Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Renowned primatologist Robert Sapolsky offers a completely revised and updated edition of his most popular work, with over 225,000 copies in print Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear-and the ones that plague us now-are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way-through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humor and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.

Robert M. Sapolsky is the author of several works of nonfiction, including A Primate's Memoir, The Trouble with Testosterone, and Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. His most recent book, Behave, was a New York Times bestseller and named a best book of the year by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He is a professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant." He and his wife live in San Francisco.

Preface 1. Why Don't Zebras Get Ulcers? 2. Glands, Gooseflesh, and Hormones 3. Stroke, Heart Attacks, and Voodoo Death 4. Stress, Metabolism, and Liquidating Your Assets 5. Ulcers, the Runs, and Hot Fudge Sundaes 6. Dwarfism and the Importance of Mothers 7. Sex and Reproduction 8. Immunity, Stress, and Disease 9. Stress and Pain 10. Stress and Memory 11. Stress and a Good Night's Sleep 12. Aging and Death 13. Why is Psychological Stress Stressful? 14. Stress and Depression 15. Personality, Temperament, and Their Stress-Related Consequences 16. Junkies, Adrenaline Junkies, and Pleasure 17. the View from the Bottom 18. Managing Stress Notes Index