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Radiolab

Sunday, July 01, 2007
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  • stress

    Stress

    The body has a system for getting out of trouble. Back when trouble meant being chased by a tiger, that system gave us a real survival edge. But these days, "trouble" is more likely to mean waiting in traffic... and "the system" is more likely to make us sick. Stanford University neurologist (and part-time "baboonologist") Dr. Robert Sapolsky takes us through what happens on our insides when we stand in the wrong line at the supermarket and offers a few coping strategies: gnawing on wood, beating the crap out of somebody, and having friends.

Take a deep breath - hold it – now exhale

We can’t control stress, but what we can do is understand it. Neuropsychologist Dr. Kamran Fallahpour let’s us listen to the sound of our own stress (a sort of a high pitched whine). His theory is that if you can hear your stress you can control it. Not to say all stress is bad: MTV producer Colby Hall battles a boat propellor and survives by virtue of stress hormones. Dr. Robert Sapolsky explains how it works - stress hormones shut down pain, often leaving the victim the calmest person at the scene.

Test your stress level
Visit Dr. Kamran Fallahpour
Dr. Robert Sapolsky’s Book: Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Growing Up is Awfuler then All the Awful things that Ever Were

We now know that too much stress makes you sick. Fifty years ago, we had no idea. Credit an upholsterer, a chair, and some lab rats. Dr. Paul J. Rosch, President of the American Institute of Stress, describes a series of not so nice things he and his colleagues did to rodents which began to illuminate what it means to be "stressed out." Dr. Robert Sapolsky takes us to the edges of our seats, literally, as he explains the discovery of Type A personality, and why being a Type A person is worse for you then smoking. Speaking of chairs, upholsterer Charles Young helps us smooth our wrinkles. And we conclude this segment with a trip to one of the truly bizarre outposts of medicine - stressed dwafism - and story of a much beloved author caught in a body that never grew up.

The American Institute of Stress
Dr. Robert Sapolsky’s book: The Trouble With Testosterone
More info on J. M. Barrie

The therapeutic benefits of gnawing on wood, beating the crap out of somebody...and having friends

Stress can make fairy tales turn to nightmares, and it can make an enemy of your own body. Producer Ellen Horne speaks with Linda Thompson, famous folk singer whose voice one day flew away. Thompson describes her rare condition, called Hysterical Dysphonia, and how she overcame her body's silence. Dr. Robert Sapolsky explains why certain rats get ulcers and others don't - coping mechanisms that work for humans too. Finally we learn that nice guys can finish first - in the baboon world that is. Alpha male baboons fight for years to maintain their social rank, all to get the girl. It's a stressful existence, to be sure, especially when the day finally comes that they get knocked off their pedestal by some young upstart and fall to the bottom of the ladder. Cruel cruel world. But here's the silver lining: researchers have discovered that some females, rather then sitting patiently in ringside seats, get bored with all the fighting and mate with – you guessed it - the nice guy sitting on the bench.

Learn more about Dysphonia
Linda Thompson’s Fashionably Late
Dr. Robert Sapolsky’s book: A Primate's Memoir