The most important physiological need of a person is. Concept of health

Motivation as a system of processes responsible for inducing activity requires a concept that would structure this system. As such a concept, need is distinguished as a “unit” of motivation (A.N. Leontyev). Need is a state of the organism that expresses its objective need for a supplement that lies outside of it. Need here is related to the concept of need. From the very essence of life it follows that a living organism is a system in need (a uniform supply of necessary energy and matter from outside is not ensured). And therefore the body assumes characteristic states associated with the lack of something necessary. These states are designated by the concept of need. Need is a real state of the body, which expresses the need for certain changes for its carrier, i.e. always a need for oneself. It should be noted that the life process, which is characterized by the concepts of need and need, is carried out in a bipolar system: organism-environment. Regarding this system, we highlight some addition to the concept of need: need not only for oneself, but also need for something. And it is accepted that something that the body needs and that can eliminate this need is called a good. During the evolutionary process, needs developed. The ratio of needs for which the body remains completely dependent on the environment (conditions of existence) and needs in relation to which it takes an active part has changed. Occupying those environments in which the goods necessary for life are lacking, the organism had to equip itself with new means of adaptation that could provide it with these benefits (exit into a material-formed environment). Now we can differentiate needs into those that are capable and those that are not capable of bringing the body into a state of activity aimed at satisfying them. And then, in order for a need to be able to cause any active processes, there must be special mechanisms capable of detecting this need. Along with this, for an already identified need, the body must be equipped with mechanisms capable of providing the necessary benefits. Now we can give a more perfect definition of the concept of need (from a general biological point of view): a need is a need of a living organism for which it is armed with special mechanisms for its detection and elimination. These mechanisms form the basis of the need and determine its type and content.

Needs: 1. Individual - specific; 2. Homeostatic - exogenous (for example, cognitive need, independent of the state of the body and updated by external influences); 3. Positive - negative (avoidance motivation); functional achieving a certain result without predetermining the activity that will lead to this result); 5. Primary (inherited) - secondary (acquired determinants of behavior).

Physiological and mental mechanisms of needs are distinguished. There is a variety of physiological mechanisms formed in evolution to satisfy vital needs (based on the detector-effector system). The evolution of organisms has led to the fact that the mental apparatus began to be used to satisfy needs. The involvement of the psyche is necessary for flexible adaptation to changing environmental conditions, for developing action in the situation itself. That is, there are links in satisfying needs that cannot be carried out on the basis of physiological mechanisms alone (it is noted that these are the links that ensure the interaction of the body with the objective, material-formed environment). Physiology - breakdown of food, establishment of deviations from homeostasis. Psyche - ensuring the flow of food into the stomach.

A. N. Leontyev noted that the need is always for something. This main characteristic needs are its objectivity. The need for something and this something is its subject. There are also functional needs
- are characterized by a lack of perspective orientation and the impression that the motivating moment is interwoven into the process of activity itself. Leontyev noted another characteristic of needs: their specific dynamics: the ability to actualize and change their tension, the ability to fade away and be reproduced again (this corresponds to the identified mechanisms for identifying and eliminating needs). These dynamics are regulated by external and internal signals. According to Leontiev's considerations, the dynamics of needs are reflected at the behavioral level. In the absence of an object, the need for an external field

Search behavior is activated. In animals, search behavior takes the form of external activity that is not directed at a particular present object (this is expressed in hyperkinesis). A need that has not yet discovered its object (this object is not yet available or not highlighted in the external field) activates behavior aimed at objectifying this need. The behavior that unfolds in this case reflects the process of objectification of needs (several stages are identified: the emergence of a need; detection of a need (actualization of a need), search behavior). The next stage: recognizing the object of need. The subject must, as it were, identify this object in relation to the actualized need (i.e., discover whether this object can satisfy this need). If this question receives a positive answer, then the mechanism of assigning this object to this need is triggered.

There are several mechanisms for directly objectifying needs. 1) Within the framework of instinctive behavior: a mechanism for imprinting guidelines for instinctive behavior appears. That is, the animal is endowed with certain instinctive attitudes that require clarification of their content already in ontogenesis; when these attitudes are satisfied, stimuli are learned (and this happens quickly and easily). Example: the need to detect its burrow causes the wasp to imprint on the stimuli surrounding the burrow). 2) Imprinting. Feature: the characteristics of an object that satisfies some need are genetically determined. Based on this, the imprinting of this object occurs just as quickly and easily, instantly, irreversibly, while there is a sensitive period. Key features are blurred. 3) In a complex, diversely changing environment, the object of need can appear in different shells, therefore rigid fixation of the characteristics of the object of need is not always justified. We need a mechanism for developing conditional connections. The main event in the process of conditioning is the formation of a motivational attitude towards a new stimulus (the content of this attitude does not coincide with the motivational meaning of the unconditioned stimulus). Conditioning is ensured by special processes of an emotional nature (switching emotions from an unconditional stimulus to a conditioned one). The property of generalization is noted - when similarity with a conditioned factor of another factor also causes a reaction. Unlike the mechanisms of instinctive objectification, conditioning is subject to extinction in the absence of reinforcement). All of the above mechanisms are manifested in humans. Imprinting is observed when falling in love, during contact between mother and child, sexual imprinting. Very great importance has a conditioning mechanism in the development of a person’s motivational sphere (the role of cognitive processes is noted, which influence both the speed of conditioning and, in principle, the result (whether conditioning will occur or not). Also, when forming a person’s motivational sphere, they use the mechanism of motivational mediation (when on the basis of motivationally significant elements, they try to form a motivational attitude towards other elements.) The difference is that in the first case, motivation is formed by actually perceived life events, in the other - by expectations, promises, anticipations, threats.

So, the primary needs (biological motivation): attraction to food (hunger), to water (thirst), to air, to avoid damage (fear), to maintain optimal temperature, to rest (after prolonged activity), to sleep (after prolonged wakefulness), to activity (after inactivity), sexual desire (and partly aggression). They arise on the basis of congenital hereditary mechanisms and the hypothalamus plays the main role in their occurrence.

Secondary needs (“quasi-needs”) are social needs formed in ontogenesis in the process of socialization and education of a person. Educational, aesthetic, entertainment, empathy.

Physiological needs include the need for oxygen, nutrients, water, defecation and urination, movement, rest and sleep, as well as self-preservation needs (defensive actions, body care, search comfortable conditions) and the need for constant and varied sensory stimulation.

This set of needs is different in that if they are not satisfied, destructive consequences for the body occur very quickly.

Thus, a horse can survive without oxygen for only a few minutes, without water for a couple of weeks, and without food for several weeks. Sleep deprivation leads to stress and a range of painful symptoms. It is also impossible to ignore the need to protect your body if something threatens its safety, be it a threat from the outside (enemy, dangerous situation), or from the inside (disease, pathology). All the body’s attention will be directed to getting rid of the source of the problem.

Oxygen

Due to its anatomical feature, the horse can only inhale air through the nasal cavity. Inhalation through the mouth is impossible. Therefore, horses whose upper airways are blocked for some reason will not be able to breathe normally (especially during vigorous exercise) and will experience a lack of oxygen.

Working in hyperflexion (rollkur) can interfere with the horse's normal breathing and cause oxygen deprivation

Among the reasons may be pressing or improperly fitted equipment, diseases in which the upper respiratory tract is clogged with mucus, physical pathologies in the form of tumors, and so on.

Another reason for disruption of normal breathing may be the unnatural position of the horse's head, for example, during hyperflexion (rollkur).

The performance of such horses will be reduced. Motivation for active movement will also suffer because the horse will experience unpleasant sensations associated with a lack of oxygen.

If your horse has these problems, it is important to be aware of these restrictions and their impact on the horse's desire to work. In the event of the development of acute respiratory diseases, it is necessary to urgently call a veterinarian, treat the disease, and only after the acute condition has resolved, return the horse to work. When working, you should avoid fixing the horse's head in positions that interfere with normal breathing.

Water

This substance performs a number of vital functions. Without water, horses die on the 17-18th day (Ivanov, 2007).

It is best to provide the horse with constant access to water so that he can choose when and how much to drink.

Thirst is a difficult to bear condition that forms a strong behavioral dominant. But it is impossible to say in the abstract how much water a horse should be given per day. Water requirements can vary greatly between animals at different times of the year and different conditions(level of load, quantity and composition of feed). Therefore, to ensure that this need is met, it is best to provide the horse with constant access to water so that he can choose when and how much to drink.

Many observers and scientists note that horses drink less when the water is dirty or too cold. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the water is not dirty or icy.

In nature, the source of water is not always located directly next to the pastures where horses feed. However, horses visit the spring one or more times a day to drink to their heart's content. If horses do not have a stationary source of water at home, you can water them several times a day, but each time you need to let them drink as much as you like until they move away from the water container.

A horse can be “hungry” and constantly want to eat for two reasons.

Firstly, this is physiological hunger. It is caused by a lack of calories and nutrients. And in this regard, horses are no different from people. If we eat too little or the food does not contain the necessary substances, we lose weight, experience constant hunger and get sick. A horse that doesn't get enough calories from its diet will lose weight. With a lack of certain substances, various diseases and pathologies can occur.

Secondly, this is psychological hunger. And this distinguishing feature horses! This hunger is due to the fact that the horse, with certain types of feeding, spends too little time eating food.

In nature, a horse eats food rich in fiber. You need to chew it for a long time and eat a lot. The horse spends most of the day grazing.

The horse's body relies on a number of signals to indicate that the horse has eaten enough food. Such signals include the number of chewing movements and fullness. gastrointestinal tract food! Based on this data, the brain makes a decision and tells the wild horse that it is time to stop eating.

What can happen to a domestic horse that constantly receives food in the form small quantity good quality concentrates and forages? This type of food does not require as much chewing, nor does it fill the intestines as richly as foods to which the horse is naturally adapted. As a result, although we meet the horse's physiological needs for energy and nutrients, his brain does not recognize this; and still encourages the horse to chew. The result may be a horse that eats bedding, chews wood, or bites just to satisfy its “psychological hunger.”

The second problem often arises when we feed a horse a lot of concentrates, but deprive him of the opportunity to graze for a long time or eat roughage in large quantities. It will be very difficult to “tear” such a horse off the grass in the levada if you suddenly decide to train him there. Any blade of grass near the fence of the arena will distract her. Working freely in the field will become unfeasible, even if in general you have very good relationships and work as competently as possible. This problem can be successfully and humanely solved by simply meeting the horse's need.

What else is important to know about the motivating properties of hunger? Food satisfies the horse's energy (calorie) and nutritional needs. A deficiency of both can lead to severe pathologies in the body. Therefore, the feeling of hunger is one of the main motivations for animal behavior. No other behavioral activity can compensate for hunger. Hungry animals mobilize all their life experience to obtain food.

At first glance, this even seems useful for motivating the horse to work. The animal will try very hard to do something to get food and satisfy its hunger. Trainers often deliberately let animals fast before training in order to increase the latter's motivation to work. However, while this technique can be used without problems when training predators, when working with horses it is simply dangerous!

Carnivorous animals are often not fed before training to increase their hunger and desire to work for food. Such tactics when working with horses can be dangerous to their health!

If we deprive a horse of food for more than a couple of hours, it can have a negative impact on his health. In nature, a horse normally rarely experiences an acute feeling of hunger, since it spends 14-18 hours a day eating the bulk of its diet without long breaks. And the horse’s body is designed for such nutrition: gastric juice containing acid is constantly secreted in the stomach in small quantities. If we start feeding the horse in fits and starts or take long intervals (more than 3-4 hours) in feeding, acid begins to accumulate in the empty stomach and corrode its walls. This leads to gastric ulcers and indigestion, conditions that are painful and dangerous to the horse's welfare. And if you feed the horse often and little by little, according to its physiology, then it will never have an acute feeling of hunger.

“Concentrates are not a natural food for a horse. A concentrate-based diet will cause the horse to eat his daily amount of feed too quickly. This creates two problems: a decrease in normal daily chewing activity and an increased risk of gastric ulcers.”

However, although a normally feeding horse does not have an acute feeling of hunger, it has a moderate food need almost constantly. A horse by nature must eat almost all day, and something must stimulate it to do so. Therefore, in principle, a horse will never refuse food, especially if it is nutritious!

Evolutionarily, we have all developed mechanisms to instinctively select the most nutritious, that is, high-calorie foods. This food has a certain taste. For a horse, this will be food rich in soluble carbohydrates and sugars. They are found in large quantities in fresh herbs, concentrates and treats.

Having felt a certain taste, the brain sends a signal to the body - eat as much of it as possible! Nutritious food is important for horses in nature. Grass will not be available all year, so even if some summer overeating results in overweight, this will only help the horse survive the winter. During the autumn and winter periods, these kilograms are quickly lost and therefore such overeating does not threaten the horse with anything serious in nature. Therefore, this mechanism was fixed evolutionarily. And in fact, the horse does not have a “psychological brake” that would moderate its appetite for such food. By the way, one way to check if a horse is feeling well is to offer it a treat. Giving up your favorite food means lack of appetite, and this is already a pathology and a signal of health problems.

So food, and especially grass, treats and concentrates, will always be of keen interest to the horse. And this mechanism is not associated with an acute feeling of hunger.

Rest and sleep

Regular sleep is necessary for any animal to function normally. Experiments have shown that if animals are deprived of sleep either completely or in certain phases of it, after some time they die!

The REM phase of sleep, which is important for a horse, occurs only when lying on its side (top) or sometimes on its chest (bottom).

Adult horses normally sleep 3-5 hours a day, with another 2 hours spent in a state of drowsiness (McGreevy, 2011). But the horses don't sleep all this time. The entire sleep norm is usually divided into several short periods of sleep that occur at different times during the day.

Each phase of sleep has its own significance, and they are all important for the normal functioning of the body.

Napping and slow-wave sleep can occur in a standing or lying position, but the very important REM phase of sleep occurs only in a lying position (usually when the horse lies fully stretched out on its side, but sometimes such sleep is recorded in the sternal position). This stage of sleep is considered to be critical to the well-being of the horse.

If a horse does not lie down for a long time (too small a stall or stall, unsuitable ground, tethering, stress), then prolonged deprivation of the horse in this phase of sleep can negatively affect its health and condition.

Urination and defecation

It is quite difficult to prevent a horse from defecating, since the horse can perform this act even in motion if it feels the need for it.

Posture for urination in a male horse

To urinate, the horse must take a characteristic static position (and sometimes move to a special “toilet” place). Therefore, if a person encourages a horse to move for a very long time without stopping (for example, when riding for walks, during long transitions), and does not give it freedom of movement for a long time, the horse may feel the urge to empty its bladder, but tolerate it. At the same time, she will experience a certain discomfort, which may result in unwanted behavior.

However, physiology this process is such that when the need to perform it becomes unbearable, the horse stops all other activities, stops itself, takes the desired position and performs the act of urination.

Can also make it difficult to have normal bowel movements and urination various diseases. If the horse exhibits abnormal behavior during these acts, you should work with your veterinarian to find out the reasons and take care to eliminate painful sensations, if any.

Almost constant slow movement and activity

In nature, a horse spends 14-18 hours grazing, during which it constantly moves slowly

The horse has evolved as a species that is constantly moving and active. And we are not talking about sufficient active movement during a one- or two-hour workout or walk, but specifically in uniform motion and the horse’s activity during the day.

In nature, you constantly need to search for and actively obtain food, water and necessary substances that may be located on long distances from each other, interact with companions, choose comfortable places for relaxation, monitor safety. The horse does not stop activity for more than a couple of hours, even during the night.

The problem with home maintenance is that all the “goods” are literally in one place. Food, water and shelter may be located nearby in a small area and freely accessible, which does not encourage the horse to move and be active. We choose companions for the horse, and he cannot “move” to another herd if he doesn’t like something or go looking for a new mating partner. Often she also cannot decide when and how to move, since the mode of exercise and movement is determined by the person, and in a stall or small levada there is simply no room or incentive for this. All this leads to the fact that the horse cannot make decisions on its own. this moment engage and most spends time standing in one place, dozing and sleeping, or eating hay from a heap.

However, many of the horse's body systems will only function optimally and thus remain healthy if there is constant movement and activity. Lack of movement has a negative impact on the cardiovascular, digestive and respiratory systems. Activity is important for normal operation nervous system. Failure to satisfy this need can quickly lead to various kinds of physiological (hoof diseases, swelling of the legs, diseases of the digestive and respiratory systems) and psychological disorders (stable defects, undesirable behavior, hyperactivity).

“For an animal that by nature must spend up to 16 hours a day grazing in the open and struggling to avoid being caught, the consequences of restricting freedom of movement for our convenience can be catastrophic.”

Paul McGreevy and Andrew McLean, Equitation Science

It is therefore important to create housing systems in which horses are encouraged to move and be slightly active throughout the day. For example, this will be facilitated by maintaining an area of ​​tens of hectares in one large group, or, if there is not a lot of space, using the Active Stable or Paddock Paradise systems. Even such a simple device as a slow feeder can stimulate at least activity when eating food (the horse not only freely grabs large volumes of food and chews, but he has to take it out a little each time from the narrow mesh cells).

Sensory stimulation

For the normal functioning of our brain and body, it is important that every day our environment contains a sufficient amount of visual stimuli, smells, sounds and tactile stimuli.

A horse should not be kept within the four walls of a stall isolated from the world!

Based on the results of experiments on animals and humans, scientists began to regard the need for constant sensory stimulation as a vital physiological need. Deprivation of normal stimulation of the senses quickly leads to the development of mental abnormalities (visual, auditory hallucinations) and disruption of the functioning of various internal organs.

This means that the horse should not be kept within the four walls of a stall or garage isolated from the world, leaving it once a week, or even less often. In such conditions, the horse will not be able to be mentally and physically healthy.

Try to diversify the horse’s environment, allow it to interact fully with its relatives, and live in a large territory filled with different objects.

However, this does not mean that the horse needs to be bombarded with a huge amount of new stimuli every day! Too much sensory stimulation can be just as harmful as too little. Look for a middle ground.

In the next article we will look at the extremely important need for self-preservation for horses.

Motivation as a system of processes responsible for inducing activity requires a concept that would structure this system. As such a concept, need is distinguished as a “unit” of motivation.

A.N. Leontiev.

Need- a state of the organism that expresses its objective need for a supplement that lies outside of it.

Need here is related to the concept of need. From the very essence of life it follows that a living organism is a system in need (a uniform supply of necessary energy and matter from outside is not ensured). And therefore the body assumes characteristic states associated with the lack of something necessary. These states are designated by the concept of need. Need is a real state of the organism, which expresses the need for certain changes for its carrier, i.e. always a need for yourself.

It should be noted that the life process, which is characterized by the concepts of need and need, is carried out in a bipolar system: organism-environment. Regarding this system, we highlight some addition to the concept of need: need not only for oneself, but also need for something. And it is accepted that what the body needs and what can eliminate this need is called good.

During the evolutionary process, needs developed. The ratio of needs for which the body remains completely dependent on the environment (conditions of existence) and needs in relation to which it takes an active part has changed. Occupying those environments in which the goods necessary for life are lacking, the organism had to equip itself with new means of adaptation that could provide it with these benefits (exit into a material-formed environment).

Now we can differentiate needs into those that are capable and those that are not capable of bringing the body into a state of activity aimed at satisfying them. And then, in order for a need to be able to cause any active processes, there must be special mechanisms capable of detecting this need. Along with this, for an already identified need, the body must be equipped with mechanisms capable of providing the necessary benefits.

Now we can give a more perfect definition of the concept of need (from a general biological point of view): a need is a need of a living organism for which it is armed with special mechanisms for its detection and elimination. in principle, these mechanisms form the basis of the need, determine its type and content .

Needs :

1. Individual – specific;

2. Homeostatic - exogenous (for example, cognitive need, independent of the state of the body and updated by external influences);

3. Positive – negative (avoidance motivation);

functional achieving a certain result without predetermining the activity that will lead to this result);

5. Primary (inherited) – secondary (acquired determinants of behavior).

Regarding the issue of mechanisms for identifying and eliminating needs, we can divide them into two large groups: physiological and mental mechanisms.

There is a variety of physiological mechanisms formed in evolution to satisfy vital needs (based on the detector-effector system).

The evolution of organisms has led to the fact that the mental apparatus began to be used to satisfy needs. The involvement of the psyche is necessary for flexible adaptation to changing environmental conditions, for developing action in the situation itself. Those. there are links in satisfying needs that cannot be carried out on the basis of physiological mechanisms alone (it is noted that these are the links that ensure the interaction of the body with the objective, material-formed environment). Physiology – breakdown of food, establishment of deviations from homeostasis. Psyche - ensuring the flow of food into the stomach.

A.N. Leontiev. it was noted that the need is always for something. This is the main characteristic of a need – its objectivity. The need for something and this something is its subject. There are also functional needs - they are characterized by a lack of long-term orientation and the impression that the motivating moment is interwoven into the process of activity itself.

Leontyev noted another characteristic of needs: their specific dynamics: the ability to actualize and change their tension, the ability to fade away and be reproduced again (this corresponds to the identified mechanisms for identifying and eliminating needs). These dynamics are regulated by external and internal signals. According to Leontiev's considerations, the dynamics of needs are reflected at the behavioral level. In the absence of an object of need in the external field, search behavior is activated.

In animals, search behavior takes the form of external activity that is not directed at one or another present object (this is expressed in hyperkenesis). A need that has not yet discovered its object (this object is not yet available or not highlighted in the external field) activates behavior aimed at objectifying this need. The behavior that unfolds in this case reflects the process of objectification of needs (several stages are identified: the emergence of a need; detection of a need (actualization of a need), search behavior). The next stage: recognizing the object of need. The subject must, as it were, identify this object regarding the actualized need (i.e., discover whether a given object can satisfy this need). If this question receives a positive answer, then the mechanism of assigning this object to this need is triggered.

There are several mechanisms for directly objectifying needs.

1 within instinctive behavior: the mechanism of imprinting the guidelines of instinctive behavior is manifested. Those. the animal is endowed with certain instinctive attitudes, which require clarification of their content already in ontogenesis; when these attitudes are satisfied, stimuli are learned (and this happens quickly and easily). Example: the need to detect its burrow causes the wasp to capture the stimuli surrounding the burrow).

2 Imprinting. Feature: the characteristics of an object that satisfies some need are genetically determined. Based on this, the imprinting of this object occurs just as quickly and easily, instantly, irreversibly, while there is a sensitive period. Key features are blurred.

3 in a complex, diversely changing environment, the object of need can appear in different shells, so rigid fixation of the characteristics of the object of need is not always justified. We need a mechanism for developing conditional connections. The main event in the process of conditioning is the formation of a motivational attitude towards a new stimulus (the content of this attitude does not coincide with the motivational meaning of the unconditioned stimulus). Conditioning is ensured by special processes of an emotional nature (switching emotions from an unconditional stimulus to a conditioned one). The property of generalization is noted - when similarity with a conditioned factor of another factor also causes a reaction. Unlike the mechanisms of instinctive objectification, conditioning is subject to extinction in the absence of reinforcement).

All of the above mechanisms are manifested in humans.

Imprinting is observed when falling in love, during contact between mother and child, sexual imprinting.

The mechanism of conditioning is very important in the development of a person’s motivational sphere (the role of cognitive processes is noted, which influence both the speed of conditioning and, in principle, the result (whether conditioning will or will not occur). Also, in the formation of a person’s motivational sphere, the mechanism of motivational mediation is used (when, on the basis of motivationally significant elements, they try to form a motivational attitude towards other elements.) The difference is that in the first case, motivation is formed by actually perceived life events, in the other - by expectations, promises, admirations, threats.

To live, a person needs to satisfy the physiological needs of air, food, and water. In addition, each of us needs movement, sleep, fulfilling physiological needs, as well as communicating with people and satisfying our sexual interests.

It should be remembered that physiological needs are the same for all people, but are satisfied to varying degrees.

Oxygen requirement(normal breathing) is a basic physiological need of a person. Breath and life are inseparable concepts. Man learned long ago: dum spiro spero(lat.) – while I’m breathing, I hope. Many words in Russian have a “breathing” meaning: rest, inspiration, spirit, etc. Maintaining this need should be nurse priority task. The cerebral cortex is very sensitive to lack of oxygen. With a lack of oxygen, breathing becomes frequent and shallow (tachypnea), and shortness of breath appears. For example, a prolonged decrease in oxygen concentration in tissues leads to cyanosis: the skin and visible mucous membranes acquire a bluish tint.

A person, by satisfying the need for oxygen, maintains the necessary for life gas composition blood.

Need for food. Nutrition is important for maintaining health and well-being. Parents, satisfying the baby’s need for balanced nutrition, show not only parental care, but also provide the child with the opportunity for normal growth and development. Balanced diet for an adult helps eliminate risk factors for many diseases. For example, coronary heart disease is caused by eating foods rich in saturated animal fats and cholesterol.

Let us note that an unmet human need for nutrition often leads to a deterioration in well-being and health.

Fluid requirement. A healthy person should drink 2.5-3 liters of fluid daily. This amount of fluid replenishes physiological losses in the form of urine, sweat, feces and evaporation during breathing. To maintain fluid balance, a person must consume more fluid than they excrete, otherwise signs of dehydration appear. The patient’s ability to avoid many complications depends on the knowledge and skills of the nurse to anticipate dehydration.

The need for physiological functions. The undigested portion of food is excreted from the body in the form of feces. The act of defecation and urination is individual for everyone, and their satisfaction cannot be delayed for a long time. Most people consider these processes personal and intimate and prefer not to discuss them. In this regard, a nurse, when providing assistance to a patient who has problems with the fulfillment of physiological needs, must be especially sensitive and, respecting the person’s right to confidentiality, provide him with the opportunity for privacy.

Need for sleep and rest A. Maslow also refers to physiological needs. The alternation of periods of sleep and wakefulness is the main background for a person’s daily activities.

Research by T. Gower (1997) showed that women are more likely to suffer from fatigue caused by lack of sleep. Lack of sleep is second only to housework among the causes of fatigue. In cases where a person finds time to do business at the expense of sleep, he increases the debt of sleep deprivation, since the duration of sleep modern man required for normal existence, at least 7-7.5 hours.

Without enough sleep, a person's health deteriorates. The level of glucose in the blood plasma decreases, the nutrition of the brain changes, mental processes slow down (attention is scattered, short-term memory deteriorates, the speed and accuracy of calculations slow down), and the ability to learn decreases. Studies conducted by American specialists (Gower T., 1997) indicate a decrease in the number of phagocytic cells in the body of a sleep-deprived person. It is known that we spend a third of our lives sleeping. A sick person needs sleep even more, as it helps improve well-being.

Dream- “an altered state of consciousness that periodically occurs in a person for a more or less long time and contributes to the restoration of his strength and well-being” (Venderova M.I., 2000). There is a circadian biorhythm - a daily cycle of sleep and wakefulness. The state of drowsiness occurs twice during the day: from 00:00 to 04:00, then between 12:00 and 16:00. Despite a person's decreased sensitivity to external stimuli during sleep, this is a very active state. As a result of research conducted by M.I. Venderova (2000), several stages of sleep are identified.

Stage I - slow wave sleep Light sleep lasts a few minutes. During this period, there is a decline in the physiological activity of the body, a gradual decrease in the activity of organs and a slowdown in metabolism. At this time, a sleeping person can be easily awakened; if sleep is not interrupted, then the second stage occurs after 15 minutes.

Stage II - slow wave sleep(phase of slow eye movements).

Light sleep, lasting 10-20 minutes. The vital functions of the body continue to weaken, and complete relaxation sets in. It is difficult to wake a person.

Stage III- slow sleep(phase of slow eye movements).

The stage of deepest sleep, lasting 15-30 minutes. It is very difficult to wake up a sleeping person. The weakening of vital functions continues: this is complete relaxation, including a slowdown in heart rate.

Stage IV - slow wave sleep(phase of slow eye movements).

Deep sleep lasting 15-30 minutes. It is still difficult to wake up a sleeping person. During this phase, physical strength is restored. Vital functions are much less pronounced than during wakefulness. Some people experience sleepwalking and involuntary urination during this stage of sleep. Following IV, stage III, II, and then stage V of sleep begin again.

During the slow-wave sleep phase, breathing and heart rate slow down and muscles relax.

Stage V - REM sleep(rapid eye movements phase).

Vivid, colorful dreams are possible 50-90 minutes after stage I. Rapid eye movements are observed (at this moment the sleeper dreams), increased heart rate and respiratory movements, changes blood pressure, decreased tone skeletal muscles. During this phase, the mental functions of a sleeping person are restored; it is extremely difficult to wake him up, despite signs of more superficial sleep (increased respiratory movements and pulse). The duration of this stage is about 20 minutes.

After stage V sleep a short time IV, III, II begin, then again III, IV, V stages, i.e. next sleep cycle.

REM sleep never occurs immediately - it is preceded by several stages of slow-wave sleep. The sleep of any person consists of a sequential alternation of 4-6 completed cycles, the duration of each of them is 60-90 minutes. The duration of REM sleep at the beginning of the night is a few minutes, and by the morning it is about 30 minutes.

Sleep is influenced by factors such as uncomfortable (unusual) posture, physical and/or mental illness, medicines and drugs, lifestyle, emotional stress, environment and exercise stress. Any disease accompanied by pain, physical illness, anxiety

Rice. 3-2. Sleep cycle

goy and depression, leads to deterioration of sleep. For example, with a pathology of the respiratory system, the patient has to put 2-3 pillows at night, which certainly affects the quality of sleep. With coronary heart disease, the patient is afraid to sleep for fear of a heart attack.

In table Figure 3-1 shows the effect of medications on sleep quality.

Sleeping pills create new problems for the patient rather than bring benefit. Many people are unaware of all aspects of caffeine and alcohol. In particular, caffeine is a long-acting psychostimulant (12-20 hours) that can reduce the depth of sleep. It is found in coffee, tea, chocolate and many soft drinks.

Table 3-1. The influence of pharmacological drugs on sleep quality

nary drinks. The nurse should familiarize the patient with the prescribed medicines and their effect on sleep. Elderly and elderly people often experience sleep changes:

It takes longer to fall asleep and reach the REM stage of deep sleep;

The total duration of sleep does not change, even if a person often wakes up at night, so the person often feels sleep-deprived;

Sleep is more often superficial, it is more difficult to fall asleep, frequent awakenings at night and early awakening;

With age, the duration of shallow sleep increases, so a person often says that he “didn’t sleep a wink”;

During the day old man complains that it is difficult for him to do ordinary basic work, he gets tired quickly, and there is apathy.

Rest- a state of reduced physical and mental activity. You can relax not only while lying on the sofa, but also during a long walk, reading books or performing special relaxation exercises. IN medical institution rest may be disrupted by loud noise, bright lights, the presence of other people, or frequent medical procedures. Rest and sleep are essential for daily human functioning. Knowledge of sleep stages and possible reasons causing its disruption will enable the nurse to provide assistance to the patient and satisfy his needs with the means available to her.

Need for movement. Limited mobility or immobility creates many problems for a person. Immobility is “a condition in which a person is unable to move or has difficulty making movements necessary for normal functioning” (Jeng M., 1995). This condition can be long-term or short-term, transient or permanent. It may be caused by the forced use of orthopedic systems (splint, traction, corset or any other special remedy to hold the body), pain (in joints, back, etc.); chronic disease(arthritis, residual effects of cerebrovascular accident, etc.), mental disorders (delirium, depression, etc.).

Immobility- one of the risk factors for the development of trophic disorders (bedsores), pathological changes in the musculoskeletal system (osteoporosis, muscle atrophy, joint contracture), disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems (especially in the supine position). With prolonged complete immobility, changes in the digestive system are observed (dyspepsia, flatulence, anorexia, diarrhea or constipation). Regular and intense straining, which the patient is forced to resort to during defecation in a supine position, leads to hemorrhoids, myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest. Immobility causes urinary problems, which in turn leads to the development of urinary tract infections and/or urolithiasis.

And most importantly, an immobile person is deprived of communication with environment, which influences the formation of one’s own “I”. The severity and duration of immobility have an impact on the psychosocial sphere of a person: learning ability, motivation, feelings and emotions change.

The nurse's assistance aimed at restoring mobility is important to improve the patient's quality of life.

Sexual need. It does not stop even during illness or upon reaching old age. Sex usually means only it biological component(sexual relations). At the same time, sexuality includes the need for intimacy, love, touch and a sense of one's own femininity or masculinity.

According to WHO, a person’s sexual health affects his social health and includes three main components:

The ability to enjoy and control sexual and reproductive behavior in accordance with social and moral norms;

Absence of fear, shame, guilt, misconceptions and other psychological factors that suppress reactions and worsen sexual relationships;

Absence of organic disorders that impair sexual and reproductive activity.

A person’s sexual health is affected by illness, developmental defects, and in women, also by the birth of a child. However, many patients are reluctant to talk about this topic, even if they have serious sexual problems. As a rule, people do not need to satisfy their sexual needs every day, but, like the need for breathing, food, water, the sexual need is always present. Solving sexual problems can help the patient find harmony in his health. Treating the patient with understanding and not disturbing (if possible) the intimate atmosphere or privacy is the least a nurse can do to satisfy his need for sex (Golubev V.L., 1991). “Many nurses feel uncomfortable talking to their patients about sexual issues. In order to get rid of this feeling, you need to:

Develop an accurate scientific basis to understand healthy sexuality and its most common disorders and dysfunctions;

Understand how a person’s sexual orientation, culture, and religious beliefs influence sexuality;

Determine for yourself the boundaries within which discussing issues and problems of sexuality with patients does not cause inconvenience;

Learn to identify problems that are beyond the scope of nursing competence and recommend specialist help to the patient.”

The considered physiological needs, according to A. Maslow’s theory, are low-level needs and exist in any person, regardless of age and sociocultural environment. The importance of nursing staff in meeting the physiological needs of patients should not be underestimated (Table 3-2).

Table 3-2. Helping the nurse meet the physiological needs of the patient

Man has always been considered supreme creation nature, its king and ruler. People do science, fly into space, build factories, take care of animals. In our progressive times, man has learned to partially replace his labor automated systems, and save your time using the Internet. And everything seems to be fine with us, if not for one BUT. The only thing that distinguishes us from animals is the presence of intelligence. And if civilization disappears, then only physiological needs will remain of our greatest demands.

IN Lately we have almost stopped thinking about the fact that the quality of our life depends not on progress, but on how quickly our physiological needs are met. We don't sleep at night, eat on the run and drink water that contains half of the periodic table. And then we complain about our health, and immediately pump the body with all sorts of medications. Examples of human physiological needs can be listed endlessly. It is important not only to know them, but also to be able to competently satisfy them.

Anatomical and physiological needs of a person

Physiological are those needs that help a person survive and continue the life of his species. In these needs we are no different from animals, since they also have a biological origin. An example here is newborns. The physiological needs of children who have recently been born are reduced to the same set as those of animals. This is the need for air, food, sleep, comfort, protection from stress. Later, the need for reproduction is added to this list. The anatomical and physiological needs of a person represent a set of conditions under which the survival of the entire human civilization is possible:

• the possibility of physical existence, in the absence of hunger strikes, natural Disasters and widespread diseases;
• thermal and magnetic wave comfort with a safe level of radiation, i.e. ability to maintain constant normal temperature bodies;
• air composition that does not lead to physical and genetic anomalies;
• drinking water with secure dialing chemical substances and microelements;
• satisfying caloric, national-taste, as well as chemical-elementary and organic composition food;
• good sleep and lack of stress.

American psychologist Abraham Maslow developed a theory of human needs. Many people know it as the pyramid of needs. According to Maslow, physiological needs are the strongest and most urgent; their dissatisfaction leads to the destruction of the entire organism. Only after satisfying physiological needs, according to Maslow's pyramid, needs for security, communication, recognition, and self-expression appear. If a person provides himself with prolonged sleep, nutrition, quenching his thirst for water and oxygen, then he develops an interest in the physiological needs of more high level. These include sexual needs. Not a single person has died without them, but their dissatisfaction brings significant changes in the psyche and behavior of a person.

If physiological needs are not satisfied properly, then a person may experience frustration. This condition manifests itself in the experience of anxiety, disappointment and irritability. A person can count on a prosperous existence without stress and suppressed immunity only if physiological needs are not frustrated.

Norms of physiological needs

Basically, we can feel the needs of our body without outside help. For example, we will definitely feel hunger, thirst, lack of air and fatigue. However, there are physiological needs that our body needs every day, but we feel it only when a deficiency of substances leads to illness. To avoid this, it is enough to know the daily norms of the physiological needs of the body:

• water requirement – ​​about 1.5 l/day;
• energy requirement – ​​2900 kcal/day;
• protein requirement – ​​36-87 g/day;
• fat requirement – ​​60-154 g/day;
• need for carbohydrates – 257-586 g/day;
• need for dietary fiber – 20 g/day.

Satisfying physiological needs is the main life activity of a person. Based on your needs, we plan our budget. Only after they are satisfied do we begin to plan expenses for other needs. Often in modern society Wealth status often depends on how much a person spends on food. But the very process of earning money negatively affects the need for rest and almost guarantees stress for the body. Our lives depend on our needs, just as our needs depend on our lives. Don’t leave your needs unattended, otherwise someday you simply won’t have enough strength to earn money to satisfy them.