Monkeys and Stress

Doctor. Sapolsky has been studying a troop of monkeys for many years because as primates, they serve as good proxies to humans. Unlike the zebras, this troop of apes doesn’t have a issue with predators. Nothing eats this particular troop of monkeys, so they're seldom in mortal danger. One might think then that these are easy going and unstressed apes. One would be wrong.

These apes have really made stress within the troop. What occurs is that the more dominant individuals pester and harangue the less dominant ones. So that the top ranking dominant male may try to stick the other male’s head under water in the river simply to annoy him. That male gets stressed from this event, and looks for a less subordinate male to take out his aggression on. Then that male may look for a lower ranking female to harass to take out his anger upon. And so on along the line, to the point at which those in low ranking positions suffer from persistent aggravation. They also suffer from persistent stress.

What are the health implications of this chronic stress? Dr. Sapolsky has been taking blood samples from the ape troop for over thirty years. What he has found is this protracted stress takes a physical toll on the lower ranking males. Lower ranking males in the troop can expect to have higher blood pressure and more cholesterol blocking their arteries than higher ranking males. So stress isn't just a psychological state, it has real physical consequences, and that suggests that stress control is a thing we need to pay attention to.

Humans and Stress

So what have we got in common with the apes? Turns out a good deal. Not only are we both primates with complicated social orders, turns out we act a lot alike too. A study was done in the UK among state employees to discover how social standing is affecting stress. All UK government employees receive the same kind of benefits and health-care, so the differences in health couldn't be ascribed to differences in health care. Turns out that the higher up a worker was, they better health he had. This was across the board for both males and females. It appears that those in lower positions are far more strung out, just like our ape pals. And therefore the increased stresses leads to health issues.

The Consequences of Stress on the Body

So what it is about stress that causes such Problems? Let’s just remind ourselves that it isn't acute stress that causes the issue, it is long term prolonged stress. This may be due to either ongoing real threats or understood threats. There are a myriad of health Problems ascribed to stress including: depression, reduced cognitive function, sexual dysfunction, colitis, ulcers, neurological damage, arteriosclerosis and even stunted growth in children. This is a pretty overwhelming and frightening list. How can something similar to protracted stress create so much far-reaching havoc in the body? It goes back to what we talked about yesterday. When the body thinks it’s in mortal danger and becomes stressed, it marshals all the body’s resources to extend adrenaline production and be ready for flight or fight. In this process it must moisten the other systems, including the immunological reaction. This leaves stressed people more susceptible to attacks from pathogens, bacteria, viruses and anything more that makes its way into the body.

So the issue is, now that we understand that stress can kill, why do we allow ourselves to get so stressed over trivial issues? Every time you're getting ready to blow a gasket because your kid spilled some milk on the floor or someone cut you off in traffic or your underwear turned pink in the laundry, ask yourself: is it truly worthwhile?

Lisa Schoenenheim believes in healthful living including ensuring to use only organic skin care creams.

Technorati Tags: dealing with stress, healthy living, self improvement, stress management

In our day, the light barrier has been breached by the crazy breakneck speed of our lives. It seems that, just as soon as our heart has a chance to keep up, we’re just gearing up for the other shoe to drop. After a while of the breakneck speed of life, we hit some wall. Immediately we begin to ask, “What the?” . Left unchecked, chronic stress is literally as serious as a heart attack. How can we get off the bullet train? If you would like to learn more on a few stress realted products that I found actually do work: natural stress relief supplements

That can’t be answered in one article. We’re all unique and at different stages in life, with different stressors bringing all of this on. We do have one thing in common: we need to begin with identifying our main target. Once you do that, congratulations-you’ve made progress!

Since we aren’t writing a e-book here, let’s focus on some main points for a comprehensive stress management solution:

1) Get with people you trust. This can either make or break your success. This can really be anyone with compassion and time to spend with you. Since this isn’t negotiable, if you don’t have anyone to suit the job, then you may have to hire a professional counselor.

2) Join a gym. Without being overly technical, biology indicates the presence of cortisol and other stress hormones is a harmful reality related to stress. Your body begins to digest helpful tissues like bone and muscle, even organ tissues, to compensate for stress. Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia are the two conditions of losing bone and muscle tissue during “catabolism.” Under chronic stressful conditions, this can lead to serious health concerns. Bodybuilding and cardiovascular exercise can honestly keep the doctor away as muscle and bones are then being strengthened.

3) Diet as a lifestyle. The body reacts to stress by trying to get back to “homeostasis.” Improper diet can lead to situations where your body is simply reacting to a lack of nutrients by doing wild things like storing belly fat, catabolizing muscle and bone tissue like we’ve just mentioned, increasing bad cholesterol and doing really funky things with the cardiovascular system. Another complication that’s common to us today is acidosis, or having a slightly more acidic pH than we should have, which gives rise to a host of further complications. A great thing to do is to feed your body a daily multi-vitamin and multi-mineral supplement. Adding the B-Complex vitamins, a fantastic herb called “cordyceps sinensis,” vitamins A, C and E and potassium bicarbonate will also really help. There are a host of other herbs, vitamins and minerals specifically beneficial to chilling out and fighting stress – it’s worth looking into. Without sounding too fire alarm-ish, you really need to speak to your dietitian or doctor before taking any of that advice.

4) Chill out! You’re stressing me out. Weekends can’t possibly be the only time you’re getting to relax. If you’re human, you are either up late working or watching past episodes of “The Cosby Show” or something you laugh at (or you should be). Laughing fights stress, too. Getting sound sleep on a regular basis really arrests the stress cycle – aim for 7 to 8 hours of it. Numberless research hours have shown sleep deprivation increases and causes stress. Listen to your body, you’ll be amazed what this free, no-cost solution does to your mood and outlook.

5) Have a “joy break”. Get off the hamster wheel long enough to really do something you absolutely love doing. This can be a time for just you alone, or you can incorporate family and friends. Don’t put this off as if it doesn’t matter, taking time to slow down and do something enjoyable just might give you the perspective and rest you need to recover. I found a health company that seems to hit the nail on the head when suggesting a few products to deal with stress that really work: stress relief supplements

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