Man's Worst Friend: Stress
Presenter:
Brain Facts
Time:
4:59
Summary
A scary movie and a heavy college course load have something in common: They both can be stressful. But the brain’s response to those to stressors over time will differ. Acute stress, like seeing a scary movie or encountering a bear on a hike, can be a good thing: Our body’s stress response keeps us out of danger. But chronic stress can interfere with a variety of chemical messengers in the brain, affecting sleep, mood, appetite, and more.
Transcript
It is a Thursday evening. You're sitting on the couch watching your favorite movie, the bag of popcorn right by your side and a nice drink. Nothing can ruin this relaxing moment, except that you have a three page essay due tomorrow. You start to panic. How can I finish this essay? There is no way I'm going to fail. I don't even have a topic. What do I do? Stop sit down and clear your mind because you are stressing. Stress is the feeling we get when we experience pressure, tension or any sort of change. Stress can happen mentally or physically. Examples of mental stress are anxiety, depression, panic attacks, feeling overwhelmed and a lack of motivation. Physical stress includes pains, aches, stomach problems and exhaustion. We stress simply because our body is reacting to stress, causing factors called stressors. Stressors like seeing a bee or a bear will cause our body to be scared, or stressors like the essay that is due tomorrow will make us worried.
We all have experienced stress.If we all have experienced stress, does that mean our brains are unhealthy?Well, it depends on what type of stress we are talking about. There are two chronic stress and acute stress. Chronic stress occurs over a long period of time, such as an unhappy marriage. This is the bad type of stress that leads to severe problems in the heart and stomach, like high blood pressure, slow digestion, or even diabetes.But what does it do to the brain?