Stress and Health

Leading causes of death in the US in 1900 (Tuberculosis) and 2014 (Heart disease).

Stress and Illness

PercentageU.S.deaths

30

20

10

0 Tuber-culosis

Pneu-monia

Diarrhea/enteritis

Heartdisease

1900

PercentageU.S.deaths

30

20

10

0 Heartdisease

Cancer Strokes Chroniclung disease

2014

Unlike many leading killers a century ago,

today’s majorkillers are more lifestyle-related

What is Stress?Stress: the process by which we perceive and respond

to certain events, called stressors, that WE APPRAISE as threatening or challenging.

StressorsCatastrophes

Life changes

Hassles

InterveningfactorsAppraisal

Perceived control

Personality

Social support

Coping behaviors

StressreactionsPhysiological

Emotional

Behavioral

Stress and Health• Health Psychology:• subfield of psychology that

focuses on how stress affects well-being and health.

Stress Appraisal

Stressful event(tough math test)

Threat(“Yikes! This isbeyond me!”)

Challenge(“I’ve got to apply

all I know”)

Panic, freeze up

Aroused, focused

Appraisal Response

What is Stress?

*Hans Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress as composed of three stages:--alarm reaction--resistance--exhaustion

Stressresistance

Phase 1Alarm

reaction(mobilize

resources)

Phase 2Resistance(cope with stressor)

Phase 3Exhaustion(reservesdepleted)

The body’s resistance to stress can onlylast so long before exhaustion sets in

Stressoroccurs

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Fight or Flight Response•internal processes that prepares the aroused organism for struggle or escape.

•occurs when the situation is interpreted as threatening.

(i.e.) You arrive at your class to find the students taking a test for which you have not prepared:

•you have an internal urge to flee but you have learned from experience that you’ll have to face the music sooner or later.

Types of Stressors:

• Daily Stress (can lead to “burnout”).• Significant Life Changes (like a death in

the family).• Catastrophes (hurricanes, terror attacks).

What is Stress?• Burnout:• Physical, emotional and

mental exhaustion brought on by persistent job-related stress.

• Results of Burnout:• Depression.• Decreased performance.• Cynicism.

Stressful Life EventsChronic Stress by Age

WHAT CAN WE DO TO CONTROL OUR HEALTH:1) Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night.

2) Eat breakfast every day.

3) Get your weight to a normal level.

4) Don’t smoke.

5) Use alcohol moderately or not at all.

6) Get regular physical exercise.

7) Wear seat belts.

8) Don’t drive at excessive speeds.

9) Learn good diets and follow them.

10) Find a physician with whom you can communicate.

Stress and ControlRats that could turn off the shock stayed healthy.

No connection to shock source

To shock control To shock source

“Executive” rat “Subordinate” rat Control rat

Importance of Control and Optimism

• Elderly persons in nursing homes, that were given more control, significantly improved their health and psychological well-being.

• Studies have also shown that those who are more optimistic and have a more positive “explanatory style” also live longer. Seeing the glass half-full, not half-empty.

Stress & Coronary Heart Disease

Hopelessnessscores

3.5

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

0.5

0

Heart attack Death

Low risk Moderate risk High risk

Men who feel extreme hopelessnessare at greater risk for heart attacksand early death

Stress and the Heart

Personality Types and Stress

Type A

• Feel time pressure.• Easily angered.• Competitive and

ambitious.• Work hard and play hard.• More prone to heart

attacks than rest of population.

Type B

• Relaxed and easygoing.

• But some people fit in neither type.

Promoting Wellness

• Martin Seligman.• American psychologist

who researched helplessness before turning his interest to optimism.

• Wellness is a positive approach to living.

Healthy LifestylesAerobic Exercise:

*sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness.

*can also reduce depression.

*lowers blood pressure.

*cuts heart attack risks in half.

*increases mood-boosting chemicals.

Depressionscore

14

13

12

11

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3Before treatment

evaluationAfter treatment

evaluation

No-treatmentgroup

Aerobicexercise

group

Relaxationtreatment

group

Social Factors Leading to a Healthy Lifestyle

• Family and Friends:• A.) People with more social

ties are less likely to die prematurely.

• B.) Married people live longer than those unmarried.

Healthy Lifestyles Religious attendance increases life span.

Promoting Health Predictors of mortality

1

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0 Men Women

Not smoking Regular exercise Weekly religious attendance

Relativerisk

of dying

Positive Experiences and Well Being

• The field of Positive Psychology reports that there is a positive correlation between positive experiences and well being.

• Therefore, those that report more positive experiences also report higher levels of wellness.

Flow• Is a state of optimal

experience that involves a challenge, requires skill, has clear goals and provides feedback.

• It also contributes to happiness.

Overcoming Illness-Related BehaviorsSmoking-related early deaths

Health Risks of Smokers

• Higher rates of depression and divorce.• 3 times more likely to drink alcohol.• 17 times more likely to smoke marijuana.• Harms nearly every organ in your body.

Smoking Prevention

• The ups and downs or U.S. teen smoking.

Preliminary findings of 1800 college students:

1) 59 percent say they know their diet has gone downhill.

2) During freshman year, students gain an average of 5.5 (men) and 4.5 (women) lbs.

3) 66 percent of freshman don’t consume the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables.

4) 60 percent eat too much artery-clogging saturated fat.

5) 50 percent of all students don’t get enough fiber.

6) 30 percent of women don’t get enough calcium.

7) 32 percent report decline in body image.

8) 40 percent of women see themselves overweight.

9) 41 percent report decline in overall happiness during freshman year.

10)Students who exercise report greater levels of happiness.

Obesity is caused by three main things:

1) how much exercise we do,

2) how many times we use technology,

3) and how much we eat .

Obesity and Weight Control

Obesity and mortality

18.5 18.5- 20.5- 22.0- 23.5- 25.0- 26.5- 28.0- 30.0- 32.0- 35.0- 40 20.4 21.9 23.4 24.9 26.4 27.9 29.9 31.9 34.9 39.9

Body-mass index (BM I)Men Women

2.8

2.6

2.4

2.2

2.0

1.8

1.6

1.4

1.2

1.0

0.8

0.6

Relativerisk ofdeath

Obesity and Weight Control

Body mass index = (weight squared by height)

Weight Control Trading risks

Weight Control Thinning of Miss America

Weight ControlObesity was

more common among those who watched the most television.

<2 2-3 >4Hours of television watched per day

in 1990s study

Boys Girls

32

30

28

26

24

22

20

Skinfold fatmeasure (mm)

Tips of Losing Weight

• Reduce exposure to tempting food cues.• Start exercising to boost your metabolism.• Be patient, realistic, and moderate.• Permanently change the foods you eat.• Control your portions.• Don’t skip breakfast and lunch to eat a big dinner.

Nine Nutritional Rules to live by:

1) Make vegetables and fruits the heart of most meals and snacks. (fiber, vitamins, & other antioxidants)

2) Go for whole grains.

3) Don’t overlook beans. (plant protein, folic acid, fiber)

4) Cook with liquid oils. (olive & canola oils)

5) Favor fat-free dairy products. (calcium, minerals bring down blood pressure)

6) Check your chicken…….take off fat and skin

7) Lighten up on cheese.

8) Move meats to the side. (supporting role)

9) Order fish & shrimp. Choose grilling or broiled seafood for reduced intake of fat and calories.

WHAT DO THE LABELS MEAN?

1) “All Natural” has no legal meaning. (can still have preservatives, artificial flavoring, and other additives)

2) “Light” or “Lite” is virtually meaningless. The term can refer to pale color, low sodium taste, reduced alcohol, fluffy texture.

3) “Sugarless” or “sugar-free” means no sucrose (table sugar) but it does not cover glucose, fructose, or sorbitol.

4) “Enriched” can mean that enriched foods have lost nutrients during processing and then replaced.

5) “Low Calorie” simply means that a food has less than 40 calories per serving and less than 0.4 calories per gram

6) “Fortified” mean that some nutrient has been added that was not there in the first place

7) “Fruit-blend” refers to as little as 10 percent juice and may be mostly sugar and water

8) “75% Lean” mean one-quarter fat by weight, which is a lot of fat.

Stress• When stress is bad, we call it distress.• When stress is good and it leads to something

desirable we call it eustress.• Any kind of change (+ or -) causes stress!!!• (Remember the Social Readjustment Rating

Scale!)

Conflict Situations• approach-approach

conflict• avoidance-

avoidance conflict• approach-

avoidance conflict• double approach-

avoidance conflicts