Today’s Agenda:
Journal Question:
a. What causes stress in your life?
b. How do you relieve stress?
1. Lecture: Stress & Your World
2. Handout/Stress Index
By Dr. Rick Woodward
Stress Statistics
Most Stressed Out Cities in the United States:
1. Chicago
2. Los Angeles
3. New York
-Taken from Forbes.Com (2009)
Population & Stress
 Population as of the 2010 Census in the United States
308 million.
 World population reaches 7 Billion.
 Crowded conditions and the effects of stress.
 Supply versus Demand (F00d & Economic Factors)
2009
2002
1990
Population 36,961,664 33,871,648 29,760,021
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2009 Population
Estimates, Census 2000, 1990 Census for California
The Rudest City in America
 Based on a 2011 poll from Travel & Leisure Magazine:
#1 Los Angeles ranks number one as home to the
rudest residents in America.
#2 New York
#3 Philadelphia
#4 Miami
#5 Washington D.C.
Stress Statistics
Healthcare Reform in 2009
Medical Expenses in the United States
A. 75% of all medical expenses are due to:
(1) Physical Inactivity
(2) Food Choices
(3) Tobacco
(4) Stress
Food Choices
 What is in the food you eat?
Obesity – A Growing Problem
Scientific America Journal Article
(February 2011)
1. The National Institutes of Health
has spent $800 million a year on
studies to understand the
neurological, metabolic and
genetic foundations of obesity.
A. They have discovered complex
biochemical pathways and
feedback loops that connect the
brain and the digestive system.
Obesity – A Growing Problem
I.
Neurological Factors: The hypothalamus and
brainstem help regulate feelings of hunger and
fullness.
-Chronic overeating shares biochemical similarities
to drug addiction.
Obesity – A Growing Problem
II. Metabolic Factors (Metabolism): The ability to burn
and store energy varies greatly from cell to cell.
a. Brown fat (adipose) helps to generate heat and is
more closely related to muscle.
b. White fat’s (adipose) primary purpose is to store
excess energy.
Obesity – A Growing Problem
c. Why do you think brown fat is brown?
-Recall: It helps generate heat.
Answer: The reason brown fat is brown is because it
contains lots of mitochondria, the energy
generator (Power House) organelle found in most
cells.
-In mitochondria food oxidation “burning” is turned
into useful chemical energy with a proton pump.
-Brown fat in adults has been found in the shoulders and
along the spine. (Brown fat is positioned to warm
up the central nervous system)
Obesity – A Growing Problem
III. Genetics: At least 20
genes have now been
identified that predispose
people to gaining weight
easily.
-The effects of the genes
are modest at best and
cannot account for the
current obesity
epidemic.
Stress & Employment
“84% of the employees polled want to find a new job in
2011 and are unhappy with their present jobs.”
-Source: Manpower Employment (December 2010)
The Aging Population & Stress
 Turning 65 in 2011 “Baby Boomer Survey” –Source AARP
Question #1: When will you stop working?
Ages 60 – 64
2%
Age 65
13%
Age 66 – 69
27%
Age 70+
29%
Don’t Know
24%
Student Question? When do you plan on starting your
dream job and when do you plan on retiring?
-How long do you plan to work?
-What percentage of your life will be spent working?
The Aging Population & Stress
Question #2: What do you most want to improve over
the next five years?
Personal Finances
25%
*Physical Health
35%
Family/Friends/Relationships
9%
*Work
1%
Religious/Spiritual Life
10%
Leisure Activities/Play
11%
The Aging Population & Stress
Current Circumstances in Life as of 2011
Personal Finances
25% Better
32% Worse
41% Where Expected
*Physical Health
26% Better
31% Worse
42% Where Expected
The Aging Population & Stress
Current Circumstances in Life as of 2011
Relationship with Family and Friends
42% Better
6% Worse
51% Where Expected
The Aging Population & Stress
Question #3: How long do you expect to live?
Expect to Live 85.2 years old
Want to Live 88.7 years old
How long do you want to live?
(What are you doing about it? ….Food
Choices, Exercise, Rest/Sleep)
Stress and Young Adults
Your Educational Expenses & Stress
Your Educational Expenses
Your Current Educational
Experience and Stress
 Paying for your education.
 U.C. Schools increase Fall Tuition (2010) by 8% which
translates to an extra $822 per year.
 Sample School: U.C. Irvine $10,302 per year, will now
increase to $11,124 per year.
 “That just makes me stress about the future and
finding a job to pay that off starting right after college
with all that debt” –Student Quote
Congratulations, You Have Made It
to Your College of Choice!!
 Recent UCLA Study released January 27,
2011 based on the responses of more than
201,000 incoming freshmen at 279 four year
colleges and universities around the
country.
 Only about half of current first year
students , 51.9%, rated their emotional
health above average or higher.
(This is the lowest percentage since the
question was first asked 25 years ago.)
The College Years
 UCLA Study Continued…
 Nearly two thirds of this year’s freshmen had said that
the recession had affected their choice of college.
 73.4% are depending on grants and scholarships to
help them through college.
 Freshmen also reported relatively high rates of
parental unemployment.
College Years & Stress
 UCLA Study Continued…
 What this study reflects is that going into college,
students are already feeling more stress and feeling
more overwhelmed and have lower emotional reserves
to deal with that stress.
Your Education
How much will your education cost you?
So you want to be a famous
culinary chef!
(Sample of private/specialty school tuition: ITT Tech,
University of Phoenix, Culinary School, etc.)
I. Chef Ramsey – Hell’s Kitchen
A. Culinary School Expenses
B. The Job Market/Job Placement
II. My advice: Get the worst job (the job that nobody wants)
at the best restaurant. –Your foot is now in the door, you
are gaining experience and you can eventually work your
way up in that profession.
Tuition = Zero Dollars
Your Education
 How will your educational experience benefit you
financially?
Paying for your Education
 Check out all grant programs.
 Be proactive.
 Start looking now.
The Happiness Curve
 To measure the influence of various
factors on people’s self-reported
happiness, the National Bureau of
Economic Research surveyed nearly
88,000 people in 46 countries over 17
years.
1. Age A graph showing the relationship
between happiness and age would be
“U” shaped. People 35 -44 are the
unhappiest. The 18 -24 and 55-64 age
groups report equally high levels of
happiness, and the 65 – plus crowd is
the happiest of all.
2. Money Income affects happiness very
little.
Optimal Stress
Your Hormones & Stress
 Feedback Loop
Your Hormones & Stress
 California Science Content Standard 9c
1. Students should know feedback loops in the
nervous system (electrical impulses) and
endocrine systems (release hormones)regulate
conditions in the body.
Two Major Hormones Regulate
Your Response to Stress:
1. Adrenalin (epinephrine) – Adrenal Glands
2. Glucocorticoids – Adrenal Glands
Effects of Stress:
1. Shuts down your immune system
 A. Ulcers (Bacterial in origin)
Effects of Stress
2. Increased heart rate
3. Increased blood pressure
4. Increased plaque build up in arterial walls
“Atherosclerosis”
Effects of Stress
5. Increased trunk/waist fat deposits.
a. Specific type of fat.
b. Correlation between stress and our
current obesity epidemic.
c. 2/3’s of American Adults are overweight or
obese.
Effects of Chronic Stress
1. Destroys brain cell connections/dendrites
in the hippocampus.
a. Hippocampus functions: Learning &
Memory
Effects of Chronic Stress
2. Chronic stress promotes lymphocyte (White
Blood Cells) reduction. This lowers your immune
system and makes you more susceptible to illness
and disease.
Source – National Institutes of Health (Dec. 21, 2010)
Effects of Chronic Stress
3. Accelerates destruction of telomeres.
A. Telomere function: Protects the ends of
our chromosomes from fraying (withering).
B. Telomeres cap off our chromosomes.
C. Correlation of telomere length and people
under chronic stress.
D. The enzyme telomerase can repair the
damage.
Repairing Telomeres
1. Reduce Stress:
A. Helping others can stimulate telomerase
production.
Being on Cloud 9 “Stress Reduction”
Stress Busters
1.
2.
3.
4.
Get Enough Sleep (7-8 hours)
Practice Time Management
Stay Organized
Exercise Regularly:
a. Promotes the release of endorphins and relieves
anxiety and depression.
5. Ditch Credit Card Debt (Don’t overspend! Use Cash)
6. Eat Right
Stress Busters:
Nutrition & Mood Boosters
1. Drink Milk – Milk contains tryptophan (which is an
amino acid that your body cannot produce).
a. An increase in tryptophan levels has been
correlated to an increase in serotonin levels.
b. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter which has been
linked to “Happiness” when its levels are high.
2. Walnuts, Pistachios, and Pecans may improve your
mood.
3. Vitamins B, B-12, & Folate may also improve your
mood.
“Happiness”
 According to a recent study, 40% of all
happiness is a direct result of doing
activities that make you feel happy.
“Happiness”
Handout:
 Stress Survey & Solutions
 National Geographic Video “Stress”