The Science Behind Stress

SUMMARY By Xin Ling

Today, we decided to take you on a journey to discover and understand what exactly "stress" is, as Keira Teow, our president discussed and presented it's process, the implications, as well as guiding and easing our audience into collective further thinking and developing of ideas. A list of resources was also sent out prior to the session to provide them with a solid foundation or more resources if desired.

Keira began with a biological definition of "stress," stating that stress is a physical response caused by the release of hormones into the bloodstream by the hypothalamus via the adrenal glands (atop the kidneys). She then introduced us to Hans Selye, a medical researcher who coined the term in the 1930s while studying hormonal changes in rats. She also walked us through the bodily processes that occur as a result of stress, with a particular emphasis on the kidney and the release of Cortisol, a primary stress hormone. Cortisol raises blood sugar (glucose) levels in the bloodstream, improves brain glucose utilisation, and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Chronic stress, as well as the symptoms to look for, were discussed, as were the effects and implications of higher cortisol levels and stress, in addition to the impacts of young and old telomeres. We concluded this informative presentation with a discussion based on the prompts provided on the slide, in which we discussed and touched on the benefits and drawbacks of stress, as well as whether stress should be viewed as a positive or negative thing, what norepinephrine is and whether stress can be considered an emotion.