Human Variation in High-Altitude
High-altitude environments have adverse effects on humans and the way their bodies function normally.
The change in the barometric pressure causes a decrease in the amount of oxygen and can lead to
hypobaric hypoxia which is an imbalance of oxygen availability to the tissue and can cause severe
psychological and physiological dysfunction in humans. Sustained exposure to hypoxia can have very
negative effects on body weight, muscle structure, exercise capacity, mental functioning, and sleep
quality. Long exposure to high-altitude can lead to a decrease in muscle fiber density. It can also cause
diaphragm and abdominal muscle contractile fatigue and can result in limitations in exercise high-altitude.
High-altitude of over 3,000 m will produce physiological disorders and changes in moods as well as
cognitive and motor performance. High-altitude can also affect anxiety and mental efficiency as well as
short-term memory. Being at high-altitudes will reduce the amount of oxygen going to the blood and
create periods of deep and rapid breathing alternating with central apnea, this pattern of breathing is
called high-altitude periodic breathing(PB). PB can lead to disturbances in ones sleep, even if they are
incredibly healthy, it will cause them to wake up frequently and feel like they have a lack of air. Hypoxia
reduces total sleep time, sleep efficiency, slow-wave sleep, and rapid eye movement.
The change in the barometric pressure causes a decrease in the amount of oxygen and can lead to
hypobaric hypoxia which is an imbalance of oxygen availability to the tissue and can cause severe
psychological and physiological dysfunction in humans. Sustained exposure to hypoxia can have very
negative effects on body weight, muscle structure, exercise capacity, mental functioning, and sleep
quality. Long exposure to high-altitude can lead to a decrease in muscle fiber density. It can also cause
diaphragm and abdominal muscle contractile fatigue and can result in limitations in exercise high-altitude.
High-altitude of over 3,000 m will produce physiological disorders and changes in moods as well as
cognitive and motor performance. High-altitude can also affect anxiety and mental efficiency as well as
short-term memory. Being at high-altitudes will reduce the amount of oxygen going to the blood and
create periods of deep and rapid breathing alternating with central apnea, this pattern of breathing is
called high-altitude periodic breathing(PB). PB can lead to disturbances in ones sleep, even if they are
incredibly healthy, it will cause them to wake up frequently and feel like they have a lack of air. Hypoxia
reduces total sleep time, sleep efficiency, slow-wave sleep, and rapid eye movement.
Short Term
Humans have a short term adaptation to high-altitudes, for example when we travel to high-altitude areas
our bodies will develop inefficient physiological responses which are an increase in breathing and heart
rate as much as double. Our pulse rate and blood pressure will go up very sharply because our heart is
pumping extra harder in order to get more oxygen to our cells.
our bodies will develop inefficient physiological responses which are an increase in breathing and heart
rate as much as double. Our pulse rate and blood pressure will go up very sharply because our heart is
pumping extra harder in order to get more oxygen to our cells.
Developmental
An example of developmental adaptations to high-altitudes is the group of individuals called Andeans
who have lived in high-altitude areas for more that 11,000 years and have developmentally acquired
enlarged residual lung volume and its associated increase in in alveolar are. They have increased tissue
thickness and moderate increase in red blood cells.
who have lived in high-altitude areas for more that 11,000 years and have developmentally acquired
enlarged residual lung volume and its associated increase in in alveolar are. They have increased tissue
thickness and moderate increase in red blood cells.
Cultural
The way humans can culturally adapt to high-altitudes is by using an oxygen tank which will supplement
the air that humans are normally used to.
the air that humans are normally used to.
Facultative
The human body will eventually adapt to the high-altitude and will create more blood cells and capillaries.
Your body will do this in order to carry and produce more oxygen.
Your body will do this in order to carry and produce more oxygen.
The benefits from from studying human variation from high-altitude is that we are able to find different
ways to live in this type of harsh environment so that we can adapt and survive. This kind of research will
help us in case of a situation where we would be going to a high-altitude area. An example of how this
information would be useful is if people in low-altitude areas experienced a worldwide flood and had to
move to a high-altitude area.
ways to live in this type of harsh environment so that we can adapt and survive. This kind of research will
help us in case of a situation where we would be going to a high-altitude area. An example of how this
information would be useful is if people in low-altitude areas experienced a worldwide flood and had to
move to a high-altitude area.
Race does not seem to play an import role in this variation of adaptations because everything is internal
and we all, no matter the race, have very similar internal structures. There could be individuals within one
race that can be adapted to higher altitudes, but there can also be individuals within the same race that
would struggle medically in high-altitudes. The study of environmental influences on adaptations is a
better way to understand human variation because it can show the ways our bodies are able to adapt to
our surroundings. This works better than just using race because in this specific situation it does not
matter what race was studied there would have been the same outcomes. Our bodies are created to
adapt to our environments to survive, not because of our race but because of how we are created
internally.
and we all, no matter the race, have very similar internal structures. There could be individuals within one
race that can be adapted to higher altitudes, but there can also be individuals within the same race that
would struggle medically in high-altitudes. The study of environmental influences on adaptations is a
better way to understand human variation because it can show the ways our bodies are able to adapt to
our surroundings. This works better than just using race because in this specific situation it does not
matter what race was studied there would have been the same outcomes. Our bodies are created to
adapt to our environments to survive, not because of our race but because of how we are created
internally.
Hi Ayla,
ReplyDeleteI love that you did your post on high altitude. I've realized not many of us strayed from your typical cold or heat environmental stresses. I thought your post was very descriptive and I definitely learned a lot about how my body responds to higher altitudes, so thank you! I particularly appreciated your last paragraph addressing the benefits of this approach over the use of race to compare human variation. You hit the nail on the head! Great post!
Hey Ayla,
ReplyDeleteI really like that you decided to post about human variation in high-altitude, I know I was intimidated by the topic so reading about it made it easier to understand. I think that the information that you provided in the intro is very informative and effective as well. I think your post would have been slightly more clear had you mentioned more examples that would support what you were talking about, but aside from that this was a great post and it was well-thought out as well.
Hey Ayla! Great job on your blog post for this week, I really enjoyed reading it because it gave me a lot of great information. It's extremely neat how your body can adapt to a lot of different things. One thing I didn't know until I read this was that our bodies carried more oxygen by producing more blood cells and capillaries. I also really liked how you explained what happens to the body when in high altitude situations as well. You really hit all of the key points and your format was easy to read! Great job!
ReplyDeleteOverall, very good descriptions of the complications arising from high altitude stress, with one important correction:
ReplyDelete"The change in the barometric pressure causes a decrease in the amount of oxygen"
No. There is not less oxygen at high altitudes, just less air *pressure*, which makes it harder to transmit oxygen across the membrane barrier from the lungs to the blood stream.
Great description of each of your four types of adaptations and good images to support your information.
"This kind of research will help us in case of a situation where we would be going to a high-altitude area."
How exactly, would this help? Three out of the four adaptations you identify are physiological/biological/genetic in nature. Do we have any control of how these changes occur? Can we make the occur faster or slower just from understanding them? No. Only the cultural adaptation is within our power to control. So, again, how can we use this information in a productive way? Can the information we gain from these types of studies have medical or scientific implications? Help people with lung diseases, such as cystic fibrosis? Can the biological/physiological information perhaps help the breathing difficulties of preemies? How can we *use* this information?
" There could be individuals within one race that can be adapted to higher altitudes, but there can also be individuals within the same race that would struggle medically in high-altitudes. "
You are on the edge here of making a very good connection that explains why race is useless in understanding human variation. just needed to take this a bit deeper. For example...
To answer this question, you first need to explore what race actually is. Race is not based in biology but is a social construct, based in beliefs and preconceptions, and used only to categorize humans into groups based upon external physical features, much like organizing a box of crayons by color. Race does not *cause* adaptations like environmental stress do, and without that causal relationship, you can't use race to explain adaptations. Race has no explanatory value over human variation.
Hey Ayla great work. I have personally noticed that many people tried to tackle the subject or hot or cold weather and how it effects the human body but its nice to see that you have tackle the subject on how high elevation can effect us. I personally have a heart condition so knowing that a high elevation may cause my heart to work harder is valuable information for me. So thank you and well done it was very descriptive.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I don't know why, but I honestly previously thought that our heart rates skyrocket when we go too high in altitude as a nervous system warning response to just alert you to go back down...but it makes more sense now that i think about how it just needs to get more oxygen. very informational!
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your last statement, "Our bodies are created to adapt to our environments to survive, not because of our race but because of how we are created internally."