, right? The same thing happens when you select the best content for the user. You simplify his life, and he instead shares your publications, increasing their coverage.    

It improves SEO positions

You know: everything that makes content interesting and useful to the reader positively affects search engine promotion. If your resource is read, third-party sites link to it and it contains links to authoritative sources - this improves the results in the search results.

How else to optimize your blog for search engines in 6 easy steps, read our article .

It confirms your expertise.

To analyze and summarize third-party publications, you really need to understand the topic. Therefore, by supervising the content, you declare yourself as an expert and arouse the trust of users. Of course, only if you do not just share useful materials, but also add an author’s comment.

He helps to find ideas.

In the process of curation, you work with different sources of information: books, studies, lectures, etc. Regularly monitoring trends and news in your field, you will notice how it will become easier to choose topics for creating unique materials and that you always have something to talk about with readers.

Conclusion

Curation makes it easier to work with content: you increase the number of blog posts and social networks, plus increase your expertise.

What is needed for this?

Track about 25 reliable sources of content.

Share only what is valuable to the audience.

Experiment with different feed methods.

Remember the promotion: always add comments, even to the repost.

Reuse your own materials.

With the stress that comes with graduation, don't forget to have fun. You are helping a loved one mark and celebrate an accomplishment in their life and they deserve to be unforgettable. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Tips for Celebrating Graduation

A moment of celebration with family and friends

Graduation is a rite of passage that ends one chapter and begins and another.

It is an exciting event, whether the person is a graduate of high school, university or any other kind of school or institution.

Surprise party

Hosting a surprise party can be a great way to ensure that the graduate feels valued and celebrated.

A surprise party can also be a great way to show that you are proud of your loved one's accomplishments and to give your friends and family a chance to get together and cover them with attention.

You can organize a surprise party at home or in a public place, such as a restaurant or a lounge bar.

It is advisable to keep other people informed to help you organize the surprise without the graduate finding out.

Special holidays

A graduation usually means that someone has worked very hard. It is very likely that she needs a vacation in order to take a well-deserved break!

Holidays are the perfect gift for a high school or university diploma, whether you decide to offer them a stay with friends or family vacations to spend time together.

You can chat with the graduate to plan a dream trip, whether it's a weekend getaway for camping or a long vacation at the beach or in the mountains.

Gifts

Sometimes the best way to celebrate a graduation is to give the graduate a gift they can use or cherish for a long time.

Some classic gifts for graduation include jewelry, accessories, or clothing he can use, such as a satchel, costume, or other work-related outfit.

Depending on their career choices, some more specific tools may be useful, such as a set of kitchen knives for a chef or a new computer for a teacher.

Make a commemorative video

Many graduates would appreciate a commemorative video that highlights their experiences throughout the year and in particular their achievements.

You can use software to put together a montage of photos of the graduate taken throughout his or her course and also interview friends and family and ask them to speak or tell funny stories about the graduate.

It is a present he can keep and watch over and over for years to come.

The graduation is a celebration. It is a rite of passage that can be recognized calmly and sincerely to recognize the accomplishment in question or an elaborate gathering between friends and family. Either way, the graduate will appreciate the chance to celebrate their success.

The chills, goosebumps, the feeling of shivering and the verdict of the falling thermometer: no doubt, you have a fever! Only, why do we have a fever when we are sick? We tell you everything about this body thermo-regulation mechanism.

Summary

Fever, a signal triggered by our brain

How is fever started?

Physiological defense mechanisms

Is fever useful for fighting infections?

Recommendations to follow if you have a fever

When should you consult?

causes-mechanism-fever-wd

The thermometer is the flagship instrument of our first aid kits. The one who will answer, in less than a minute, this fateful question: "Are we sick ... or not?". This is often the first question that our general practitioner asks us in consultation: "Do you have a fever?". The fact is that fever is a relentless symptom like knee pain… For doctors and for us! The sign that we are… sick!

Fever, a signal triggered by our brain

So why do we have a fever when we are sick? The case is played on a gland located in our brain: the hypothalamus. " It is a kind of thermostat which will regulate the temperature of our body ", explains Professor Jean-Paul Stahl, head of the infectious diseases department of the Grenoble University Hospital . Normally, this " hypothalamic thermostat" keeps the body temperature at an equilibrium point around 37 ° C. " Between 37 and 37.5 degrees is fluctuating, " says Professor Jean-Paul Stahl. "This temperature can vary throughout the day: it will be lower in the morning and higher in the evening. Body temperature can also fluctuate depending on hormonal status, especially in women, or thyroid hormones . "Physiological variations, up to a point.

How is fever started?

Beyond 38 ° C, we can indeed speak of fever, or "pyrexia". This is the term used in medical jargon to refer to this rise in our body temperature above normal. It is the sign that we are "sick" and thus that our organism is fighting a foreign body…. " Fever is a reaction to an attack, whatever it is ... Most often, it is an attack of an infectious nature: a bacterium or virus ... It is the consequence of an activation of our immune system ", explains Professor Jean-Paul Stahl.

When a pathogen enters our body, the defense cells detect it and will then produce so-called pyrogenic substances, that is to say capable of raising the temperature of our body: these are "cytokines" . These famous cytokines will alert the hypothalamus, this gland located in our brain. The message is clear: it is a question of increasing the level of the " hypothalamic thermostat ". The objective? Produce more body heat to help the immune system fight the attacker.

Physiological defense mechanisms

Then follows a series of physiological adaptations orchestrated by the hypothalamus and aimed at increasing the heat of our body. The gland will send a message to our muscles: " Contract yourself to produce more energy and therefore heat! ". Now you understand better why you also have aches when you have a fever…

The hypothalamus will also orchestrate vasoconstriction. This physiological mechanism corresponds to a decrease in the size of the blood vessels at the extremities of the body. The blood circulation is then reduced to lose less heat through the skin.

Our hairs can also come into play: they straighten up to protect us from the cold. It is the famous "piloerection" better known under the name of "goosebumps" ... " All these phenomena are physiological defense mechanisms ", traces Professor Jean-Paul Stahl. The chills, the impression of shivering (due to the contraction of our muscles) when we are feverish ... Nothing to be alarmed about ... Quite the contrary! This is a sign that our immune system is working at full capacity ...

Is fever useful for fighting infections?

Does the increase in body temperature really harm bacteria or viruses? Nothing is proven… It is above all the sign that the immune system is activated, more than a defense mechanism in its own right.

However, fever has the advantage of being an easy symptom to detect. " It is a warning signal which means" I am not doing well: find out why! "It is also the best marker of the progression of an infection ", underlines Professor Jean-Paul Stahl, chief from the infectious diseases department of the Grenoble University Hospital. " Thus, as long as the fever is well tolerated, other symptoms have not been identified and a medical diagnosis has not been established, it is not recommended to use anti-pyretics (note drugs used in treatment of fever). "This allows not to falsify the diagnosis and to follow the evolution of the disease. Because if the increase in our body temperature above 38 degrees is a sign that we are sick, its return to normal will mean recovery!

Recommendations to follow if you have a fever

DON'T WORRY AS SOON AS YOU NOTICE A HIGH FEVER (IN AN ADULT)

High fever does not have to mean serious illness! " Certain viral diseases give high fevers and are not serious so far ... When other more serious diseases are characterized by a low fever ", details Professor Jean-Paul Stahl.

OTHER SYMPTOMS TO WATCH FOR

" Fever is a reaction to a mild or severe attack. It is the presence of other symptoms that should alert: Is the heart working as it should? And breathing? What is the state of consciousness ... are these other symptoms, which are less obvious to identify and which are the most important and should lead to consulting a doctor ", underlines Professor Jean-Paul.

When should you consult?

When the temperature exceeds 40 ° C .

If you have other more worrying symptoms : heart problems (rhythm disturbances), breathing problems, altered state of consciousness…

Beyond three consecutive days of fever .

These recommendations are valid for adults in good physical health. A very special attention should be given to young children aged 0 to 5 years old and the elderly for whom a consultation for fever, even moderate, is highly recommended.