The science of stress – a cortisol conspiracy

Modern humans are stressed creatures: overloaded schedules, constantly “on-call,” and social media haunting us into the late night. Part of this stress is maladaptive responses that date back to human history when stressors were about life and death and not about writing emails and making phone calls. A key player in those ancient responses is cortisol, a stress hormone that interacts with many biological functions, from heart rate to glucose metabolism, to inflammation and immune responses, as well as sleep and cognition. But is cortisol - as the social media proponents of the so-called cortisol detox make us believe - really the root of all our problems, and would it be desirable to get rid of stress altogether? Tune into episode 29 of We're Doomed, We're Saved and learn about the biological basis and myths surrounding stress and cortisol. Content and Editing: Louise von Stechow and Andreas Horchler Disclaimer: Louise von Stechow & Andreas Horchler and their guests express their personal opinions, which are founded on research on the respective topics, but do not claim to give medical, investment or even life advice in the podcast. Learn more about the future of biotech in our podcasts and keynotes. Contact us here: scientific communication: https://science-tales.com/ Podcasts: https://www.podcon.de/ Keynotes: https://www.zukunftsinstitut.de/louise-von-stechow Image: Kenny Eliason Further reading: 1. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-021-01224-9 2. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1085950/full 3. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/23/2726 4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34290370/ 5. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00127/full 6. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44220-023-00016-0 7. https://www.geo.de/wissen/gesundheit/cortisol-reduzieren--was-steckt-hinter-dem-gesundheitstrend--34986216.html