Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping - Hardcover

Sapolsky, Robert M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0716723913 ISBN 13: 9780716723912

Publisher: W H Freeman & Co, 1994

Synopsis

For a terrified zebra sprinting away from a lion, a stressor is an immediate physical emergency and the stress-response - changes that occur in the body at such times - is brilliantly adaptive for dealing with that sort of crisis. But to a surprising extent, we humans turn on the same sort of response when feeling stressed out about mortgages or relationships or our own mortality, and at those times the stress-response is anything but helpful.
When people burdened with stress start to feel bad physically, it is not just in their minds. Emotional crises bring on specific physical changes in the body. If those stress responses are prolonged or set in motion too often, the resulting wear and tear can lead to digestive and sleeping problems, cardiovascular diseases, sexual reproductive disorders, and other illnesses.
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers is Robert Sapolsky's provocative, often amusing, look at the interconnections between emotion and physical well-being. Drawing on the latest research, Sapolsky describes the physical toll associated with emotional turmoil, and covers current controversies in the field, such as those over the role of stress in cancer and immune responses. He also discusses effective ways of learning to moderate the body's responses to stress. An award-winning investigator of effects of stress on health, Sapolsky clear and compelling scientific evidence to support his claims. His witty style, skillful integration of biology and psychology, and research-based recommendations for coping with stress make Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers a unique and indispensable book for people worried about worrying themselves sick.

About this title

About the Author

Robert M. Sapolsky is an Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Neuroscience at Stanford University.

Reviews

Entertaining explanation of how stress affects the body and what we can do to counteract its effects. Sapolsky (a MacArthur Fellow who divides his time between teaching biological sciences and neuroscience at Stanford and conducting stress research on baboons in Kenya) makes a much- discussed topic seem fresh and new. Using humor, unexpected analogies, and offbeat examples (to illustrate how the brain sends messages to other parts of the body, he slips in a steamy passage from Lady Chatterley's Lover), Sapolsky covers how the stress response affects the cardiovascular, digestive, reproductive, and immune systems; the body's perception of pain; growth; and the aging process. He concludes with some words on how to cope with psychological stress--the type of stress that humans (unlike zebras) experience most often. He also cautions against the oversimplification of stress-reduction manuals, asserting that many suggested strategies--such as developing a sense of control, finding an outlet for your frustrations, and building a system of social support--can backfire. As a first line of defense against stress-related disease, Sapolsky recommends prevention--learning to recognize the signs of the stress response and to identify the situations that trigger it. His lucid text and not-to-be-overlooked footnotes are filled with delightful twists and turns, personal anecdotes, and nuggets of odd information--for instance, on voodoo death, Peter Pan, and the hunting skills of hyenas. Possessed of a lively intelligence, wide-ranging curiosity, and love of science, Sapolsky writes as though his readers share these traits. First-rate science for the nonscientist that's certain to reduce stress--at least during the time spent reading it. (Forty- two illustrations--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: W H Freeman & Co
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0716723913
• ISBN 13: 9780716723912
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368