Claire Conger

Stanford neurology professor Robert Sapolsky is one interesting guy. He’s studied baboons long enough to look like one! See him in action talking about stress and neurodegeneration. (This lecture has a section in which Dr Sapolsky explains the physiology of stress hormones that’s a little over the head of a layperson, but bear with it and you’ll be rewarded.)

Stress disarrays your immune system and deteriorates your hippocampus—the brain’s memory center. Ooh, can’t have that!

Dr Sapolsky studies baboons because they need only three hours a day to find food and spend the rest of their time making each other miserable by enforcing their own troop hierarchy.

Here with the Sapolsky stress hierarchy.

1. Low ranking baboons get picked on more. They have worse stress. Same with people.
2. The society in which you live counts more than your rank. You wouldn’t want to be the czar of Russia during a peasant uprising.
3. Your personal experience counts even more—if you’re coated with Teflon (you’re lucky enough not to be among those getting picked on) you won’t be stressed.
4. Your personality trumps all. People’s stress reactions vary dramatically—when one person panics, another is happily excited.

You’re good if you can

• tell the difference between threatening and neutral behaviors
• take control when a threat arises
• tell if you’ve won or lost
• find an outlet when things go badly (Baboons beat up on lesser baboons, but that behavior makes humans feel badly about themselves, so I don’t recommend it.)
• stay socially connected