Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, Healthy Outlets for Humans
- Ryan Gilbert
- Jun 3
- 3 min read
A look back on an American classic research book, Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers and how it relates to the modern world of stress.
“The body not only can sense something stressful, but it also is amazingly accurate at measuring just how far and how fast that stressor is throwing the body out of allostatic balance.”
This is a quote from author Robert M. Sapolsky’s praised researched book, Why’s Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. It has been many years since the book’s first print release and has since been revised and updated a few times but this important guide to stress, stress-related diseases, and coping is such a hidden gem.
Sapolsky uses animals, such as zebras and rats to explain their stress-response to various situations and gives in-depth outcomes to these stressors. A very creative way, as well as evidence-based, to see how stress has a dramatic impact on our lives and on our health.
A Particular Stress Experiment
One example given is in the chapter, “Why is Psychological Stress Stressful” explains how outlets for frustration can give relief and help relieve the impact of stress. The author shares from an experiment by physiologist Jay Weiss where a rat receives mild electrical shocks. The rat’s heart rate and glucocorticoid secretion rates go up. This increases the probability of the rat to get an ulcer.
In a similar scenario, a different rat gets the same patterns and intensity of shocks. But, this particular rat, after the shock, is allowed an outlet for his stress after the stress test. The rat is allowed to run over to a bar of wood and chew on it.
The outcome of this test, a building block on stressors, is an illustration on how the rat with the outlet to gnaw on the wood after the shock, is far less likely to get an ulcer and feel the effects of the stressful situation. And the outlet for the rat included various things such as: running, drinking water or other soothing outlets.
As Sapolsky and his research states, we humans are very similar with certain types of stressors. If we have outlets for stressful moments to our day such as: walking, running or hiking, mediation or yoga, cold showers, gardening, gaming, cooking, practicing any sport, reading or writing just to name a few.
Any moving exercising is good for our body and brain and can literally melt away stress.
Many hobbies or daily habits good for problem-solving, challenging the brain are healthy coping outlets to reduce stress. Examples above of certain types of outlets or in graphic can bring relief, improve your mood and cognitive agility and “distracts from the stressor.”
Conclusion
Animals such as zebras and rats running for their life, preventing them from having harmony and living a peaceful life, shows how an outlet-for-frustration reaction can impact your health.
Also, what was noted in this research was how important support from a small circle of friends or from your spouse can ultimately help you live a longer life.
The importance of social support and having certain types of hobbies or exercise, can be a great stress reducer and a healthy way to cope with day-to-day stress.
In short, find some pleasurable outlets for your environmental stressors. Science proves once again another simple solution to living a healthier life.
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