It seldom happens when we go through a day without experiencing stress. We are especially familiar with these feelings when they build up after a long day at work or while studying for a difficult final exam. In our modern industrialized world, it is more difficult now than ever to avoid stress, and some experts say this is leading to many unforeseen health-related problems. In a society that values multi-tasking, an over consumption of commercial goods, and exponential increases in economic production, no wonder it always feels like our heads are spinning and no wonder life often seems so hectic and uncontrollable.
However, stress is a necessary component to the human experience. Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky, who is featured in the PBS documentary “Stress: Portrait Of A Killer,” explains how stress is an adaptive response of our nervous system. According to him, there are two main hormones involved in this stress response: epinephrine (also called “adrenaline”) and norepinephrine. Many recognize this biological process as the “fight or flight” response that takes place in our sympathetic nervous system. From an evolutionary perspective, this response was first adapted to increase an animal’s survival when confronted by an immediate danger. However, Sapolsky argues that humans tend to trigger this stress response psychologically, without any presence of a threatening stimulus. This “artificial” stress response is constantly being activated, which becomes severely taxing on our body’s resources, and later in life can result in some very undesirable outcomes.
