Why Zebras Get Ulcers

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Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers is a book by Robert M. Sapolsky that focuses on all things stress. In this book Sapolsky talks about different types of stress, stressors, stress-related diseases, and how to cope with stress. Stress can cause a person irrability, low energy, impact digestive functioning, lead to depression or even cause dangerous health issues such as cardiovascular disease. One of the best ways to deal with stress is by exercising. Sapolsky writes about how exercises causes the secretion of beta-endorphin and it provides a sense self-efficacy (Sapolsky, 1994). Exercise has the ability to change a person’s brain, impact their mood, and provide long lasting benefits that will improve not only a person’s stress levels but also …show more content…
Martinsen, et al. randomly assigned 23 patients with depression to either an exercise group or an occupational therapy group. 14 of these patients were assigned to the occupational therapy group and the other 9 were assigned to the aerobic exercise group. Depression was measured with the Beck Depression Inventory and a comprehensive psychopathological rating scale at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, and at the end of the 9 week trial. The participants’ physical conditions were assessed by an ergometer bicycle test-measuring maximum oxygen uptake. After the 9 weeks, it was found that the reduction in depression scores and the increase in maximum oxygen uptake were significantly larger in the training group (1985). In 1990 a similar study was ran looking at 43 undergraduate students. In this study, the students were randomly assigned to either aerobic exercise treatment, a placebo treatment which consisted of relaxation exercises, or a no treatment condition. Self reported mood was assessed before, during, and after treatment and it was revealed that the exercise group had the greatest decrease in stress and depression, the placebo group had a slight reduction, and the no treatment group had no effect at all (McCann, et …show more content…
A study by Hassmen, et al. a total of 3403 participants of the Finnish cardiovascular risk factor survey completed questionnaires about their fitness and health levels as well as the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anger Scale, the Cynical Distrust Scale, and the Sense of Coherence Inventory. The results of this cross-sectional study suggest that individuals who exercised at least two to three times a week experienced significantly less depression, anger, cynical distrust, and stress than those exercising less frequently or not at all. Furthermore, regular exercisers perceived their health and fitness to be better than less frequent exercisers did. Finally, those who exercised at least twice a week reported higher levels of sense of coherence and a stronger feeling of social integration than their less frequently exercising counterparts. The results of this study indicate that a consistent association between enhanced psychological well-being, as measured using a variety of psychological inventories, and regular physical exercise
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