Under Pressure

Under Pressure / MP3

B dim / variations / B

lyrics

Have you ever had the pleasure,
Of being under pressure?
It just might be the cure,
Sound peculiar?

You'll feel in a happy way,
On a high pressure day,
But, low pressure,
Can depress for sure,
The lower the pressure,
The more, more, more.

If you go into space,
You'll need to find a place,
For your flesh and bones to stand,
Some place that feels,
Like your standing on land,
Or, your body reels,
Turning to a jelly lump...
You need the pressure to jump!

Some use pressure,
As a future cure  --
Acupressure,
Find your pressure points,
And, help strengthen your joints,
Help straighten your disjoints.

Put yourself under pressure,
It's not work... it's leisure,
It should,
Feel good.
NOTES

I have found that when I'm in a high-pressure weather system my body is happier than when I'm in a low-pressure system. There are likely several reasons for this. Though I can find no scientific studies on the matter, I have several theories on why this might be the case. If you've ever had a mercury barometer, you'd have noticed that on high-pressure days the mercury rises higher. The same effect takes place in your body (making it easier to circulate blood to the higher places inside of you, like your heart and brain.) Here are some other forms of using pressure:

From The Acupressure Institute
What is Acupressure?
Acupressure is an ancient healing art developed in Asia over 5,000 years ago that uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body's natural self-curative abilities. When these points are pressed, they release muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood and the body's life force energy to aid healing. Acupuncture and acupressure use the same points, but acupuncture employs needles, while acupressure uses gentle but firm pressure.

From Health24
Organs drifting in space
In zero gravity, the organs of the body are weightless. As the chest expands due to less pressure on it, the organs shift and float in the abdominal cavity.

Cosmonauts who spend some time in space, experience the following:

Fluid loss
Due to the lack of gravity, the body's fluids do not concentrate in the lower half of the body, but shift to the head and chest area. This is why cosmonauts' faces puff up while their legs shrink.

The fluid shift also causes the body to eliminate what it thinks is an overabundance of fluid by increasing its urine output. That's why cosmonauts who spend a number of days in space (such as Shuttleworth in 2002), wear a type of nappy during lift-off to store the urine until it can be removed to the shuttle's waste system later on.

The blood
Because the overall fluid level in the body decreases, blood volume also decreases. The body starts reducing its output of red and white blood cells to compensate.

Although this change will not really affect the cosmonauts in space, they will feel the effects when they return to earth.

The heart
The shift of blood and fluid to the chest causes the heart to pump harder. The heart starts to enlarge to handle this extra blood.

Cosmonauts have to adhere to strict physical fitness training programmes. This is maintained in space. They spend at least two hours a day exercising to prevent loss of heart function.

Space sickness
In space, there is no up or down. The body becomes confused and cannot tell its orientation or even where the arms and legs are. These changes cause a feeling similar to that of seasickness. Cosmonauts often suffer from nausea, headaches and loss of appetite, and struggle to maintain an efficient work rate aboard the space vehicle.

Bones and skeleton
Weakening of the skeleton is one of the most serious effects of space travel. The bones lose so much density - similar to that of accelerated osteoporosis - that the risk of fracture is five times greater.

Travelers who are in space for an extended period of time, can lose up to one percent of bone mass a month. A trip between three and six months can cause bone loss that can take between three to six years to replace. Some researchers believe that the bone density can never fully be recovered.

Exercise is the best way to prevent bone loss, but this can be difficult in space. Cosmonauts have to be strapped to equipment, otherwise they might go bouncing off against the walls of the shuttle.

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