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What role does socioeconomic status play in the relationship between stress and health?
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People in lower socioeconomic classes experience more respiratory infections related to chronic stress, possibly due to reduced access to healthcare and support systems.
Define the term 'fight or flight response' as triggered by stress.
The 'fight or flight response' is the body's automatic reaction to stress involving increased heart rate, energy production, and alertness, preparing one for quick action.
How does chronic stress impact the immune system?
Chronic stress reduces white blood cell production, impairing healing and infection resistance.
How does chronic stress influence cardiovascular health?
Chronic stress is linked to increased risk of heart disease due to persistently high cortisol levels affecting heart function.
Discuss the psychological benefits of reinterpreting stress.
Seeing stress as a challenge rather than a threat can minimize its negative impact, encouraging personal growth and resilience.
Describe the results of the dental students' experiment related to stress and healing.
Students healed slower during periods of high stress, such as exams, compared to lower stress periods like vacations, indicating stress impacts healing negatively.
In what way does helping others impact stress-related health issues?
Helping others can reduce the negative health impacts of stress, as seen in studies where older adults who helped others had higher survival rates under stress.
What are alternative strategies to manage chronic stress if eliminating stressors is not possible?
Alternatives include meditation, relaxation therapy, and rethinking stress as a challenge rather than a threat.
Explain how chronic stress affects telomeres and the implications of this effect.
Chronic stress can accelerate aging by shortening telomeres, which are protective caps on DNA strands that shorten as we age.
What are some long-term health effects associated with chronic stress?
Chronic stress can lead to health issues such as heart disease, autoimmune disorders, anxiety, depression, and impaired immune function.
What hormonal changes occur during acute stress?
During acute stress, there is an increase in hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol released by the HPA axis.
What did studies find about the relationship between stress and wound recovery?
Studies found that chronic stress slows down recovery from surgeries and wounds, impacting the body's natural healing processes.
How does the HPA axis respond to acute stress?
The HPA axis releases hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol, triggering the 'fight or flight' response, which increases blood sugar, blood flow, and metabolism.
What are the key differences between positive and acute stress?
Positive stress arises from happy events and can be motivating, while acute stress results from short-term, often unexpected events that require immediate attention.
What is the significance of cortisol in the context of stress?
Cortisol is a stress hormone elevated during both acute and chronic stress, but persistently high levels are linked to numerous long-term health complications.
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