Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Outline

Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (1994) explains how stress affects the body and why modern life makes us sick. Robert M. Sapolsky shows that animals like zebras activate their stress response only in short emergencies, while humans often keep it switched on for weeks or years because of worries and pressures. He explains the effects on the heart, digestion, memory, and sleep, and how to cope better.

• Animals like zebras switch on the stress response only during short emergencies, then return to normal once the danger has passed.
• Humans often keep the stress response running for weeks or years because of worries and pressures, not just physical threats.
• Long-lasting stress affects the heart, digestion, memory, and sleep, which helps explain why modern life can make people ill.
• Illness from stress can build quietly, so everyday pressures deserve to be taken seriously rather than brushed aside.
• The book also explains how to cope with stress better, so the response does not stay switched on.

Robert M. Sapolsky is an American neuroscientist, primatologist, and professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University. He is known for his long-term research on stress among wild baboons in Kenya and for his lively, humorous writing about science. His books include Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, A Primate’s Memoir, and Behave.