壓力無處不在，很多人甚至每天生活在壓力中。而長期壓力對身體有很多負面影響，咄咄逼人、健忘、注意力無法集中，更嚴重的還會出現認知功能下降和抑鬱。學會緩解壓力，是每個人的人生必修課！
We all get stressed whether it be from work, school or relationship.
我們都會感到壓力，無論在工作上、學業上還是人際交往中。
But with 80%of adults in the U.S. reporting daily stress.
80%的美國成年人指出他們每天都會感到壓力。
What's this chronic stress doing to all of us?
這種長期壓力對我們有什麼影響呢？
What happens when you're stressed every day?
每天都處在壓力之中你的身體會如何反應呢？
Within seconds of any stressor, your body goes into fight or flight mode.
在收到壓力源刺激的幾秒鐘之內，你的身體就會進入反抗或逃避模式。
First your eyes and ears send information to your amygdala.
首先，你的眼睛和耳朵會向大腦扁桃核傳遞信息。
The emotional processing center of the brain.
這是大腦情緒處理中心。
Then from your amygdala the imformation moves to your hypothalamus which communicates with your autonomic nervous system and adrenal glands.
接著，這些信息會從扁桃核傳遞到下丘腦，它會把信息傳遞給人體自主神經系統和腎上腺。
These glands then release a burst of the neurotransmitter adrenaline.
腎上腺就會瞬間釋放大量腎上腺素神經遞質。
This causes the classic feeling of stress, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and faster breathing.
從而引發一些典型的壓力感，心跳加速，血壓升高，呼吸急促。
The sdrenaline also triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol.
腎上腺素也會出發皮質醇這種應激激素釋放。
We always hear about the danger of cortisol, but it's actually released to protect your brain from the nerve damage associated with trauma.
我們總是聽說皮質醇的危害，但它實際上是為了保護大腦免受神經創傷而釋放的。
Within 10 minutes of being stressed, behavioral changes likely take place, including increased aggressive behavior.
處於壓力狀態下10分鐘內，行為就可能發生變化，包括攻擊性增強。
Around 30 mimutes, you may become forgetful.
到30分鐘左右會出現健忘的表現。
As stress can decrease long term memory and impair concentration.
這是因為壓力會削弱長期記憶，也會影響注意力集中。
And after days of consistent stress, your sex drive will likely decrease.
而壓力持續幾天後，可能會導致性慾降低。
Why?
為什麼？
From an evolutionary perspective, getting out there and meeting would increase the odds of predating.
從進化的角度看，動物外出碰面會增加被捕食的概率。
So one rheory is we may have evolved to decrease our sex drive when stressed to svoid potential threats.
所以有一種理論認為我們可能已經進化到處於壓力時，會降低性慾從而避免威脅。
But after months of being stressed, your cognitive function will really start decline.
但如果聯繫數月處於壓力之中，你的認知功能真的會開始退化。
Longitudinal studies of employees in stressful work environments show increased incidences of depression and poor circulatory health.
對處於壓力環境中工作的員工們進行追蹤研究時顯示，他們的抑鬱傾向會增加，循環系統的健康狀況也有所下降。
A study on rats showed that six months after being chronically stressed, the rats had increased levels of anxiety and decreased abilities to navigate a maze
小鼠實驗顯示，經過6個月長期壓力刺激，小鼠的焦慮程度增加，在迷宮中的導航能力下降。
This was due to changes in their hippocampus all linked to increased levels of cortisol.
這是因為它們海馬體的變化與皮質醇的增加聯繫在一起。
This highlights that although we know cortisol is meant to protect your brain from trauma, long term exposure to it can be detrimental.
這就突出表明，雖然我們知道皮質醇是用來保護大腦免受創傷的，但長期的接觸卻是有害的。
With all this in mind, it's no surprise that chronic stress has been linked to many diseases, such as obesity, depression and heart disease.
瞭解這些之後，也就不會驚訝於許多疾病都和長期壓力有關了，比如肥胖症、抑鬱症、心臟病。
And suppression of the immune system with increased susceptibility to colds, sleep issues, GI issues, fertility issues, memory problems and even cancer.
同時免疫系統還會遭到破壞，從而增加患感冒的風險，影響睡眠，引發腸胃問題，生育問題，導致記憶力衰退，甚至引發癌症。
So trying to minimize your stress might be a good idea.
因此儘量減輕壓力是明智之舉。
