压力无处不在，很多人甚至每天生活在压力中。而长期压力对身体有很多负面影响，咄咄逼人、健忘、注意力无法集中，更严重的还会出现认知功能下降和抑郁。学会缓解压力，是每个人的人生必修课！
We all get stressed whether it be from work, school or relationship.
我们都会感到压力，无论在工作上、学业上还是人际交往中。
But with 80%of adults in the U.S. reporting daily stress.
80%的美国成年人指出他们每天都会感到压力。
What's this chronic stress doing to all of us?
这种长期压力对我们有什么影响呢？
What happens when you're stressed every day?
每天都处在压力之中你的身体会如何反应呢？
Within seconds of any stressor, your body goes into fight or flight mode.
在收到压力源刺激的几秒钟之内，你的身体就会进入反抗或逃避模式。
First your eyes and ears send information to your amygdala.
首先，你的眼睛和耳朵会向大脑扁桃核传递信息。
The emotional processing center of the brain.
这是大脑情绪处理中心。
Then from your amygdala the imformation moves to your hypothalamus which communicates with your autonomic nervous system and adrenal glands.
接着，这些信息会从扁桃核传递到下丘脑，它会把信息传递给人体自主神经系统和肾上腺。
These glands then release a burst of the neurotransmitter adrenaline.
肾上腺就会瞬间释放大量肾上腺素神经递质。
This causes the classic feeling of stress, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure and faster breathing.
从而引发一些典型的压力感，心跳加速，血压升高，呼吸急促。
The sdrenaline also triggers the release of the stress hormone cortisol.
肾上腺素也会出发皮质醇这种应激激素释放。
We always hear about the danger of cortisol, but it's actually released to protect your brain from the nerve damage associated with trauma.
我们总是听说皮质醇的危害，但它实际上是为了保护大脑免受神经创伤而释放的。
Within 10 minutes of being stressed, behavioral changes likely take place, including increased aggressive behavior.
处于压力状态下10分钟内，行为就可能发生变化，包括攻击性增强。
Around 30 mimutes, you may become forgetful.
到30分钟左右会出现健忘的表现。
As stress can decrease long term memory and impair concentration.
这是因为压力会削弱长期记忆，也会影响注意力集中。
And after days of consistent stress, your sex drive will likely decrease.
而压力持续几天后，可能会导致性欲降低。
Why?
为什么？
From an evolutionary perspective, getting out there and meeting would increase the odds of predating.
从进化的角度看，动物外出碰面会增加被捕食的概率。
So one rheory is we may have evolved to decrease our sex drive when stressed to svoid potential threats.
所以有一种理论认为我们可能已经进化到处于压力时，会降低性欲从而避免威胁。
But after months of being stressed, your cognitive function will really start decline.
但如果联系数月处于压力之中，你的认知功能真的会开始退化。
Longitudinal studies of employees in stressful work environments show increased incidences of depression and poor circulatory health.
对处于压力环境中工作的员工们进行追踪研究时显示，他们的抑郁倾向会增加，循环系统的健康状况也有所下降。
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
小鼠实验显示，经过6个月长期压力刺激，小鼠的焦虑程度增加，在迷宫中的导航能力下降。
This was due to changes in their hippocampus all linked to increased levels of cortisol.
这是因为它们海马体的变化与皮质醇的增加联系在一起。
This highlights that although we know cortisol is meant to protect your brain from trauma, long term exposure to it can be detrimental.
这就突出表明，虽然我们知道皮质醇是用来保护大脑免受创伤的，但长期的接触却是有害的。
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.
了解这些之后，也就不会惊讶于许多疾病都和长期压力有关了，比如肥胖症、抑郁症、心脏病。
And suppression of the immune system with increased susceptibility to colds, sleep issues, GI issues, fertility issues, memory problems and even cancer.
同时免疫系统还会遭到破坏，从而增加患感冒的风险，影响睡眠，引发肠胃问题，生育问题，导致记忆力衰退，甚至引发癌症。
So trying to minimize your stress might be a good idea.
因此尽量减轻压力是明智之举。
