Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers

Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction. It also includes new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress.

As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage. Such diseases as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does. However, we do not resolve conflict in the same way – through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us sick.

Combining research with good humor and advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how stress causes or intensifies afflictions. Stress is tied to depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance for controlling our stress responses. This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.