Most of us know about the “fight or flight” response, the body’s built-in survival instinct. But that framework leaves out two other common ways the nervous system reacts to stress. Indeed, ...

It's a tried-and-true method for improving your focus: taking a break for a brisk walk.

Fear affects the decisions we make, the actions we take, and the lives we create. Recognizing fear and knowing how to handle it are among the most important skills we can learn. To deal with fearful ...

Being cut off in traffic, giving a presentation or missing a meal can all trigger a suite of physiological changes that allow the body to react swiftly to stress or starvation. Critical to this "fight ...

Even the most unsuspecting parts of your day can feel like an obstacle when you're too stressed out. There are three stages to the "fight-or-flight" response, according to psychology educator Kendra ...

The fight-or-flight response—when a threat kicks on your sympathetic nervous system, revving up your pulse and breathing rate—makes sense when you consider our ancestors (however unhelpful it may be ...

The human stress response represents a sophisticated biological system designed to help individuals survive immediate threats through rapid physiological changes that enhance performance and ...

This video examines how survival pressures on Pleistocene humans — hunting, predators and life in caves — reinforced the ...

I recently received an interesting comment that I wanted to respond to in greater depth. Cheryl , a nurse, described a technique that patients with breathing problems (e.g. chronic obstructive ...

The sympathetic nervous system, which helps your heart and other vital organs function all the time, increases activity in response to danger or stress, preparing the body for extra demands. Stress is ...

Dr Ingrid Clayton once had a patient whom she’ll call Anthony. He was Harvard-educated and a partner at a global firm; “at the top of his game”, by most measures. He was also a certified Nice Guy: ...

The pulse quickens, the heart pounds and adrenalin courses through the veins, but in stressful situations is our reaction controlled by our genes, and does it differ between the sexes? Australian ...