Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ch. 1. Why don’t zebras get ulcers? --
Ch. 2. Glands, gooseflesh, and hormones --
Ch. 3. Stroke, heart attacks, and voodoo death --
Ch. 4. Stress, metabolism, and liquidating your assets --
Ch. 5. Ulcers, the runs, and hot fudge sundaes --
Ch. 6. Dwarfism and the importance of mothers --
Ch. 7. Sex and reproduction --
Ch. 8. Immunity, stress, and disease --
Ch. 9. Stress and pain --
Ch. 10. Stress and memory --
Ch. 11. Stress and a good night’s sleep --
Ch. 12. Aging and death --
Ch. 13. Why is psychological stress stressful --
Ch. 14. Stress and depression --
Ch. 15. Personality, temperament, and their stress-related consequences --
Ch. 16. Junkies, adrenaline junkies, and pleasure --
Ch. 17. The view from the bottom --
Ch. 18. Managing stress.

Now in a third edition, Robert M. Sapolsky's acclaimed and successful Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers features new chapters on how stress affects sleep and addiction, as well as new insights into anxiety and personality disorder and the impact of spirituality on managing stress. As Sapolsky explains, most of us do not lie awake at night worrying about whether we have leprosy or malaria. Instead, the diseases we fear - and the ones that plague us now - are illnesses brought on by the slow accumulation of damage, such as heart disease and cancer. When we worry or experience stress, our body turns on the same physiological responses that an animal's does, but we do not resolve conflict in the same way - through fighting or fleeing. Over time, this activation of a stress response makes us literally sick. Combining cutting-edge research with a healthy dose of good humour and practical advice, Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers explains how prolonged stress causes or intensifies a range of physical and mental afflictions, including depression, ulcers, colitis, heart disease, and more. It also provides essential guidance to controlling our stress responses.
This new edition promises to be the most comprehensive and engaging one yet.