Stress and Your Body

By: Robert Sapolsky, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Sapolsky

Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

Feeling stressed?

You're not alone. Stress is an inherent aspect of life that can have tremendous negative effects on your mental and physical health. This makes coping with stress a critical part of how well we live.

Once you understand the inner workings of your stress response system, you'll possess powerful knowledge that will help you understand and better deal with this common aspect of your busy life. Now, from one of the world's foremost researchers on stress and neurobiology, comes a fascinating series of 24 lectures that guide you through the psychological and psychosocial stress that is a central part of everyday life in Western society.

You'll learn how the stress-response system is actually a natural survival system-giving, for example, a zebra the best chance to escape from a pursuing lion - that can change from a safety mechanism into a real problem for our physical and mental well-being. You'll see it coming into play against situations it wasn't designed to combat, such as traffic, troublesome thoughts and memories, and concerns over the economy, environment, and international events. And you'll gain valuable insights into how and why stress can affect every part of your body-including your cardiovascular, digestive, and immune systems - and learn about its relationship to important disorders and behaviors, like depression, anxiety, and even addiction.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses

It was so good I will have to listen to it again!

Would you consider the audio edition of Stress and Your Body to be better than the print version?

Don't know, but I personally prefer audio books... So I would guess yes.

What did you like best about this story?

The way in which science was explained in stories.

What about Professor Robert Sapolsky’s performance did you like?

Amazing reader, loved his tone and funny jokes. Really couldn't image this being read by anyone else.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The information on stress and PFC function and stress and socio-economic status. Very moving.

Any additional comments?

I am a neuroscientist looking at the influence of psycho social stress on various systems in the body. I admit that this book was nerd heaven for me, but could see how the layman may find the information overwhelming.

Low Barrier to entry, very thorough

I greatly enjoyed this lecture series, because it was full of Sapolsky's own research findings and conclusions from a variety of scientific studies. Conjecture is kept to a minimum, and for the most part the audience is allowed to come to their own conclusions from very detailed information. The perfect balance of in depth data with introductory level language.

As always, Sopalsky delivers

Clear, concise and clever. Not unlike this review. Sopalsky is a top notch lecturer with a knack for simplifying complex material.

Scientific research is Hard to Stomach

This was an interesting class but hearing all the scientific research is Hard to listen to. I had to stop some of the lectures because I had an aversion to the research studies of torture to monkeys and lab rats. Most of the results of these studies are self evident.

Extraordinary

I have listened to many of the Great Courses, and this is the best of all. Not only is it an excellent explanation of how all of the organs within our body's work, it overlays the impact on Stress on each in a very clear and relatable way. Robert Sapolsky presents the subject with candid and humour. I highly recommend it!
WL

It’s an eyopener

Worth every penny and I learned a lot about the causes of my immune deficiency.

Great performance

I really like this audiobook more than I thought I would. You can tell that the author is really passionate about the subject and that comes through in the delivery. I've actually applied a few things that I learned already and I'm sure there will be more!

Awesome!

Everyone should listen to this course! The realities of stress are very well described in an entertaining way.

This book should be part of the school curriculum

Really cool book which explains the mechanism of stress and it’s impact on the body. Especially enjoyed that it’s narrated by Robert Sapolsky himself. He is a great storyteller!

Wonderful!

Dr. Sapolsky is a wonderful presenter and researcher. I thoroughly enjoy all of his presentations.