Monkeys and Stress
Doctor. Sapolsky has been studying a troop of apes for years because as primates, they serve as good proxies to humans. In contrast to the zebras, this troop of monkeys has not got a difficulty with predators. Nothing eats this particular troop of monkeys, so they are rarely in mortal danger. One might think then that these are easy going and unstressed chimps. One would be wrong.
These apes have truly created stress in the troop. What happens is that the more dominant individuals harass and attack the less dominant ones. So the top ranking dominating male may try and stick the other male’s head under water in the stream simply to harass 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 annoy to take out his outrage upon. And so on down the line, to the point where those in low ranking positions have chronic harassment. They also suffer with persistent stress.
What are the health ramifications of this persistent stress? Dr. Sapolsky has been taking blood samples from the ape troop for over thirty years. What he has found is this lingering 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 clogging their arteries than higher ranking males. So stress isn't just a psychological state, it has real physical ramifications, and that means that stress control is something we have to pay attention to.
Humans and Stress
So what do we have in common with the monkeys? Turns out a good deal. Not only are we both primates with complex social orders, turns out we act a lot alike too. A study was done in the UK among state workers to find out how social standing affects stress. All UK administration workers receive the same kind of benefits and health care, so the variations in health couldn't be ascribed to differences in health care. Turns out that the higher up an employee was, they better health he had. This was across the board for both males and females. It seems that those in lower positions are far more stressed out, just like our baboon friends. And so the heightened stresses leads to health issues.
The Results of Stress on the Body
So what it is about stress that causes such Problems? Let’s just remind ourselves that it is not acute stress that causes the difficulty, it is long-term prolonged stress. This may be caused by either ongoing real threats or understood threats. There are an abundance of health issues ascribed to stress including: depression, reduced cognitive function, sexual dysfunction, colitis, ulcers, neurological damage, arteriosclerosis and even stunted growth in kids. This is a pretty overwhelming and horrifying list. How can something like persistent stress create so much widespread havoc in the body? It is going back to what we chatted about yesterday. When the body thinks it’s in mortal danger and becomes stressed, it marshals all of the body’s resources to extend adrenaline production and be prepared for run or fight. In this process it must moisten the other systems, including the immune reaction. This leaves stressed folks more subject 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 definitely kill, why do we allow ourselves to get so strung out over unimportant issues? Each 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 undies turned pink in the washing, ask yourself: is it really worth it?
Lisa Schoenenheim believes in healthy living including ensuring to use only organic skin products.
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