Is It Genetic Makeup Or Learned Behaviors?

Today, many psychologists believe that both learned behaviors and inherited traits are factors that affect our health and personality. It’s no secret that some traits such as eye color are determined by the genes our parents pass on to us. Other physical traits are also believed to be influenced by genetics. But, when it comes to behavioral traits, which is the bigger influence?

Genetic Characteristics

Genetics play a part in determining many physical traits, such as height, weight and vulnerability to certain illnesses. This has led many people to consider the role our genes play in determining behavior. The earlier in life a trait expresses itself, the more likely it is that genetics played a role in its development.

Some people, known as nativists, believe that all of our traits and characteristics are determined by our genetic makeup. They believe that the characteristics that emerge as we grow older are governed by pre-programmed changes in the human body. Nativists believe these characteristics to include language development, attachment during infancy and even cognitive development.

Learned Behaviors

While some of our psychological traits may be affected by genetic composition, many aspects of our personalities are developed through learning and exposure. For children, most of this influence comes from their parents or their peers. For example, parents can encourage a child to have good manners, while other kids could convince them to get themselves into trouble. Some people, called empiricists or environmentalists, believe that most or all of our behaviors come from learning rather than genes.

Family Studies

Studies involving twins or adoptive families provide great insight into how our environment affects our traits and personalities. Research shows that identical twins that are raised apart have much more similar personalities than pairs of randomly selected people. Also, biological siblings share more traits than adoptive siblings do. This suggests that, to some degree, personality is indeed inheritable.

However, adoptive siblings still develop similar personalities, which suggests that these shared behaviors were learned through their environments. These shared behaviors and values may in fact wear off in time, though, as studies have shown that adopted siblings are no more similar than strangers by adulthood.

Nature Versus Nurture

Today, most experts believe that our development is influenced by both genetics and learning. There is too much supporting evidence for both sources to support an all-or-nothing view. However, the debate on how much a given trait is affected by our genes or environment continues. Researchers today are focused on ways that genes influence the way we learn from our environment, as well as how our environment can affect hereditary behaviors.

Research shows that genetic makeup and environmental factors both play key roles in making us who we are. Our genes determine many of our physical traits and could influence how we develop based on our experiences.

In turn, these experiences and our environment shape us into the people we are as adults. The question to ask is not whether a behavior is learned or genetic, but what parts hereditary or environmental factors played in the development of a behavior.

A Calm Mind Is A Healthy Mind

For many people, a low-grade amount of stress is a part of everyday life. So, they may not recognize that it has a negative impact on their overall health. Studies have shown that feeling stress or anxiety on a long-term basis doesn’t just affect your peace of mind. In fact, you’re more likely to suffer from things like digestive issues and a weak immune system if your mind is persistently stressed.

Cortisol, the hormone your body produces when you’re feeling stressed, can take a heavy toll on your physical and mental health. Because of this, giving your mind time to relax and recover is one of the most important self-care routines that you can practice. Your state of mind has the potential to greatly benefit your health, or degrade it, over time.

Digestion

Your liver produces glucose to give you an energy boost when your body is feeling the effects of stress. Whatever your body doesn’t use is then reabsorbed. However, if you’re suffering from chronic stress, your body may not be able to keep up with the extra blood sugar your liver is producing. You may be at an increased risk of developing type-2 diabetes if your body is producing too much glucose. You’re more likely to have heartburn or acid reflux if you suffer from stress. Stress doesn’t cause ulcers, but it may cause pre-existing ulcers to act up.

Sexuality and Reproductive System

Stress affects the menstrual cycles of some women. You may have irregular or even non-existent periods or more painful or heavier cycles. Too much stress may magnify the physical symptoms of menopause for women. For men, prolonged periods of stress can result in a drop of testosterone levels, erectile dysfunction and even impotency. For many, the loss of sexual appetite is a common occurrence as a result of too much stress.

Immune System

Stress is known to stimulate the immune system, which is good if it’s short-term because it helps your body stave off infection and heals wounds. But if you’re stressed for prolonged periods of time, cortisol compromises your immune system. This inhibits histamine secretion and your body’s inflammatory response to foreign dangers. People who are affected by chronic stress are more likely to catch viral illnesses like the common cold. It also takes more time for the body to recover from injuries or illness, if you’re chronically stressed.

Relaxation Techniques to Calm Your Mind

There are numerous techniques for calming your mind. For some, exercise is an excellent outlet to give their mind time to recharge. Meditation is a well known method for clearing your mind. There are many different styles of meditation, tailored to suit your needs and lifestyle.

Remember to focus on the positives rather than focusing on everything that’s going wrong around you. Practice self love and compassion and acknowledge your reality rather than criticizing yourself. Set daily routines that will provide a day-to-day sense of peace and comfort that you can use to escape the stresses of everyday life, even if it’s just for a few minutes each day.

The well-being of your mind plays a very significant role in your health, physically and mentally. Maintaining a peaceful state of mind is one of the best ways to protect your body from the negative effects of stress. Remember that stress and anxiety are inevitable hurdles everyone deals with. It’s how you manage the stresses of your everyday life that's important. It's also the key to overcoming them.

What Happens To The Body When It Doesn't Get Enough Exercise

Many things happen to the body when it doesn't get enough exercise. Unfortunately, it goes way beyond gaining weight. It's important to remember that even a little bit of exercise is better than no exercise at all. Continue reading to learn more about the dangers of inactivity. No one is immune!

Energy Levels
Mitochondria are energy producing structures, which live in the cells of body tissues, organs and muscles. These amazing little structures need carbohydrates and oxygen to work properly. Since mitochondria are required for all bodily functions and movement, you definitely can't live without them.
Mitochondria levels drop when your heart isn't working at its full potential and your oxygen levels are diminished, due to lack of exercise. Fatigue occurs when energy production is slowed down and the body requires the same amount of energy to get work done.

Bone Issues
Bones love a workout, almost as much as they love calcium. The lack of weight-bearing exercise causes bones to lose density and the ability to properly store calcium. Less calcium in your bones means more of a mineral build up in organs such as your kidneys, the cause of kidney stones.
If the period of inactivity is long enough bones eventually began to weaken. This oftentimes results in osteoporosis, which leads to a much higher risk of painful bone fractures.

Muscle Problems
Just like bones, muscles benefit from a good workout. One of the first signs of being out of shape, due to inactivity, is loss of strength and muscle tone. When muscles are idle, blood flow slows down and the exchange of waste products and nutrients decreases. Less mitochondria results in lack of muscle coordination.
Without exercise, the "electrical" connection between your nerves and muscles is sporadic at best. How does this affect you? You'll typically find it more difficult to move around with the agility that you once could. It can also mean decreased strength and an increased risk of muscle injury, because of shrinking muscle mass.

Heart-Related Difficulties
Whatever your age, it's important to keep your heart as healthy as possible. Even though your heart muscle is different from your skeletal muscles, the same health-related principles apply. Without proper exercise, the heart muscle shrinks. This makes it difficult to adequately distribute blood throughout the body and causes the heart to work much harder to get the blood to where it actually needs to go, especially in your hands and feet.
Sluggish blood flow can lead to plaque formation in the blood vessels. This, in turn, sometimes causes high blood pressure, dizziness and circulation problems. All of these conditions are potentially dangerous if left untreated.
As you can see, inactivity causes havoc in and damage to your body. This is especially true for individuals who already deal with chronic conditions, because it typically only makes things worse.
In many cases, periods of inactivity are inevitable. But, the sooner you can participate in even a light exercise regimen, the better off your mind and your body will be.