"Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: Stress and Health" by Dr. Robert Sapolsky
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters recommend it as an entertaining and informative explanation of how stress affects health.
What it is
Robert Sapolsky's lecture on how the body's stress response, evolved for short-term physical emergencies, harms long-term health when triggered by psychological stressors. It was given as the inaugural Fenton-Rhodes Lecture.
Recommended by 5 HN commenters across 6 different months, 2019 to 2025.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec pantelisk · 2020-11 · on “I created an alternative to the YouTube algorithm to stop me wasting time”
I don't know... honestly. I was extremely surprised. I was actually wondering if they switched to some level of human in the loop, because it used to suck in the past, but now is great. I expected people to have good experiences too. I 'm actually shocked to see how disappointed people are here... Here's an example of some stuff that just showed up recently. [1] Some guy camping an exploring an island that used to be a federal prison - [LINK] [2] A documentary about homeless people racing carts - [LINK] [3] Fantastic funk music (and I don't even listen to funk!) - [LINK] [4] Fantastic old school theatrical hard rock from Japan - [LINK] [5] Sapolsky's must-see lecture on stress - [this video] (whi
Recommends mattdeboard · 2019-02 · on “Practical Facts about the Human Brain”
The "active amygdala = no empathy" point does not jibe with my lay understanding of the physical phenomenon of empathy. That's the only one that I don't believe models our physiology in a useful way. The rest match up with some of the stuff I've read/watched. Watch some videos by Robert Sapolsky on YouTube. He's a neurostuff prof at Stanford. Good presentations. There's "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" [this video] Also an actual academic lecture on the Limbic System which contextualizes & clarifies some of the other assertions in the OP blog post. [LINK] There are more but hopefully YouTube's algorithm helps you out there. The Stanford lecture series is very interesting though Sapolsky doesn't deli
Recommends Karstographer · 2023-10 · on “You're not lacking creativity, you're overwhelmed”
I'm sure it's been said many times, but John Cleese did provide a memorable talk on it [1] and particularly touched on the relation to stress. And if anyone feels like they have troubles with stress/anxiety, Robert Sapolsky provides some great insight into how and why it affects health overall [2]. I'm not sure if Sapolsky's material will help reduce stress, but it was pretty entertaining along the way. Two great speeches that it would be a shame to lose. Now, what was that about keeping up with digital clutter? [1] [LINK] [2] [this video]
Recommends thenerdhead · 2023-11 · on “”
Sapolsky has been at this for many years. Here's a great talk on one of his older books. [this video] Especially with regards to his commentary on Selye's theories/lab work with rats. Makes sense if you've read a good number of books on stress (i.e. Stress of Life, Sapolsky's work, etc)
Recommends EdwardCoffin · 2024-08 · on “Robin Warren, pathologist who rewrote the science on ulcers, has died”
A perhaps easier to understand explanation of this is this part of a Robert Sapolsky talk on stress, prepositioned to the bit where he talks about the interaction of stress with the bacteria [1]. The summary is that the body is good at repairing the damage the bacteria do, unless the person is under constant stress which inhibits the repair work. [1] [this video]
Recommends EdwardCoffin · 2025-07 · on “Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations”
He's also given many talks which are on youtube on the topic, one of which is his talk of the same name at the Beckman institute [1]. It's a little under 90 minutes and is enormously entertaining as well as being informative. [1] [this video]