How our body deals with stress

adrenaline: A hormone produced by glands (adrenal) when someone is stressed by fear, anger or anxiety. It can make the heart beat faster and allow muscles to perform better than normal. Adrenaline is part of the body’s “fight or flight” response to stress. It can briefly help someone run faster or temporarily boost the performance of muscles (as for lifting weights).

agility: Having the ability to move quickly (and pivot as needed) with skill and little apparent effort. Sometimes the term is applied to thinking and project management as well as to athletic pursuits.

ancestor: A predecessor. It could be a family forebear, such as a parent, grandparent or great-great-great grandparent. Or it could be a species, genus, family or other order of organisms from which some later one evolved. For instance, ancient dinosaurs are the ancestors of today’s birds. (antonym: descendant)

anxious: (n. anxiety) A feeling of dread over some potential or upcoming situation, usually one over which someone feels they have little control.

attention: The phenomenon of focusing mental resources on a specific object or event.

autonomic nervous system: A part of the body’s nervous system that runs processes over which the brain needs no conscious control. These include: blood pressure food digestion, heart rate and breathing.

climate change: Long-term, significant change in the climate of Earth. It can happen naturally or in response to human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests.

cortisol: Also known as hydrocortisone, this is a hormone produced by the adrenal glands. It can serve as the body’s main warning that it is under stress. It helps regulate a wide range of body functions, including how we process the energy in food, create memories and control inflammation.

digest: (noun: digestion) To break down food into simple compounds that the body can absorb and use for growth. Some sewage-treatment plants harness microbes to digest — or degrade — wastes so that the breakdown products can be recycled for use elsewhere in the environment.

dormant: Inactive to the point where normal body functions are suspended or slowed down.

fight-or-flight response: The body’s response to a threat, either real or imagined. During the fight-or-flight response, digestion shuts down as the body prepares to deal with the threat (fight) or to run away from it (flight).

focus: (in behavior) To look or concentrate intently on some particular point or thing.

function: The specific role some structure or device plays. (in math) A relationship between two or more variables in which one variable (the dependent one) is exactly determined by the value of the other variables.

heart rate: Heart beat; the number of times per minute that the heart — a pump — contracts, moving blood throughout the body.

hormone: (in zoology and medicine) A chemical produced in a gland and then carried in the bloodstream to another part of the body. Hormones control many important body activities, such as growth. Hormones act by triggering or regulating chemical reactions in the body. (in botany) A chemical that serves as a signaling compound that tells cells of a plant when and how to develop, or when to grow old and die.

mechanism: The steps or process by which something happens or “works.” It may be the spring that pops something from one hole into another. It could be the squeezing of the heart muscle that pumps blood throughout the body. It could be the friction (with the road and air) that slows down the speed of a coasting car. Researchers often look for the mechanism behind actions and reactions to understand how something functions.

muscle: A type of tissue used to produce movement by contracting its cells, known as muscle fibers. Muscle is rich in protein, which is why predatory species seek prey containing lots of this tissue.

nervous system: The network of nerve cells and fibers that transmits signals between parts of the body.

neurologist: Medical doctors who do research on the anatomy and function of the brain and nerves. Researchers with a PhD who do similar work are known as neuroscientists.

oxygen: A gas that makes up about 21 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. All animals and many microorganisms need oxygen to fuel their growth (and metabolism).

oxytocin: A hormone released by the body during hugging, kissing or touching. Oxytocin plays an important role in feelings of closeness to other people and even affection between a mother and child.

parasympathetic nervous system: This is a part of the nervous system that is associated with functions called “rest and digest.” These are activities an organism carries out when it is at rest, such as digesting, peeing, pooping, drooling, crying and breeding.

perception: The state of being aware of something — or the process of becoming aware of something — through use of the senses.

psychologist: A scientist or mental-health professional who studies the mind, especially in relation to actions and behaviors. Some work with people. Others may conduct experiments with animals (usually rodents) to test how their minds respond to different stimuli and conditions.

pupil: (in biology) The dark center of an eye. The pupil is actually a hole in the eye that allows light to pass through and hit the retina, the part of our eye that is sensitive to light.

risk: The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard — or peril — itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.)

serotonin: A chemical present in blood that constricts blood vessels and communicates signals in the brain and nervous system.

social media: Digital media that allow people to connect with each other (often anonymously) and to share information. Examples include Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp.

stress: (in biology) A factor — such as unusual temperatures, movements, moisture or pollution — that affects the health of a species or ecosystem. (in psychology) A mental, physical, emotional or behavioral reaction to an event or circumstance (stressor) that disturbs a person or animal’s usual state of being or places increased demands on a person or animal; psychological stress can be either positive or negative. (in physics) Pressure or tension exerted on a material object.

sympathetic nervous system: A part of the autonomic nervous system that works without thinking about it. It readies the body for dealing with stressful situations by turning on a fight-of-flight response. This typically ups our blood pressure, breathing rate, heart rate and pupil size. It also causes blood vessels to narrow and slows the production of digestive juices.

system: A network of parts that together work to achieve some function. For instance, the blood, vessels and heart are primary components of the human body’s circulatory system. Similarly, trains, platforms, tracks, roadway signals and overpasses are among the potential components of a nation’s railway system. System can even be applied to the processes or ideas that are part of some method or ordered set of procedures for getting a task done.

tactic: An action or plan of action to accomplish a particular feat.