Evolution Of Stress Analysis

The article “Evolutionary Origins and Functions of the Stress Response” initially presents stress as an advantage. More often, stress is portrayed dangerously or negatively that we forget the usefulness of stress response. To illustrate, the release of glucocorticoids could, in part, protect against other aspects of defensive systems. Moreover, ACTH (hormone involved on stress release) is also found in amphibians, reptiles, and insect, and they are usually associated with immune cells that set defensive processes in motion. If stress is so useful, it is reasonable for one to ask why it is not expressed all the time. There are few reasons for why its not. First, expression of stress is costly in terms of energy being spent. Second, expression of stress can interfere with other adaptive …show more content…
Therefore, there are good reasons to think that every day stress has both costs as well as benefits. However, inhibition of these stress responses because of the costs paid by the body is not ideal at all. Stress response is characterized by increased heart rate and contractility to speed circulation, increased rate and depth of breathing to speed gas exchange, sweating to cool the body and make it slippery, increased glucose synthesis to provide energy, shunting of blood from gut and skin to muscles, increased muscle tension to increase strength and endurance, and increased blood clotting in preparation for possible tissue damage, faster reaction times and cognitive benefits as a result of sympathetic arousal. These responses could be highly beneficial when we are in physical danger, but stress in modern life has less to do with physical dangers and more to do with our daily responsibilities. Therefore we can conclude that stress result not from a discrepancy between our abilities and the environment’s demands, but from a discrepancy between what we wish to achieve and what we are capable