The influence of a favorable environment on human health. The influence of the environment on human health - abstract

Introduction

At the beginning of the last century, when more attention began to be paid to the health of the human body, scientists found out what factors could influence human health. So, according to data obtained as a result of numerous experiments and tests, it was found that the health of each person depends on several factors, including 10-20% from the environment. Human life is impossible without the environment around him. “Environment” is a very broad concept. It includes not only space within certain boundaries, but also natural and anthropogenic, i.e. man-made, social, physical, chemical, biological phenomena and elements - all that directly or indirectly affects human life and activity. As you know, the human body must function harmoniously with the environment, because all processes in the biosphere are interconnected. Humanity is only a small part of the biosphere, and man is only one of the types of organic life - Homo sapiens (reasonable man). Reason separated man from the animal world and gave him enormous power. For centuries, man has sought not to adapt to the natural environment, but to make it convenient for his existence. Now we have realized that any human activity has an impact on the environment, and the deterioration of the biosphere is dangerous for all living beings, including humans. A comprehensive study of a person’s relationship with the outside world has led to the understanding that health is not only the absence of disease, but also physical, mental and social well-being. Health is a capital given to us not only by nature from birth, but also by the conditions in which we live.

Nature and man.

The environment has a constant impact on humans through material factors: physical, chemical and biological. In addition, a person as a social being is directly influenced by psychogenic (informative) factors.

Physical factors are solar radiation, temperature, humidity and air speed, atmospheric pressure, noise, vibration, weather, climate, etc.

Chemical factors- chemical elements and compounds that make up air, water, soil and food.

Biological factors- these are microorganisms, viruses, fungi, plants, etc.

Psychogenic factors- this is a separate word or speech, sounds or music, color or image, writing, song, etc. All these factors can be both natural and anthropogenic.

In real life, the human body is influenced by not one, but many environmental factors. In relation to human health, they can be indifferent or have a beneficial effect. But they can also cause harm, even death. The nature of the influence of environmental factors depends on social conditions, i.e. labor, life, nutrition, education and training.

Nature is the primary source of satisfying the material and spiritual needs of people. Man takes everything necessary for existence, for example, food, clothing, materials for building a home, from nature. In addition, it provides society with aesthetic values.

At the same time, nature is also the habitat of humans and all living organisms, whose vital activity is accompanied by constant consumption of air, water and food. The flow of natural physiological metabolic processes in any living organism depends on the presence and quality of the latter. Oxygen, water and nutrients enter the body from the environment. They are necessary for metabolic processes, thanks to which the body is able to grow, develop, maintain normal body temperature, muscle and mental activity. At the same time, the human body releases carbon dioxide, harmful decay products, excess substances and heat.

In the process of life, the body is affected by various natural factors: temperature, humidity and air speed, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation, magnetic fields and other elements, which are usually united by the concept of “natural climatic factors”. The body is adapted to their natural effects. With minor changes in living conditions, the body rearranges its functions. Acclimatization occurs, i.e. - adaptation to new conditions. For example, when the air temperature rises, breathing and heart function increase, and sweating increases. The body, receiving more heat from the environment, gives off more of it. At the same time, the body temperature remains relatively constant. The natural environment can suddenly change dramatically in the event of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, droughts and other abnormal natural phenomena. However, thanks to the living conditions created by him (regular sources of heat, water, energy, housing, various technical devices that make work easier, clothing, medicines, etc.), man can adapt to unfavorable environmental factors much better than other living organisms. A person can also create means of protection against them. Being a part of nature, man interacts with it. Receiving coal, oil and gas, ores and building materials from the bowels of the earth, man uses them as the subject of his labor. Human life also requires products of plant and animal origin. Thus, a person is a consumer in relation to the natural environment. At the same time, by carrying out land reclamation, constructing dams, creating artificial reservoirs, etc., man transforms nature.

As a result of human economic activity, the environment is polluted with harmful substances. To study the human impact on the environment, it is advisable to highlight several of its components: the air environment (atmosphere), the water environment (hydrosphere), fauna, flora, soil, subsoil, climatic environment. The most vulnerable components, without which human existence is impossible and to which the greatest damage is caused, are the air and water environments.

1.1 The influence of the atmosphere on the human body.

Our planet is surrounded by an air shell - an atmosphere that extends above the Earth 1500-2000 km upward, which is about 1/3 of the radius of the Earth. However, this boundary is arbitrary; traces of atmospheric air were also found at an altitude of 20,000 km.

The atmosphere is the most important environmental element for all biological life forms on Earth. The atmosphere regulates the Earth's climate and daily temperature fluctuations on the planet (without it they would reach 200 o C). Currently, the average temperature of the Earth's surface is 14 o C. The atmosphere transmits the thermal radiation of the Sun and retains heat, clouds, rain, snow, and wind form there. It also plays the role of a carrier of moisture on Earth and is a medium for the propagation of sound (without air, silent silence would reign on the earth). The atmosphere serves as a source of oxygen respiration, perceives gaseous metabolic products, and influences heat exchange and other functions of living organisms. Harmful substances contained in the atmosphere affect the human body upon contact with the surface of the skin or mucous membrane. Along with the respiratory system, pollutants affect the organs of vision and smell, and by affecting the mucous membrane of the larynx, they can cause spasms of the vocal cords. Inhaled solid and liquid particles measuring 0.6-1.0 microns reach the alveoli and are absorbed in the blood, some accumulate in the lymph nodes.

Polluted air mostly irritates the respiratory tract, causing bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. The irritants that cause these diseases include SO 2 and SO 3, nitrogen vapors, HCl, HNO 3, H 2 SO 4, H 2 S, phosphorus and its compounds. Dust containing silicon oxides causes a severe pulmonary disease - silicosis. Research conducted in the UK has shown a very close connection between air pollution and mortality from bronchitis. Street eye injuries caused by fly ash and other atmospheric pollutants in industrial centers reach 30-60% of all cases of eye diseases, which are very often accompanied by various complications, conjunctevitis.

Signs and consequences of air pollutants on the human body manifest themselves mostly in a deterioration in general health: headaches, nausea, a feeling of weakness, decreased or lost ability to work. Certain pollutants cause specific symptoms of poisoning. For example, chronic phosphorus poisoning initially manifests itself as pain in the gastrointestinal tract and yellowing of the skin. These symptoms are accompanied by loss of appetite and slow metabolism. In the future, phosphorus poisoning leads to deformation of bones, which become increasingly fragile. The body's resistance as a whole decreases.

1.2 Water resources and human activity.

Water is vital to the body more than anything else, with the exception of oxygen. A well-fed person can live without food for 3-4 weeks, but without water - only a few days.

A living cell requires water both to maintain its structure and for normal functioning; it makes up approximately 2/3 of body weight. Water helps regulate body temperature and serves as a lubricant, facilitating joint movement. It plays an important role in building and repairing body tissues.

With a sharp reduction in water consumption, a person becomes ill or his body begins to function worse.

Without water, personal hygiene is impossible, that is, a set of practical actions and skills that protect the body from diseases and maintain human health at a high level. Washing, a warm bath and swimming bring a feeling of vigor and calm.

A number of skin and eye diseases can be prevented through the systematic mechanical removal of pathogenic microbes from the surface of the body and clothing using soap and water.

The water we consume must be clean. Diseases transmitted through contaminated water cause deterioration in health, disability and death of a huge number of people, especially children, mainly in less developed countries where low levels of personal and communal hygiene are common. Diseases such as typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, and hookworm are transmitted primarily to humans as a result of contamination of water sources with excrement excreted from the body of patients.

Success in the fight against these diseases or the achievement of their complete elimination depends on how the system for removing all metabolic products released from the human body is organized and how the matter of providing clean water to the entire population is organized.

Water is also responsible for human teeth. The incidence of caries depends on how much fluoride is contained in the water. Water fluoridation is believed to be effective in preventing tooth decay, especially in children.

But in addition to beneficial impurities, water also contains others that are dangerous to the human body. Hygienists first started talking about the health hazards of lead in water in connection with mass intoxications that arose when lead pipes were used in water supply systems. However, elevated concentrations of lead may occur in groundwater. Water is considered harmless if its lead content is no more than 0.03 mg/l.

There is also no provision for nitrates in the water. According to modern scientific data, nitrates in the human intestine are reduced to nitrites under the influence of bacteria living there. Absorption of nitrates leads to the formation of methemoglobin and to a partial loss of hemoglobin activity in oxygen transport

Thus, methemoglobinemia is based on one or another degree of oxygen starvation, the symptoms of which appear primarily in children, especially infants. They get sick mainly during artificial feeding, when dry milk formulas are diluted with water containing nitrates, or when drinking this water. Older children are less susceptible to this disease, and if they get sick, it is less severe, since their compensatory mechanisms are more developed. Drinking water containing 2-11 mg/l of nitrates does not cause an increase in the level of methemoglobin in the blood, while using water with a concentration of 50-100 mg/l sharply increases this level. Methemoglobinemia is manifested by cyanosis, an increase in the content of methemoglobin in the blood, and a decrease in blood pressure. Experts have recorded these symptoms not only in children, but also in adults. A nitrate content in drinking water of 10 mg/l is harmless.

Without any exaggeration, we can say that high-quality water that meets sanitary, hygienic and epidemiological requirements is one of the indispensable conditions for maintaining human health. But for it to be beneficial, it must be cleared of all harmful impurities and delivered clean to a person.

In recent years, the way we look at water has changed. Not only hygienists, but also biologists, engineers, builders, economists, and politicians began to talk about it more and more often. And it’s understandable - the rapid development of social production and urban planning, the growth of material well-being and the cultural level of the population are constantly increasing the need for water, forcing it to be used more rationally.

1.3 Soil and people.

The soil – the main component of any terrestrial ecosystems, a variety of physical, chemical and biological processes take place in it, and it is inhabited by many living organisms.

The physical and chemical composition and sanitary condition of the soil can affect the living conditions and health of the population.

Soil pollution, as well as atmospheric air pollution, is associated with human production activities.

Sources of soil pollution include agricultural and industrial enterprises, as well as residential buildings. At the same time, chemicals (including very harmful to health: lead, mercury, arsenic and their compounds), as well as organic compounds, enter the soil from industrial and agricultural facilities.

From the soil, harmful substances (inorganic and organic origin) and pathogenic bacteria can enter with rainwater into surface reservoirs and aquifers, contaminating water used for drinking.

Some of the chemical compounds, including carcinogenic carbohydrates, can be absorbed from the soil by plants and then enter the human body through milk and meat, causing changes in health.

With household waste and sewage, pathogenic bacteria enter the soil and retain their viability for a long time. Thus, the causative agent of dysentery remains active for more than a month, typhoid fever for up to 1 year, and the polio virus in wastewater and soil does not die for 2-3 months.

Helminth eggs also remain viable in the soil for a long time (bovine tapeworm - 8 months, whipworm - up to 1 year, roundworm - up to 10-13 years). Diseases such as anthrax, glanders, brucellosis, tetanus and even gas gangrene are transmitted through soil.

Infection of people with intestinal infections (dysentery, typhoid fever) and helminth eggs can occur both through direct contact with garbage and waste, and through consumption of unwashed vegetables

1.4 Harm of radiation to human life.

Radiation by its very nature is harmful to life. Small doses of radiation can “trigger” an incompletely established chain of events leading to cancer or genetic damage. At high doses, radiation can destroy cells, damage organ tissue and cause rapid death of the body.

Radiation is a potentially dangerous phenomenon, therefore human exposure is subject to control and regulation. Unreasonable exposure to radiation should not be allowed. The basic principle of radiation protection is to ensure the lowest possible level of exposure that is reasonably achievable. Sources of life-threatening radiation can be nuclear weapons tests, accidents at nuclear power plants, and some special equipment.

Radiation is by no means a new phenomenon; the novelty lies only in how people have tried to use it. Both radioactivity and the ionizing radiation accompanying it existed on earth long before the origin of life on it and were present in space before the emergence of the Earth itself.

Ionizing radiation, like other constantly operating physical and chemical environmental factors, is, within certain limits, necessary for normal life. Low doses of ionizing radiation, characteristic of the natural radiation background, to which life on our planet has been adapted over millions of years of evolution, have such a beneficial effect on humans. It is known that tens of thousands of patients improve their health at world-famous resorts with mineral water sources with a high content of radon. The health-improving effect is achieved through short-term dosed irradiation of patients with radon and its daughter products at the level of increased natural background radiation. Small doses activate recovery processes, which speeds up recovery. In this century, humanity has been exposed to ionizing radiation from artificial sources created for medical, scientific, technical and military purposes. The danger to humans can be posed mainly by such man-made sources.

Ionizing radiation also accompanied the Big Bang, from which, as we now believe, the existence of our universe began. Since that time, radiation has constantly filled outer space. Radioactive materials have been part of the Earth since its birth. Even humans are slightly radioactive, since trace amounts of radioactive substances are present in every living tissue. But radiation, like many things, is good in moderation.

1.5 The influence of sounds on the human body.

Man has always lived in a world of sounds and noise. Sound refers to such mechanical vibrations of the external environment that are perceived by the human hearing aid (from 16 to 20,000 vibrations per second). Vibrations of higher frequencies are called ultrasound, and vibrations of lower frequencies are called infrasound. Noise is loud sounds merged into a discordant sound.

Even in ancient times, the roar of the beast warned our ancestor of danger, the rustling of leaves, the murmur of a stream filled his soul with calm, and a warlike battle cry helped to intimidate the enemy. Of all living creatures, only man fully used the properties of the environment as a conductor, a carrier of sounds. He brought speech and music into the world of sounds and made sound his assistant. We tend to perceive natural sounds as silence. Unfortunately, modern man introduces a lot of noise into the soundscape. Noise has a special, negative effect on mental activity and can easily disrupt the natural flow of life. Modern noise discomfort causes painful reactions in living organisms. Transport or industrial noise has a depressing effect on a person - it tires, irritates, and interferes with concentration. As soon as it stops speaking, a person experiences a feeling of relief and peace.

For all living organisms, including humans, sound is one of the environmental influences.

The noise level is measured in units expressing the degree of sound pressure - decibels. This pressure is not perceived infinitely. A noise level of 20-30 decibels (DB) is practically harmless to humans; it is a natural background noise. As for loud sounds, the permissible limit here is approximately 80 decibels. A sound of 130 decibels already causes pain in a person, and 150 becomes unbearable for him. It is not for nothing that in the Middle Ages there was execution “by the bell.” The roar of the bells tormented and slowly killed the condemned man.

Currently, scientists in many countries around the world are conducting various studies to determine the effect of noise on human health. Their research showed that noise causes significant harm to human health, but absolute silence also frightens and depresses him. Thus, employees of one design bureau, which had excellent sound insulation, within a week began to complain about the impossibility of working in conditions of oppressive silence. They were nervous and lost their ability to work. And, conversely, scientists have found that sounds of a certain strength stimulate the thinking process, especially the counting process.

Each person perceives noise differently. Much depends on age, temperament, health, and environmental conditions.

Constant exposure to loud noise can not only negatively affect your hearing, but also cause other harmful effects - ringing in the ears, dizziness, headaches, and increased fatigue. Very noisy modern music also dulls hearing and causes nervous diseases.

Noise is insidious, its harmful effects on the body occur invisibly, imperceptibly. Disturbances in the human body due to noise become noticeable only over time.

Currently, doctors talk about noise disease, which develops as a result of exposure to noise.

Noise interferes with normal rest and recuperation, and disrupts sleep. Systematic lack of sleep and insomnia lead to severe nervous disorders. Therefore, great attention should be paid to protecting sleep from noise stimuli.

1.6 Weather and human well-being.

Several decades ago, it never occurred to almost anyone to connect their performance, their emotional state and well-being with the activity of the Sun, with the phases of the Moon, with magnetic storms and other cosmic phenomena.

In any natural phenomenon around us, there is a strict repeatability of processes: day and night, ebb and flow, winter and summer. Rhythm is observed not only in the movement of the Earth, Sun, Moon and stars, but is also an integral and universal property of living matter, a property that penetrates all life phenomena - from the molecular level to the level of the whole organism.

In the course of historical development, man has adapted to a certain rhythm of life, determined by rhythmic changes in the natural environment and the energy dynamics of metabolic processes.

Currently, many rhythmic processes in the body, called biorhythms, are known. These include the rhythms of the heart, breathing, and bioelectrical activity of the brain. Our whole life is a constant change of rest and active activity, sleep and wakefulness, fatigue from hard work and rest. In the body of every person, like the ebb and flow of the sea, a great rhythm eternally reigns, arising from the connection of life phenomena with the rhythm of the Universe and symbolizing the unity of the world.

The central place among all rhythmic processes is occupied by circadian rhythms, which are of greatest importance for the body. The body's response to any impact depends on the phase of the circadian rhythm, that is, on the time of day. This knowledge led to the development of new directions in medicine - chronodiagnostics, chronotherapy, chronopharmacology. They are based on the proposition that the same drug at different times of the day has different, sometimes directly opposite, effects on the body. Therefore, to obtain a greater effect, it is important to indicate not only the dose, but also the exact time of taking the medication.

Climate also has a serious impact on human well-being, influencing it through weather factors. Weather conditions include a complex of physical conditions: atmospheric pressure, humidity, air movement, oxygen concentration, the degree of disturbance of the Earth's magnetic field, and the level of atmospheric pollution.

With a sharp change in weather, physical and mental performance decreases, illnesses worsen, and the number of mistakes, accidents and even deaths increases.

Weather changes do not affect the well-being of different people in the same way. In a healthy person, when the weather changes, physiological processes in the body are timely adjusted to the changed environmental conditions. As a result, the protective reaction is enhanced and healthy people practically do not feel the negative influence of the weather.

2. Man in extreme natural conditions.

Extreme conditions are considered dangerous environmental conditions to which the body does not have proper adaptations. Man, like any other living organism, is adapted to life in certain conditions of temperature, light, humidity, gravity, radiation, altitude, etc. These properties were developed in him in the process of evolutionary development. When exposed to extreme conditions, a person can adapt to them to certain limits. For example, most people on Earth live at altitudes up to 3000 m above sea level. About 15 million people live at altitudes up to 4800. But at altitudes above 5500 m a person cannot live permanently. His health deteriorates sharply, diseases rapidly develop, which can lead to inevitable death if he does not return to normal living conditions. This is due to the very low partial pressure of inhaled and exhaled gases, a large difference in day and night temperatures, increased solar radiation, as well as a high density of high-energy heavy particles. The main problem for the human body in such conditions is the transfer of atmospheric oxygen to the cells. An example is mountain climbers - conquerors of high mountain peaks. They can conquer the eight-thousanders of the Himalayas only in oxygen masks and they can stay at such a height for no more than hours.

Another type of extreme conditions is humidity. High humidity is characteristic of tropical forests. Forest thickets allow almost no light to pass through, blocking the path of ultraviolet rays. It's hot and humid here, like in a greenhouse. The average temperature is +28C (fluctuations within 3-9C), the average relative humidity is 95% at night and 60-70% during the day. The winds in the forests are very weak. The air is saturated with carbon dioxide and full of odors, fumes, microscopic hairs, scales and fibers. The level of evaporation here is 3 times higher than the average for the planet as a whole. An example of adaptation to such extreme conditions is the size of people living in tropical forests. They are shorter and weigh less than those that live in open areas. Their average weight is 39.8 kg with a height of 144 cm. For residents of the savannah, these figures are 62.5 kg and 169 cm. Compared with representatives of other population groups, oxygen consumption during physical activity, lung capacity and heart rate are above average.

Temperature The environment is the most important and often limiting environmental factor and a type of extreme conditions that almost every person can experience during their lifetime. We live and feel comfortable in a rather narrow temperature range. In nature, the temperature is not constant and can fluctuate within a fairly wide range (+60.... - 60C).

Sharp temperature fluctuations - severe frosts or heat - have an adverse effect on people's health. However, there are many devices to combat cooling or overheating.

Take, for example, the extreme conditions of the North. The acclimatization of the Eskimos (and they still live in ice age conditions) is based on vasomotor-nervous regulation. Animals in the north adapt their bodies to reduced energy output. For some, this even causes the need for hibernation. People in the same circumstances react with increased energy output. This requires developing the ability to obtain enough food for oneself and also influences food choice. It should be as useful to a person as possible. Eskimo food would be inedible for us, since it must contain a large amount of pure fat. An ordinary dinner, for example, proceeds as follows: an Eskimo cuts off a long strip of raw subcutaneous fat, pushes as much as he can into his mouth, snatches off a portion with a knife near his lips, and politely passes the rest to the person sitting next to him. And in other cases in the Arctic, nothing is served except meat, and the only greenery among the Eskimos is the fermented contents of reindeer stomachs, which are digested lichens.

As the experience of polar expeditions of past and present years shows, not all of them were able to withstand the harsh conditions of the polar North (or Antarctica) and adapt to them.

Many died due to improperly selected food and equipment.

The frosts that broke out one winter in Western Europe led to catastrophic consequences and were accompanied by casualties. On those same days in Verkhoyansk (the pole of cold), at a temperature of -57C, schoolchildren aged 8-9 went to school, and herds of purebred domestic horses, accompanied by shepherds, grazed as usual.

Weightlessness- this is a relatively new type of extreme conditions that arose as a result of human exploration of outer space. Before man's first flight into space, some scientists argued that he would not be able to work in a state of weightlessness and, moreover, believed that the psyche of a normal person would not be able to withstand weightlessness. The flight of the first cosmonaut refuted these predictions. The manifestation of weightlessness begins to manifest itself with disruption of the vestibular apparatus, inner ear, vision, skin and muscle sensitivity. A person feels as if he is flying head down. Both the severity and duration of these symptoms vary from person to person. As the period of stay in weightlessness increases, they weaken, but, as a rule, reappear in the first hours and days after returning to Earth under conditions of earthly gravity. In weightlessness there is no hydrostatic pressure of the blood, and therefore the reactions caused by the weightlessness of the blood itself begin to take effect. A redistribution of blood occurs: from the lower part it rushes to the upper. This leads to shifts in the metabolism of the heart muscle and its gradual weakening. In addition, symptoms appear associated with a lack of load on the musculoskeletal system. Atrophy of the muscles responsible for organizing posture under the influence of gravity develops. Due to the loss of calcium and phosphorus salts, the strength of the skeleton changes, especially during long flights. Nevertheless, in conditions of weightlessness, a person can adapt to the absence of gravity and hydrostatic blood pressure.

3. Hardening and its effect on the body.

As you know, the human body must function harmoniously with the environment. But due to the gradual decrease in contact with nature over the centuries, our body has lost the abilities inherent in it previously. In order to regain these skills, people resort to hardening, which is known to be very useful for well-being.

Hardening is based on a gradual increase in the body's resistance to various environmental influences (cold, heat, low atmospheric pressure).

The physiological essence of hardening is the repeated exposure of the body to cooling, high temperature or successive high impacts, as well as exposure to sunlight or artificial ultraviolet radiation, resulting in an increased ability of the body to adapt to adverse external influences.
Hardening procedures affect all body systems, improving their functions by activating metabolic processes. However, it is important to remember that achieving a healing effect is possible with the correct hardening technique. Only the systematic use of hardening procedures at all times of the year, without interruptions and with a gradual increase in the dose of irritant action, will serve for the benefit of health.

Basic rules for hardening:

correct selection and dosage of hardening procedures individually for each person, taking into account age;

strict systematic hardening (should be carried out year-round, changing only the types and methods depending on weather conditions and seasons);

the use of weak cold influences when training resistance to cold (temperature fluctuations within 2-4 degrees);

carrying out hardening procedures against the background of positive emotions and complete physical health of a person.

Violation of these rules can lead to a decrease or absence of the positive effect of hardening, and sometimes to hyperactivation of the neuroendocrine system and its subsequent depletion. Hardening of the body can be achieved only by using a set of measures taking into account the age of people, their state of health and the degree of fitness of the body acquired as a result of previously performed hardening procedures. Hardening activities are divided into general and special.
General ones include: proper daily routine, balanced nutrition, physical education.

Special hardening procedures include:

air hardening (air baths);

sun hardening (sunbathing);

hardening with water (water procedures). .

3.1 Impact of natural factors.

Natural factors are widely used as hardening agents: air, water and sun. The body’s resistance should be developed to all natural factors.
Cold hardening. It is the most relevant, especially in the conditions of our country, since hypothermia often plays a major role in the occurrence of various respiratory diseases. In an unhardened person, when exposed to cold air, the vessels of the nasal mucosa dilate, which leads to a runny nose. In a hardened person, a different type of reflex reaction of blood vessels to cold is observed. In his body, thermoregulation processes occur more intensively, which improves overall blood flow and ensures increased resistance of the body to various diseases. With regular hardening, some thickening of the stratum corneum of the skin occurs, which also contributes to better thermal insulation. Hardening the body to cold can be done by exposure to air and sun (sun and air baths), as well as water (water procedures include bathing, dousing, showering, rubbing, etc.), and hardening with water procedures is considered the most effective .

Heat hardening . It is important for people forced to live in hot climates, as well as for workers in hot shops, etc. Prolonged exposure to heat on an unhardened body can cause it to overheat. When hardening to heat, the separation of sweat increases, which increases heat transfer and ensures normal human performance in conditions of elevated ambient temperatures.

Hardening under reduced atmospheric pressure. Most often, staying in the mountains and mountaineering are recommended for this. A person located at different altitudes, starting with a lower one, gradually accustoms the body to a decrease in atmospheric pressure.

It must be remembered that when selecting the type and mode of hardening, the doctor is guided by the state of the person’s health, his age and the presence of individual characteristics of the body. If a person gets sick, then hardening is stopped, and after recovery they start from the very beginning.
The natural ability of a person to adapt to changes in the environment, and above all temperature, is preserved only with constant training. Under the influence of heat or cold, various physiological changes occur in the body. Here there is an increase in the activity of the central nervous system, and an increase in the activity of the endocrine glands, and an increase in the activity of cellular enzymes, and an increase in the protective properties of the body. A person’s resistance to the action of other factors, for example, lack of oxygen in the surrounding air, increases, and overall physical endurance increases.

3.2 Types of hardening.

Various means of hardening the body can be used not only for preventive, but also for therapeutic purposes.
Let's consider the main types and methods of hardening(by increasing the degree of impact on the body) such as:

1) air hardening;

2) sunbathing;

3) water procedures (swimming in natural reservoirs, pools or sea water);

4) rubbing with snow;

5) walking barefoot;

6) winter swimming.

3.2.1 Air hardening.

Air baths are available to people at any time of the year and in any conditions. Fresh cold air, when exposed to a partially or completely naked human body, irritates the nerve endings in the skin, which reflexively promotes better oxygen saturation, enhances skin respiration and trains the thermoregulation system. At the same time, the body's metabolic rate increases, sleep and appetite improve.
The positive effect of air baths depends on temperature, air humidity, cleanliness and ionization of the atmosphere.

Air hardening begins at a temperature of 18-20 degrees. Initially, the duration of air procedures should be no more than 10-15 minutes, then daily it should be increased by 5-10 minutes, gradually increasing to 1.5-2 hours. At the same time, it is necessary to dress according to the weather. If the air temperature is below 10 degrees, then hardening must be combined with physical exercise. 9 After taking air baths, it is recommended to take a warm shower and vigorously rub the body.
Air baths, when used correctly, improve blood circulation and metabolism, promote the development of resistance to acute respiratory diseases, and increase the tone of the nervous system. However, the duration of the air bath is determined by the body's reaction. The appearance of goose bumps, chills or trembling indicates an excessive duration of the bath and is a signal to stop it.
Under unfavorable weather conditions (rain, fog, high or low atmospheric pressure, strong wind), taking air baths is not recommended.
Also, air hardening should not be carried out in acute diseases with increased body temperature, acute neuritis or myositis, as well as in case of exacerbation of chronic joint diseases (arthritis, arthrosis) and rheumatism.
3.2.2 Sunbathing.

Ultraviolet rays, which are completely absorbed by the skin, have the most active effect on the body and, when used correctly, are most beneficial for it. Ultraviolet rays have a complex biological effect on the body, improve metabolism, stimulate the activity of the nervous and endocrine systems, and promote the production of vitamin D in the body.

Sunbathing for the purpose of hardening should be taken wisely, otherwise, instead of benefit, it can cause harm, cause burns, overheating, sunstroke, and overexcitation of the nervous system. It is necessary to take them in a particularly strict dosage on the beach (depending on age, gender, health status, degree of resistance to ultraviolet rays). It is best to sunbathe in the morning from 9 to 12, and in the south from 16 to 19 hours. In this case, a person needs to periodically change his position so that the sun's rays affect all parts of the body evenly.
The duration of the procedure on the first day should not exceed 10 minutes. Then it is gradually recommended to increase the amount of time spent in the sun by 5-10 minutes, eventually bringing it to 2 hours. After sunbathing, it is advisable to swim or take a shower. After swimming, sunbathing is not recommended.

It must be remembered that sunbathing should not be taken in case of acute diseases or exacerbations of chronic diseases.

Precautions against heat and sunstroke:

It is not advisable to take a bath on an empty stomach, or immediately after eating;

the head must be covered with a hat, Panama hat or umbrella;

It is better to protect your eyes with special dark sunglasses;

It is better to take a bath in the first half of the day, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.;

Be sure to use sunscreen lotion or cream; children are not recommended to immediately undress completely. First, the child should be allowed to walk around in the heat in shorts and a T-shirt and only then, after 10-15 minutes, take off the T-shirt. We should not forget that the child’s head must be covered with a hat;

It is advisable for older people to sunbathe for no more than 20-30 minutes, preferably in the shade, before 11 a.m. or after 4-5 p.m.
You should not get overly involved in sunbathing. Excessive sun exposure can cause heat stroke or sunstroke, increased body temperature, headaches, fatigue and irritability.

3.2.3 Water procedures.

Water procedures as a hardening agent act most effectively and quickly. Water differs in these qualities because it has good thermal conductivity (28 times the thermal conductivity of air) and a mechanical action that causes greater thermal irritation than air of the same temperature. Thermal irritation of skin receptors caused by water affects the entire body and, above all, the circulatory system, tissue respiration, and the nervous system.
Swimming in open water is a valuable hardening method. You can swim both in the pool and in open bodies of water (pond, lake, river, sea). At the same time, the body is affected not only by the temperature, but also by the mechanical factor of water, and when swimming in an open body of water - also by the sun and air. In addition, sea water has a beneficial effect on the body due to the rich range of dissolved mineral salts it contains.
In addition to the hardening effect, bathing increases the intensity of metabolism, trains the cardiovascular and nervous systems.
The swimming and swimming season begins in early spring at a water temperature of at least 18 °C. The best time for swimming is morning and evening hours, no earlier than 1-2 hours after eating. Thanks to gradual training, you can swim and swim in water with a temperature below 5-10 ° C.
You should pay attention to the fact that you should not swim in open water if you have an elevated body temperature, with acute and infectious diseases, with certain diseases of the heart and blood vessels, as well as if the body is prone to bleeding.

Rules for swimming .

1) before you start swimming, you should bask a little in the sun, you can do several physical exercises for 5-10 minutes;
2) the most favorable time for swimming in an open reservoir is before 12 noon and after 16 pm. It is important to remember that you should not swim immediately after eating. It is better to do this 1-2 hours after eating;
3) it is better to enter the water, especially cool water, gradually, so that the body has time to get used to the temperature of the water;

5) after swimming you should dry yourself with a clean towel. Air drying is not recommended;

6) children, especially small ones, must bathe in the presence of adults, and it is unacceptable to leave the child alone even for a minute.
When swimming in open water, safety precautions should be followed to prevent drowning. In particular, you should not swim, much less dive in an unfamiliar place or in places not intended for swimming.

3.2.4 Snow baths.

Snow baths are performed in calm, snowy weather to increase the body's resistance to the effects of cold.
Before performing them, it is recommended to perform the above dynamic exercises for the arms, legs and spine.
Procedure for snow bathing:

1) remove clothes from the upper body;

2) grab a handful of snow and rub it on your face and neck.

Then pick up snow in your palms again and rub your chest and stomach. Rub the snow over your shoulders and finally your arms in exactly the same way. The total duration of rubbing with snow is 10-15 s. Gradually, over the course of 12 lessons, it is brought up to 20-30 s.

3.2.5 Walking barefoot. Good hardening effect. Take off your shoes at the beach, at the dacha, when walking in the forest, etc. You can walk barefoot at home on carpet or parquet, but you need to get used to it gradually, starting from a few minutes. First, walk on the floor in socks and, only after you get used to it, slowly move on to walking barefoot.

3.2.6 Winter swimming.

This is swimming in an open reservoir in winter. In terms of the degree of impact on the body, it is the most powerful hardening procedure.
You can start winter swimming only after preliminary intensive hardening with cold for a long time. Before the procedure, consultation with a doctor is necessary, since when swimming in water with a temperature below +5 ° C, significant energy expenditure occurs in the human body, body temperature decreases, heart rate and respiratory movements increase, and blood pressure increases. It is not recommended to start winter swimming after the age of 50.

You need to start the procedure by staying in ice water for 20-30 seconds, then gradually increase the duration of bathing to 1 minute. Spending more than the specified time in water is not recommended. At the same time, you should be in the cold air undressed as little as possible. In winter, you can swim no more than 2-3 times a week.

Winter swimming cannot be performed in case of certain diseases of the cardiovascular system and respiratory system (hypertension, atherosclerosis, bronchial asthma, chronic pneumonia, etc.), as well as for children under 18 years of age.

The most important thing is to start hardening at an early age, when the body is in the formative stage and immunobiological defense mechanisms are developing.

For complete hardening, it is necessary to use a set of hardening procedures, taking into account the individual characteristics of the body. Such as age, health, preparedness.

Hardening is carried out only as a result of long-term systematic training effects of physical factors on the body. Only then can you achieve the desired results.

Conclusion

The topic seemed very interesting to me, because changes in the human body directly depend on the environment and ecology. Currently, a significant part of human diseases are associated with the deterioration of the ecological situation in our environment: pollution of the atmosphere, water, soil, and increased noise.

Humans, like other types of living organisms, are capable of adapting, that is, adapting to environmental conditions, but our ability to do this has certain limits. Also, the ability to restore one’s physical and mental strength is not endless for a person. The protective forces of each person are initially the same, but they are hidden in the body. They need to be removed with the help of long-term training, and one of the unique trainings for the body is hardening; if they (training) are systematic, protective forces become in the way of almost all diseases.

And I want to believe that our descendants will not be as exposed to negative environmental factors as they are now. A person's health is in his hands. However, we still do not realize the importance and globality of the problem that humanity faces regarding environmental protection. All over the world, people strive to minimize environmental pollution; also in the Russian Federation, for example, a criminal code has been adopted, one of the chapters of which is devoted to establishing punishment for environmental crimes. But, of course, not all ways to overcome this problem have been solved and we should take care of the environment ourselves and maintain the natural balance in which humans are able to exist normally.

Bibliography

Life safety / Under general. Ed. S. V. Belova. – M.: Higher. school, 2000.

Gorelov A. A. Concepts of modern natural science. – M.: AST Publishing House LLC, 2004.

Grushevitskaya T. G. Concept of modern natural science. – M.: Higher. school, 2001.

Dubrovsky V.I. Valeology. Healthy lifestyle. 2001

Magazine "The Art of Living" / Sports, diet, beauty / Health - 2010.

Magazine "Fundamentals of a Healthy Lifestyle" Hardening procedures. 2010. - No. 4

Kovalenko T. G. Fundamentals of theoretical knowledge of physical education. – Volgograd: VolGU Publishing House, 2002.

Mazurkevich E. Man and the world around him // OBZh. – 2004. - No. 7.

Website www.vitaminov.net. The main rules of hardening.

Website www.gigiena-center.ru Hardening the body.

Website www.zdorovih.net Hardening and its types.

chemical pollution of the environment and human health;

biological pollution and human diseases;

the influence of sounds on humans;

weather and human well-being;

nutrition and human health;

landscape as a health factor;

problems of human adaptation to the environment.

CHEMICAL POLLUTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH.

Currently, human economic activity is increasingly becoming the main source of pollution of the biosphere. Gaseous, liquid and solid industrial wastes are entering the natural environment in increasing quantities. Various chemicals contained in waste, entering the soil, air or water, pass through ecological links from one chain to another, ultimately ending up in the human body.

It is almost impossible to find a place on the globe where pollutants are not present in varying concentrations. Even in the ice of Antarctica, where there are no industrial productions and people live only at small scientific stations, scientists have discovered various toxic (poisonous) substances from modern industries. They are brought here by atmospheric currents from other continents. Substances that pollute the natural environment are very diverse. Depending on their nature, concentration, and time of action on the human body, they can cause various adverse effects. Short-term exposure to small concentrations of such substances can cause dizziness, nausea, sore throat, and cough. The entry of large concentrations of toxic substances into the human body can lead to loss of consciousness, acute poisoning and even death. An example of such an action could be smog that forms in large cities in calm weather, or emergency releases of toxic substances into the atmosphere by industrial enterprises.

The body's reactions to pollution depend on individual characteristics: age, gender, health status. As a rule, children, elderly and sick people are more vulnerable.

When the body systematically or periodically receives relatively small amounts of toxic substances, chronic poisoning occurs.

Signs of chronic poisoning are a violation of normal behavior, habits, as well as neuropsychological abnormalities: rapid fatigue or a feeling of constant fatigue, drowsiness or, conversely, insomnia, apathy, decreased attention, absent-mindedness, forgetfulness, severe mood swings.

In chronic poisoning, the same substances in different people can cause different damage to the kidneys, hematopoietic organs, nervous system, and liver.

Similar signs are observed during radioactive contamination of the environment.

Thus, in areas exposed to radioactive contamination as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, the incidence among the population

especially children, has increased many times.

BIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATIONS AND HUMAN DISEASES

In addition to chemical pollutants, there are also biological pollutants in the natural environment that cause various diseases in humans. These are pathogenic microorganisms, viruses, helminths, and protozoa. They can be found in the atmosphere, water, soil, and in the body of other living organisms, including the person himself.

The most dangerous pathogens are infectious diseases. They have different stability in the environment. Some are able to live outside the human body for only a few hours; being in the air, in water, on various objects, they quickly die. Others can live in the environment from a few days to several years. For others, the environment is their natural habitat. For others, other organisms, such as wild animals, provide a place for conservation and reproduction.

Often the source of infection is the soil, in which pathogens of tetanus, botulism, gas gangrene, and some fungal diseases constantly live. They can enter the human body if the skin is damaged, with unwashed food, or if hygiene rules are violated.

Pathogenic microorganisms can penetrate groundwater and cause infectious diseases in humans. Therefore, water from artesian wells, wells, and springs must be boiled before drinking.

Open water sources are especially polluted: rivers, lakes, ponds. There are numerous cases where contaminated water sources have caused epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery.

In airborne infection, infection occurs through the respiratory tract by inhaling air containing pathogens.

Such diseases include influenza, whooping cough, mumps, diphtheria, measles and others. The causative agents of these diseases get into the air when sick people cough, sneeze, and even when talking.

A special group consists of infectious diseases transmitted through close contact with a patient or through the use of his things, for example, a towel, handkerchief, personal hygiene items and others that were used by the patient. These include sexually transmitted diseases (AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea), trachoma, anthrax, and scab. Man, invading nature, often violates the natural conditions for the existence of pathogenic organisms and becomes a victim of natural eye diseases.

People and domestic animals can become infected with natural outbreak diseases when they enter the territory of a natural outbreak. Such diseases include plague, tularemia, typhus, tick-borne encephalitis, malaria, and sleeping sickness.

Other routes of infection are also possible. Thus, in some hot countries, as well as in a number of regions of our country, the infectious disease leptospirosis, or water fever, occurs. In our country, the causative agent of this disease lives in the organisms of common voles, which are widespread in meadows near rivers. The disease leptospirosis is seasonal, more common during heavy rains and hot months (July - August).

INFLUENCE OF SOUND ON PERSON

For all living organisms, including humans, sound is one of the environmental influences.

In nature, loud sounds are rare, the noise is relatively weak and short-lived. The combination of sound stimuli gives animals and humans the time necessary to assess their character and formulate a response. Sounds and noises of high power affect the hearing aid, nerve centers, and can cause pain and shock. This is how noise pollution works.

The quiet rustling of leaves, the murmur of a stream, bird voices, the light splash of water and the sound of the surf are always pleasant to a person. They calm him down and relieve stress. But the natural sounds of the voices of Nature are becoming increasingly rare, disappearing completely or are drowned out by industrial transport and other noise.

Long-term noise adversely affects the hearing organ, reducing sensitivity to sound.

The level of industrial noise is also very high. In many jobs and noisy industries it reaches 90-110 decibels or more. It’s not much quieter in our home, where new sources of noise are appearing - the so-called household appliances.

Each person perceives noise differently. Much depends on age, temperament, health, and environmental conditions.

Noise is insidious, its harmful effects on the body occur invisibly, imperceptibly. Disorders in the human body are practically defenseless against noise.

Currently, doctors are talking about noise disease, which develops as a result of exposure to noise with primary damage to the hearing and nervous system.

WEATHER AND HUMAN WELL-BEING

In the course of historical development, man has adapted to a certain rhythm of life, determined by rhythmic changes in the natural environment and the energy dynamics of metabolic processes.

With a sharp change in weather, physical and mental performance decreases, illnesses worsen, and the number of mistakes, accidents and even deaths increases.

Most of the physical factors of the external environment, in interaction with which the human body has evolved, are of an electromagnetic nature.

It is well known that near fast-flowing water the air is refreshing and invigorating. It contains many negative ions. For the same reason, we find the air clean and refreshing after a thunderstorm.

On the contrary, the air in cramped rooms with an abundance of various kinds of electromagnetic devices is saturated with positive ions. Even a relatively short stay in such a room leads to lethargy, drowsiness, dizziness and headaches.

NUTRITION AND HUMAN HEALTH

Each of us knows that food is necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

Throughout life, the human body continuously undergoes metabolism and energy. The source of the building materials and energy necessary for the body are nutrients coming from the external environment, mainly with food. If food does not enter the body, a person feels hungry. But hunger, unfortunately, will not tell you what nutrients and in what quantities a person needs. We often eat what is tasty, what can be prepared quickly, and do not really think about the usefulness and good quality of the products we eat.

Doctors say that nutritious nutrition is an important condition for maintaining the health and high performance of adults, and for children it is also a necessary condition for growth and development.

For normal growth, development and maintenance of vital functions, the body needs proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and mineral salts in the quantities it needs.

Poor nutrition is one of the main causes of cardiovascular diseases, diseases of the digestive system, and diseases associated with metabolic disorders.

Regular overeating and consumption of excess carbohydrates and fats are the cause of the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

They cause damage to the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive and other systems, sharply reduce ability to work and resistance to diseases, reducing life expectancy by an average of 8-10 years.

Rational nutrition is the most important indispensable condition for the prevention of not only metabolic diseases, but also many others.

The nutritional factor plays an important role not only in the prevention, but also in the treatment of many diseases. Specially organized nutrition, the so-called therapeutic nutrition, is a prerequisite for the treatment of many diseases, including metabolic and gastrointestinal diseases.

Medicinal substances of synthetic origin, unlike food substances, are foreign to the body. Many of them can cause adverse reactions, such as allergies, so when treating patients, preference should be given to the nutritional factor.

In products, many biologically active substances are found in equal and sometimes higher concentrations than in the drugs used. That is why, since ancient times, many products, primarily vegetables, fruits, seeds, and herbs, have been used in the treatment of various diseases.

Many food products have bactericidal effects, inhibiting the growth and development of various microorganisms. Thus, apple juice delays the development of staphylococcus, pomegranate juice suppresses the growth of salmonella, cranberry juice is active against various intestinal, putrefactive and other microorganisms. Everyone knows the antimicrobial properties of onions, garlic and other products. Unfortunately, this entire rich therapeutic arsenal is not often used in practice.

But now a new danger has appeared - chemical contamination of food. A new concept has also appeared - environmentally friendly products.

Obviously, each of us had to buy large, beautiful vegetables and fruits in stores, but, unfortunately, in most cases, after trying them, we found out that they were watery and did not meet our taste requirements. This situation occurs if crops are grown using large amounts of fertilizers and pesticides. Such agricultural products can not only have poor taste, but also be hazardous to health.

Nitrogen is an integral part of compounds vital for plants, as well as for animal organisms, such as proteins.

In plants, nitrogen comes from the soil, and then through food and feed crops it enters the bodies of animals and humans. Nowadays, agricultural crops almost completely obtain mineral nitrogen from chemical fertilizers, since some organic fertilizers are not enough for nitrogen-depleted soils. However, unlike organic fertilizers, chemical fertilizers do not freely release nutrients under natural conditions.

The negative effect of fertilizers and pesticides is especially pronounced when growing vegetables in closed ground. This happens because in greenhouses, harmful substances cannot evaporate freely and be carried away by air currents. After evaporation, they settle on plants.

Plants are capable of accumulating almost all harmful substances. This is why agricultural products grown near industrial enterprises and major highways are especially dangerous.

LANDSCAPE AS A HEALTH FACTOR

A person always strives to go to the forest, to the mountains, to the shore of the sea, river or lake. Here he feels a surge of strength and vigor. No wonder they say that it is best to relax in the lap of nature. Sanatoriums and holiday homes are being built in the most beautiful corners. This is not an accident. It turns out that the surrounding landscape can have different effects on the psycho-emotional state. Contemplation of the beauty of nature stimulates vitality and calms the nervous system. Plant biocenoses, especially forests, have a strong healing effect.

The attraction to natural landscapes is especially strong among city residents. Back in the Middle Ages, it was noticed that the life expectancy of city dwellers was shorter than that of rural residents. The lack of greenery, narrow streets, small courtyards, where sunlight practically did not penetrate, created unfavorable conditions for human life. With the development of industrial production, a huge amount of waste has appeared in the city and its surroundings, polluting the environment.

Various factors associated with the growth of cities, to one degree or another, affect the formation of a person and his health. This forces scientists to increasingly study the influence of the environment on city residents. It turns out that the person’s mood and ability to work depend on the conditions in which a person lives, the height of the ceilings in his apartment and how sound-permeable its walls are, how a person gets to his place of work, who he interacts with on a daily basis, and how the people around him treat each other. , activity is his whole life.

Polluted air in the city, poisoning the blood with carbon monoxide, causes the same harm to a non-smoker as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day by a smoker. A serious negative factor in modern cities is the so-called noise pollution.

Considering the ability of green spaces to favorably influence the state of the environment, they need to be brought as close as possible to the place where people live, work, study and relax.

A special place around industrial enterprises and highways should be occupied by protective green zones, in which it is recommended to plant trees and shrubs that are resistant to pollution.

In the placement of green spaces, it is necessary to observe the principle of uniformity and continuity to ensure the flow of fresh country air into all residential areas of the city. The most important components of the city’s greening system are plantings in residential neighborhoods, on the sites of child care institutions, schools, sports complexes, etc.

The urban landscape should not be a monotonous stone desert. In city architecture, one should strive for a harmonious combination of social (buildings, roads, transport, communications) and biological aspects (green areas, parks, public gardens).

PROBLEMS OF HUMAN ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT

In the history of our planet (from the day of its formation to the present), grandiose processes on a planetary scale have continuously occurred and are occurring, transforming the face of the Earth. With the advent of a powerful factor - the human mind - a qualitatively new stage in the evolution of the organic world began. Due to the global nature of human interaction with the environment, it becomes the largest geological force.

Human production activity influences not only the direction of evolution of the biosphere, but also determines its own biological evolution.

Humans, like other types of living organisms, are capable of adapting, that is, adapting to environmental conditions. Human adaptation to new natural and industrial conditions can be characterized as

a set of socio-biological properties and characteristics necessary for the sustainable existence of an organism in a specific ecological environment.

Each person's life can be considered as a constant adaptation, but our ability to do this has certain limits. Also, the ability to restore one’s physical and mental strength is not endless for a person.

Currently, a significant part of human diseases are associated with the deterioration of the ecological situation in our environment: pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, poor-quality food, and increased noise.

Adapting to unfavorable environmental conditions, the human body experiences a state of tension and fatigue. Tension is the mobilization of all mechanisms that ensure certain activities of the human body

When a healthy person gets tired, a redistribution of possible reserve functions of the body can occur, and after rest, strength will reappear. Humans are capable of withstanding the harshest natural conditions for relatively long periods of time. However, a person who is not accustomed to these conditions, who finds himself in them for the first time, turns out to be much less adapted to life in an unfamiliar environment than its permanent inhabitants.

The ability to adapt to new conditions varies from person to person. Thus, many people, during long-distance flights with rapid crossing of several time zones, as well as during shift work, experience such unfavorable symptoms as sleep disturbances and decreased performance. Others adapt quickly.

Among people, two extreme adaptive types of people can be distinguished. The first of them is a sprinter, characterized by high resistance to short-term extreme factors and poor tolerance to long-term loads. The reverse type is a stayer. It is interesting that in the northern regions of the country, people of the “stayer” type predominate among the population, which was apparently the result of long-term processes of formation of a population adapted to local conditions.

The study of human adaptive capabilities and the development of appropriate recommendations is currently of great practical importance.

People tend to attribute their illnesses to radiation and the harmful effects of other environmental pollutants. However, the impact of ecology on human health in Russia today is only 25–50% of the totality of all influencing factors. And only in 30–40 years, according to expert forecasts, the dependence of the physical condition and well-being of Russian citizens on the environment will increase to 50–70%.

The lifestyle that they lead has the greatest impact on the health of Russians (50%). Among the components of this factor:

nature of nutrition,

good and bad habits,

physical activity,

neuropsychic state (stress, depression, etc.).

In second place in terms of influence on human health is such a factor as ecology (25%), on the third - heredity, which is as much as 20%. The remaining 5% comes from medicine. However, there are cases when the effects of several of these 4 factors influencing human health at once overlap each other.

The first example: medicine is practically powerless when it comes to environmentally-related diseases. In Russia there are only a few hundred doctors specializing in diseases of chemical etiology - they will not be able to help all those affected by environmental pollution. As for ecology as a factor influencing human health, when assessing the degree of its influence it is important to take into account the scale of environmental pollution:

global environmental pollution is a disaster for the entire human society, but for one individual it does not pose a particular danger;

regional environmental pollution is a disaster for residents of the region, but in most cases it is not very dangerous for the health of one particular person;

local environmental pollution poses a serious danger both to the health of the population of a particular city/region as a whole, and to each individual resident of this area. Following this logic, it is easy to determine that the dependence of a person’s health on the air pollution of the specific street on which he lives is even higher than on the pollution of the area as a whole. However, the greatest impact on human health influences the ecology of his home and work area. After all, we spend approximately 80% of our time in buildings. And indoor air, as a rule, is dry, it contains a significant concentration of chemical pollutants: in terms of the content of radioactive radon - 10 times (on the first floors and in basements - perhaps hundreds of times); in terms of aeroion composition - 5–10 times.

Thus, it is extremely important for human health:

what floor does he live on (on the first floor there is a higher probability of exposure to radioactive radon),

what material is his house built from (natural or artificial),

what kind of kitchen stove does he use (gas or electric),

what the floor in his apartment/house is covered with (linoleum, carpets or a less harmful material);

what the furniture is made of (SP-contains phenols);

whether there are indoor plants in the home, and in what quantity.

Atmospheric air is one of the main vital elements of our environment. During the day, a person inhales about 12-15 m3 of oxygen and emits approximately 580 liters of carbon dioxide.

Children living near powerful power plants that are not equipped with dust collectors show changes in the lungs similar to forms of silicosis. Dust containing silicon oxides causes a serious pulmonary disease - silicosis. Heavy air pollution with smoke and soot, which continues for several days, can cause fatal poisoning. Air pollution has a particularly detrimental effect on humans in cases where meteorological conditions contribute to air stagnation over the city.

Harmful substances contained in the atmosphere affect the human body upon contact with the surface of the skin or mucous membrane. This happens when a sweaty person (with open pores) walks along a polluted and dusty street in the summer. If, upon reaching home, he does not immediately take a warm (not hot!) shower, harmful substances have a chance to penetrate deep into his body.

Along with the respiratory system, pollutants affect the organs of vision and smell, and by affecting the mucous membrane of the larynx, they can cause spasms of the vocal cords. Inhaled solid and liquid particles measuring 0.6-1.0 microns reach the alveoli and are absorbed in the blood, some accumulate in the lymph nodes.

Polluted air mostly irritates the respiratory tract, causing bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma. The irritants that cause these diseases include SO2 and SO3, nitrogen vapors, HCl, HNO3, H2SO4, H2S, phosphorus and its compounds. Research conducted in the UK has shown a very close connection between air pollution and mortality from bronchitis.

It can be concluded that the largest amount of pollutants enters the human body through the lungs. Indeed, most researchers confirm that more harmful substances enter the human body every day from 15 kg of inhaled air than from water, food, dirty hands, or through the skin. At the same time, the inhalation route of entry of pollutants into the body is also the most dangerous. Due to the fact that:

the air is polluted by a wide range of harmful substances, some of which can enhance the harmful effects of each other;

pollution entering the body through the respiratory tract bypasses such a protective biochemical barrier as the liver - as a result, their toxic effect is 100 times stronger than the influence of pollutants penetrating through the gastrointestinal tract;

the absorption of harmful substances entering the body through the lungs is much higher than that of pollutants that enter with food and water;

It’s hard to hide from atmospheric pollutants: they affect human health 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The main causes of death caused by air pollution are cancer, congenital pathologies, and disruption of the immune system of the human body.

Inhaling air containing combustion products (thin diesel exhaust), even for a short time, for example, increases the risk of coronary heart disease.

Industrial plants and vehicles emit black smoke and greenish-yellow dioxide, which increase the risk of early death. Even relatively low concentrations of these substances in the atmosphere cause from 4 to 22 percent of deaths before the age of forty.

Exhausts from motor vehicles, as well as emissions from coal-burning enterprises, saturate the air with tiny particles of pollution that can cause increased blood clotting and the formation of blood clots in the human circulatory system. Polluted air also leads to increased pressure. This is because air pollution causes changes in the part of the nervous system that controls blood pressure levels. Air pollution in major cities accounts for approximately five percent of hospitalizations.

Large industrial cities are often covered by thick fog - smog. This is very strong air pollution, which is a thick fog with impurities of smoke and gas waste or a veil of caustic gases and aerosols of high concentration. This phenomenon is usually observed in calm weather. This is a very big problem in large cities, which negatively affects human health. Smog is especially dangerous for children and elderly people with weakened bodies, suffering from cardiovascular diseases and diseases of the respiratory system. The highest concentration of harmful substances in the surface air is observed in the morning; during the day, smog rises under the influence of rising air currents.

A very dangerous symptom for humanity is that air pollution increases the likelihood of having children with developmental defects. The prohibitive concentration of harmful substances in the atmosphere causes premature births, newborns have low weight, and sometimes stillborn children are born. If a pregnant woman breathes air containing high concentrations of ozone and carbon monoxide, especially in the second month of pregnancy, she has a threefold increase in the possibility of giving birth to a child with such malformations as a cleft lip, cleft palate, or cardiac defects. The future of humanity depends on clean air, water, and forests. Only the right attitude towards nature will allow future generations to be healthy and happy.

Human activity over the past 10 - 20 thousand years has manifested itself throughout almost the entire territory of the globe. But increasingly, any human activity is becoming the main source of environmental pollution.

Due to environmental pollution decrease in soil fertility, land degradation and desertification, death of flora and fauna, deterioration of air quality, superficial And groundwater. Taken together, this leads to disappearance from the face of the Earth whole ecosystems and species, deteriorating public health And decreasing human life expectancy.

About 85% of all diseases of modern man are associated with unfavorable environmental conditions that arise through his own fault. Not only is people’s health catastrophically deteriorating: previously unknown diseases have appeared, the causes of which can be very difficult to establish. Many diseases have become more difficult to cure than before. Therefore, the problem of “human health and the environment” is now very acute.

AIR

Have a negative impact on human health and the environment industrial enterprises located in the city near residential areas. It is known that the most “dirty” industries are located in the south of Kuzbass. These are enterprises of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, coal and ore mining and processing industries. All these national economic objects are powerful sources of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. About 1.5 million tons of hazardous industrial waste are released into the atmosphere of the region annually. A high level of air pollution is observed in 28 cities of Siberia, many of which are the most densely populated in the region: Krasnoyarsk, Bratsk, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Omsk, etc.
As a result of human economic activities, the presence of various solid and gaseous substances is noted in the atmosphere. Oxides of carbon, sulfur, nitrogen, hydrocarbons, lead compounds, dust, etc. entering the atmosphere. have various toxic effects on the human body.

Harmful substances contained in the atmosphere affect the human body upon contact with surface of the skin or mucous membrane. Along with the respiratory system, pollutants affect the organs of vision and smell. Polluted air mostly irritates the respiratory tract, causing bronchitis, asthma, and the general health of a person worsens: headaches, nausea, a feeling of weakness, decreased or lost ability to work. It has been established that industrial wastes such as chromium, nickel, beryllium, asbestos, and many pesticides cause cancer.

WATER

Has a negative impact on human health drinking water. Diseases transmitted through contaminated water cause deterioration in health conditions and the death of a huge number of people. Open water sources are especially polluted: rivers, lakes, ponds. There are quite a few cases where contaminated water sources have caused epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, and dysentery, which are transmitted to humans as a result of contamination of water basins with pathogenic microorganisms and viruses.
The quality of water in most Siberian rivers does not meet regulatory requirements, corresponding to the fourth quality class: “dirty”. The Ob, Irtysh, and Yenisei are polluted mainly by wastewater from large industrial enterprises and housing and communal services facilities, which contain petroleum products, phenols, nitrogen and copper compounds. The main source of water consumption for the population of Kuzbass is the waters of the Tom River basin. Below the city of Novokuznetsk the water of the river. Tom is a solution of reagents, which, according to experts, includes more than 370 types of harmful substances. In 1996, in Mexico, at a conference analyzing the water situation in the river basins of the countries and regions of the four largest continents of the world, the Tom River was officially noted as “the dirtiest river in Russia.” Studies have shown that the use of drinking water through water pipes leads the population to cardiovascular and renal pathologies, diseases of the liver, biliary tract and gastrointestinal tract.

THE SOIL

Sources of pollution soil serve agricultural and industrial enterprises, as well as residential buildings. At the same time, industrial and agricultural facilities release chemical(including very harmful to health: lead, mercury, arsenic and their compounds), as well as organic compounds. From the soil, harmful substances and pathogenic bacteria can penetrate into groundwater, which can be absorbed from the soil by plants, and then enter the human body through milk and meat. Diseases such as anthrax and tetanus are transmitted through soil.

Every year, the city accumulates in the surrounding areas about 3.5 million tons of solid and concentrated waste of approximately the following composition: ash and slag, solid residues from general sewerage, wood waste, municipal solid waste, construction waste, tires, paper, textiles, forming urban landfills. For dozens of years they accumulate waste and burn continuously, poisoning the air.
The level of industrial noise is very high, which in noisy industries reaches 90-110 decibels or more. Constant exposure to loud noise can lead to a decrease in hearing sensitivity, and cause other harmful consequences - ringing in the ears, dizziness, headaches, increased fatigue, decreased immunity, contributes to the development of hypertension, coronary heart disease and other diseases. Disturbances in the human body due to noise become noticeable only over time. Noise interferes with normal rest and recuperation, and disrupts sleep. Systematic lack of sleep and insomnia lead to severe nervous disorders. Therefore, great attention should be paid to protecting sleep from noise stimuli.

SOCIETY

For man the surrounding external environment is not only nature, but also society. Therefore, social conditions also affect the state of the body and its health. The family influences the development of character and the spiritual health of its members. In general, in the city, family members communicate little with each other, often meeting only for dinner, but even in these short hours, contacts between family members are suppressed by watching television. The daily routine of family members is one of the indicators of lifestyle. Violation of rest, sleep, and nutrition in the family leads to the development of a number of diseases in most family members: cardiovascular, neuropsychic, and metabolic disorders.

All these factors have a significant impact on the stability of the family, and, therefore, adversely affect the health of the population as a whole.

In cities, people come up with thousands of tricks to make their lives more convenient. Scientific and technological progress has significantly changed and improved human life, making it more comfortable. However, the implementation of some achievements of scientific and technological progress has not only yielded positive results, but at the same time brought a whole range of unfavorable factors: increased levels of radiation, toxic substances, flammable materials, noise. For example, saturation of the human environment and production with high-speed and high-speed machines increases stress and requires additional effort from a person, which leads to overwork.
Considering the ability of green spaces to favorably influence the state of the environment, they need to be brought as close as possible to the place where people live, work, study and relax. Therefore, the total area of green spaces in cities should occupy more than half of its territory.

All enterprises that are unfavorable from a sanitary point of view must be moved outside the cities.. Enterprises must organize processing plants. For many enterprises in Kuzbass today, the problem of storing used tires, which accumulate in large volumes and take up a lot of space, is an urgent problem.

Throughout his life, a person experiences influence of social factors. In relation to human health, individual factors may be indifferent, may have a beneficial effect, or may be harmful. Words, like other environmental factors (physical, chemical and biological), can be indifferent to human health, can have a beneficial effect, or can cause harm - even death (suicide).

Every person has the right to know about all the environmental changes occurring in the area where he lives and throughout the country, to know everything about the food he eats, about the state of the water he drinks, and also a person must be aware of the danger that threatens him and act accordingly. Health is a capital given to a person by nature initially, and once it is lost, it is difficult to get it back.

How the environment affects human health

Main factors:

Climate.
Air and water pollution from industrial enterprises.
Food quality.
Composition of atmospheric air.

The environment is the totality of everything that is around a person during his life. It consists of natural components, such as: earth, air, water, solar radiation, and man-made ones, which include all manifestations of human civilization. The health of the human body is directly or indirectly influenced by various properties and qualities of all environmental environmental factors. The editors of the website www.rasteniya-lecarstvennie.ru and I will talk about this, about the influence of environmental factors on human health, today.

Let's consider the most important of them:

1. Climatic factors

Weather conditions have an impact on a person’s well-being and normal performance. No one will argue with this in our time. For example, if the air temperature has dropped significantly, you need to protect the body from hypothermia. Without doing this, a person risks developing acute respiratory diseases.

Environmental factors such as: changes in atmospheric pressure, air humidity, electromagnetic field of the planet, precipitation in the form of rain or snow, movement of atmospheric fronts, cyclones, gusts of wind - lead to changes in well-being.

They can cause headaches, exacerbation of joint diseases, and changes in blood pressure. But weather changes have different effects on different people. If a person is healthy, then his body will quickly adjust to new climatic conditions and unpleasant sensations will bypass him. A sick or weakened human body has an impaired ability to quickly adjust to weather changes, so it suffers from general malaise and pain.

Conclusion - try to maintain your health at the proper level, respond to environmental changes in a timely manner, and climatic factors will not cause you discomfort. To acclimatize your body, do exercises every day, walk for an hour, and follow a daily routine.

2. Chemical and biological factors

Technogenic activity of people leads to an increase in emissions of production waste into the environment. Chemical compounds from waste enter the soil, air and water spaces, and then, through the consumption of contaminated food and water, and inhalation of air saturated with harmful elements, they enter the body. As a result, all human organs, including the brain, contain several milligrams of poisons that poison life. Exposure to toxic substances can cause nausea, coughing, and dizziness. If they are regularly ingested, chronic poisoning may develop. Its signs: fatigue, constant fatigue, insomnia or drowsiness, apathy, frequent mood swings, impaired attention, psychomotor reactions. If you suspect signs of chronic poisoning, you should undergo a medical examination and take action, and perhaps even change your place of residence if this threatens your life and health.

Eating food is one of the basic instincts of the body. The supply of nutrients necessary for normal life comes from the external environment. The health of the body largely depends on the quality and quantity of food. Medical studies have shown that for the optimal course of physiological processes, a necessary condition is a rational, nutritious diet. The body needs a certain amount of protein compounds, carbohydrates, fats, microelements and vitamins every day. In cases where nutrition is inadequate and irrational, conditions arise for the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system, digestive canals, and metabolic disorders.

For example, constant overeating of foods rich in carbohydrates and fats can cause obesity, diabetes, vascular and heart disease.

The consumption of genetically modified organisms and products containing increased concentrations of harmful substances leads to a deterioration in general health and the development of a wide range of diseases. But all this comes to a person precisely from the environment, so be careful when choosing food!

4. Air

The influence of environmental factors on human health The most important environmental factor that affects human health every second. Scientists have found that over the past few thousand years the composition of the air has changed. In particular, the amount of carbon dioxide in it is constantly decreasing. This process began from the moment vegetation appeared on earth. At the moment, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is only 0.03%. Human cells require 7% carbon dioxide and 2% oxygen for normal functioning.

Since there is no such amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is almost 250 times less than the norm, and the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere is 10 times more - 20%, then you need to increase the carbon dioxide content in the blood yourself using the Buteyko K.P. method. There is no other way. Indeed, over the past 30-40 years, the depth of human breathing has increased by 30%, the amount of carbon dioxide in the blood is negligible. The free pause for holding the breath has decreased. Hence the mass of new diseases.

Of course, this review is not complete at all, and about the influence of each of the listed and not listed environmental factors on humans, one could write a lot of volumes... but the scope of the information article, unfortunately, does not allow this. But the main thing is not this, the main thing is that as many people as possible are puzzled by these problems - which is what I hope for!

| The influence of an unfavorable environment on human health

Basics of life safety
6th grade

Lesson 31
The influence of an unfavorable environment on human health

Human health largely depends on the state of the natural environment. Clean water, fresh air and fertile soil - all this is necessary for people.

Environmental pollution has a negative impact on health. Polluted atmospheric air can become a source of harmful substances entering the body through the respiratory system. Contaminated water may contain pathogens and substances hazardous to health. Contaminated soil and groundwater degrade the quality of agricultural food products. Man has long considered the natural environment mainly as a source of raw materials (resources) necessary to satisfy his needs. At the same time, most of the resources taken from nature are returned to nature in the form of waste. The bulk of this waste and pollution is generated in cities.

Currently, more than half of the world's people live in cities (in the Russian Federation about 74%). Cities are not only places where people live, but also industrial centers that house large factories and factories that pollute the environment.

In cities, railroads and highways continuously transport goods and people. All types of transport heavily pollute the atmosphere with exhaust gases containing substances harmful to human health.

In every modern city, as a result of human activity, a lot of industrial and domestic waste is generated.

An unpleasant odor spreads over a long distance from landfills located near cities. A large number of flies, mice and rats breed in landfills, which are carriers of various pathogenic bacteria.

Human activity leads to constant pollution of the natural environment: atmospheric air, natural waters and soils.

Air pollution. In some cases, air pollution is caused by gaseous substances, in others - by the presence of suspended particles. Gaseous impurities include various compounds of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and hydrocarbons. The most common particulate matter is dust and soot particles.

The main sources of air pollution include enterprises of the fuel and energy complex, transport and industrial enterprises.

Water pollution. The main pollutants of natural waters are oil and oil products, which enter the water as a result of natural oil seeps in the areas of its occurrence, oil production, transportation, processing and use as fuel and industrial raw materials.

Pollution of the aquatic environment occurs when liquid flowing from agricultural and forest lands treated with chemicals enters water bodies, and when waste from enterprises is discharged into water bodies. All this worsens the sanitary and hygienic indicators of water quality.

Soil pollution. The main soil pollutants are metals and their compounds, radioactive elements, as well as fertilizers and pesticides (chemicals used to control weeds).

It is known that under the influence of the environment, inherited changes (mutations) can occur in the human body. Constant deterioration of the environment can ultimately lead to a decrease in the protective properties of the body, which will no longer resist various diseases.

Society is aware of the need to legislate human rights to a clean environment. Thus, the Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted in 1993, defines: “Everyone has the right to a favorable environment, reliable information about its condition and to compensation for damage to his health or property due to environmental violations.”

People all over the world are taking certain measures to reduce harmful industrial emissions into the environment, but this is not yet enough. Every person must take care of the natural environment and his own health. Caring for the environment begins with your own home, street, park, etc. It is necessary to change your consumer, aggressive attitude towards nature, replace it with concern for the preservation of all living things, and participate in the landscaping of your hometown or locality. How to increase the body's resistance to the adverse effects of the external environment?

Recently, substances that increase the body's resistance to harmful environmental influences have been actively studied. Such substances are vitamins A (retinol), E (topherol), C (ascorbic acid). All vitamins are absorbed most fully if they are consumed in combination.

Note that these vitamins and microelements necessary for the human body are contained in significant quantities in products of plant origin. We list the most accessible of them.

White cabbage contains a whole complex of vitamins, enzymes and microelements, which make it one of the most important products of therapeutic and dietary nutrition. Both fresh and sauerkraut are useful; when sauerkraut is sauerkraut, it retains a significant amount of vitamin C.

Carrots are a valuable food product. Carrots contain all the vitamins the body needs (B, B2, B6, C, E, K, PP). Daily consumption of fresh carrots significantly strengthens the body, increases its resistance to infectious diseases and adverse effects of the external environment.

Other vegetables you know also contain many health benefits: potatoes, onions, sweet peppers, beets, tomatoes, parsley. It has been established that vegetable oils (sunflower, corn, etc.) are rich in vitamin E. Vegetable salads and vinaigrettes seasoned with vegetable oil contain the entire complex of vitamins and microelements your body needs. Never give up fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as fresh salads. To maintain health, experts recommend that 2/3 of a person’s daily diet consist of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Test yourself

■ What impact does the natural environment have on human health?
■ Why, in your opinion, does environmental pollution occur? Justify your answer.
■ Why should every person protect and preserve the natural environment?
■ Is it possible to increase the human body’s resistance to adverse environmental factors?
■ Why is regularly eating fresh vegetables and fruits good for human health?

After lessons

Eating fresh vegetables and fruits is beneficial. Try to confirm this, based on the experience of organizing meals for your family and materials on the Internet and 8 various printed publications (books, magazines). Write your opinion in your safety diary.

In the empty cells of the table in the safety diary, write down what, in your opinion, industry, transport and landfills are poisoning the natural environment (air, water, soil). Use the knowledge gained from studying the paragraph and your own observations of environmental pollution in your region.