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Stress and the Body (December 31, 2004, Two)

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Program Summary

Stressed out? As long as there have been humans on the planet we’ve experienced stress in some way or another. It used to be a good thing. Way back in the day when we lived in caves and ran around with spears, coming up against an array of saber-toothed competitors, rock bearing enemies or earth-shaking herds of mammoth, a jolt or two of stress hormones did wonders for allowing us to run faster, escape and survive shocking events.

What with dodging toothy predators, hunting for food and holding their own against the weather and other cave folks, humans didn’t really have the luxury of living long enough to suffer from stress-related diseases like heart attack, stroke or depression. In fact, stress response may be what kept humans alive.

We’ve evolved a lot since those days, but has our stress response? Why is being stressed out in this day and age making us sick?

In this hour Ira talks with Robert Sapolsky, author of "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers.” (They don’t, by the way, because zebras aren’t worrying about the mortgage, being late, bad hair or puberty. They worry instantly if a lion is coming right now but then they let it go as soon as the threat is over.)

Guests

Dr. Robert Saplosky, author of Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers and A Primate's Memoir, research associate at the Institute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya and professor of biology and neuroscience at Stanford University in Stanford, California

Related Links and Resources

Sensing Fear: Science Friday Kids' Connection: http://www.kidsnet.org/sfkc/sfkc-brain-thml
Stress Effects: Science Friday Kids' Connection: http://kidsnet.org/sfkc/sfck20030425-1.html
The Everyday Brain: Science Friday Kids' Connection: http://www.kidsnet.org/sfkc/sfkc20040312-2.html

For Discussion:

• What is stress? What are some stresses people faced back in caveman days?
• What are some stresses animals might face?
• What are some stresses people face today?
• What are some ways in which we can handle stress?
• What are some symptoms of stress?
• What kinds of things make you feel stressed? How do you feel when you are stressed? How do you relieve the pressure?

Activities

Put your mind to it. With a wide range of topics, Neuroscience for Kids is a great site for general lesson plans and activities related to the brain. With links to subject review, organization and activities, the Autonomic Nervous System page explores the body’s physical responses to stress and fight-or-flight reactions. Laughter and the Brain talks about how laughing can relieve stress.

Stressed out. For good solid information, the Response to Stress, from The Doctor Will See You Now is a good overview of how the body handles stress both acute and chronic as well as tips for handling stress and making sure it doesn’t get out of control, control being a major component of stress. Stressing for Success from Internet4classrooms.com is an interesting lesson plan asking students to pair up and examine sources of stress and brainstorm ways to alleviate it.

Art attack. For some interesting art activities and lesson plans that explore identifying stress, dealing with and expressing feelings, check out stress-related Art Activities from HumanityQuest.com. Making masks, producing plays, writing poems and creating cartoons, songs, and videos are a few of the activities that allow students to delve into expressing different facets of stress that they may be experiencing.

Use the search box below to perform a Google search within any of the specifc sites or general domains mentioned in this Activities section.

Hear the Program

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