Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress Related Diseases, and Coping

Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers (1994) is a science text written by Robert Sapolsky. Sapolsky is a prominent Harvard professor, neuroscience researcher, and author. Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers takes an interdisciplinary approach that combines numerous branches of science to explore the health implications of modern chronic stress. Sapolsky primes readers by providing an overview of the biological processes and implications of the body’s stress-response. He then explores how psychological and social stress contribute to the development of stress-related diseases, before discussing ways that people can mitigate chronic stress.

This guide uses the Kindle version of the 3rd edition of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers published in 2004 by Henry Holt and Company, LLC.

Summary

People living in modern industrialized nations are now subjected to long-term diseases like heart disease, and new studies have found a link between psychological states and physical health, resulting in a branch of medical science called stress physiology. Of the three main types of stress—acute physical, chronic physical, and psychological and social—the latter is most relevant to the text. The human stress-response, which is its attempt to regain allostasis or balance, is better evolved to manage acute physical stress, and chronic psychological stress can increase one’s vulnerability to stress-related diseases.