Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

150 Studying online 
you for almost instantaneous activity. Tat means once the sys-
tems have detected what you need to do in this unusual situation, 
your muscles can immediately go into overdrive. To help achieve 
this, your bodily defence mechanisms trigger a signifcant release 
of a hormone called adrenalin (also known as epinephrine). Tis 
changes where your blood is circulating. During a typical day, 
much of your blood is in your gut, helping to process food and in 
your head to help your brain. However, your body may need lots 
of energy in the muscles, so adrenaline opens up the blood vessels 
in your muscles and closes them down in the core of your body. 
At the same time, because you will need more oxygen, adrena-
line triggers an increase in your respiration rate. It also raises your 
heart rate so that more blood is pumped around the body. 
Te problem for your survival instincts is that they do not know 
the diference between the threat of being in a potentially burn-
ing building and the danger of sitting in front of a screen full of 
people all staring at you waiting for you to speak. When you are 
about to give a presentation, whether it is face-to-face or online, 
your “fght or fight” response will kick in, and your adrenaline 
levels will rise. If you were in a burning building, you would run 
away. Your body would then know the danger had passed, and the 
adrenaline production would stop because you are back in safety. 
Te muscular activity is a signal to the brain that the adrenaline 
has worked. 
Tink about that for a moment. If muscular activity is a sign that 
adrenaline is no longer needed, this suggest that in the case of pre-
senters sitting still at their desk their adrenaline will continue to 
be pumped out. I am sure you will have seen some presenters who 
are “rabbits in the headlights”. Tey are rooted to the spot, staring 
forward, seemingly unable to do anything. Tat’s because their 
adrenaline is pumping away, and their brain is telling them this is 
increasingly scary, partly because it hasn’t detected any muscular 
activity. As soon as you move, adrenaline levels fall. 
If you are making presentations in class, this means it is easy 
to feel less scared. All you need to do is to move about. When 

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