Blog Post #4

I read the article, "What? Me Biased?" This article was about how people are subconsciously bias against not only skin color but also gender and age. For example it talked about how people thought of Obama as less American that John McCain and even the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. I find this rather relevant because I don't think I'm racist but the fact that we are all have subconscious biases makes me wonder if I ever have racist or sexist thoughts. Is this subconscious behavior learned or inherited? And I hope that if I do have these subconscious biases that I can overcome them because I believe racism and sexism is wrong.


One thing I learned about in Chapter 3 was Circadian Rhythm. I read about how bright light at night delays sleep which helps me understand why I have trouble sleeping if I watch too much TV before I went to bed. Also just being bathed in regular light can disrupt our 24-hour biological clock. Basically the point is that artificial light delays sleep.

The thing that surprised me most was the fact that sleep deprivation increases the hunger-arousing hormone ghrelin and decreases huger-suppressing hormone leptin. It also increases the stress hormone cortisol which stimulates the body to make fat. This means that sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain. I would have never guessed that loss of sleep could lead to weight gain like that and it will make me think twice about staying up past midnight.