Jacinta Beehner, Professor of Psychology and Anthropology

The Stress Response in Humans and Animals: Friend or Foe?

Stress is often portrayed as the enemy of modern life—linked to heart disease, depression, and premature aging. But this story overlooks a crucial fact: the stress response originally evolved because it was adaptive. In this talk, I trace the biology of acute stress, showing how the body mobilizes energy to face immediate threats and why this is essential for survival. I then turn to chronic stress, highlighting the well-known costs of an overactive stress system in human health. Finally, I argue that we have underestimated the benefits of stress, drawing on my research with wild capuchin monkeys in Costa Rica. During one of the most severe El Niño droughts on record, individuals with a stronger stress response were more likely to survive. By reframing stress as both friend and foe, I show how evolutionary and ecological perspectives can reshape our understanding of human and animal health.

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