Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
- Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers written in 1994 by Robert M. Sapolsky, a highly acclaimed professor at Stanford University. The book proclaims itself as a "Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping" on the front cover of its third and most recent edition. The name stems from Sapolsky's insistence that animals out in the wild are less likely to have stress induced by constantly worrying over jobs, relationships, or other fears that plague humans and lead to ulcers, hypertension, decreased neurogenesis and increased hippocampal neuronal atrophy and several other maladies. Sapolsky focuses on the effects of glucocorticoids on the human body. He illustrates how such hormones may be useful to animals in the wild escaping their predators, but the effects on humans, when secreted at high quantities or over long periods of time, are much less desired. Sapolsky walks us through endocrinology's history explaining how the field reacted at times of discovery and how it has changed through the years. Praised as "One of the best science writers of our time," by Oliver Sacks, Sapolsky offers witty footnotes and several anecdotes which make the reading that much more interesting. While most of the book focuses on the biological machinery of the body, the last chapter of the book focuses on self help, an aspect of the book in which many readers are very interested.
References
*Robert M. Sapolsky. "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide To Stress, Stress Related Diseases, and Coping." 2nd Rev Ed, April 15, 1998. W. H. Freeman ISBN 978-0716732105
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1110931 "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers"] , NPR segment from December 3, 1999 from "Fresh Air"
External Links
* [http://killerstress.stanford.edu Stress: Portrait of a Killer] , National Geographic documentary based on "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers"
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