Stress Definition Essay

Stress is a condition that affects both genders and all age groups. It is a condition that is inevitable to live without in our society. However, the human race has exhausted the use of stress. Originally, stress initial purpose was to actually save us from life threatening situations. For example, when an animal senses a predator or comes into contact with it. The animal triggers its stress response, allowing the animal to burst into energy and trying to get away from the predator. Once the predator the animals' stress levels for example a zebra’s stress levels go down and return to normal. However, that is sadly not the case for humans who can't seem to shut off their stress response, but only know how to trigger it. Therefore, our high

stress levels can contribute to vast problems that affect our wellbeing such as psychological and physical health . Overall stress is a dangerous and the key reason for various health conditions. If humans learn and implement effective ways to overcome a situation and not stress over it. There will be a tremendous difference in countless societies.

Neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky made some discoveries regarding stress. He studied baboons in Kenya and made a countless links with how affects the baboons which is much too similar in humans. From blood extractions, he measured hormone levels central to the stress response. Doing this we obtain a better understanding of how stress impacts the body. Adrenaline which is known as epinephrine and glucocorticoids that can be found in the adrenal gland are crucial hormones that go hand in hand with stress. These two hormones are important to our survival. Therefore, stress causes high blood pressure and high heart rate, which was seen in low ranked baboons. An interesting fact about stress is that it can be linked hierarchies in various societies. The high ranked or dominate baboons had a much lower stress level than low ranked baboons.

Professor Sir Michael Marmot also did a study that proved Robert Sapolsky’s discovery.

He a did a study focusing on civil servant workers. Like Robert, he also discovered that every job had a hierarchy and in that each rank had a undetermined measure of stress. In his study like the baboons, the lower you were in the hierarchy the more likely you will contract heart disease and other crucial health conditions. He also interviewed two civil service workers, one was had a higher rank in the government and the other one didn’t. The individual who had a lower rank in the hierarchy was more stress out and was out of work constantly because he was sick. However, the individual who was higher in the rank wasn’t out of work a lot because they were sick.

However, stress affects how individuals put on weight. In the book “An Invitation to Health” the book discusses that stress can cause individuals to have poor eating habits. Whether it is eating on the run, skipping meals, not chewing your food properly which cause your stomach to work over time, or overeating. The book also explains that if you are to continue living this lifestyle you will have increased abdominal pressure. However, in Dr. Sapolski’s discovery he believes that stress can determine the way fat is distributed in the body. As a result causing more fat to out onto your

stomach.