Who is Robert Sapolsky

I first heard of Robert Saplosky when he arrived at the Stanford Biology Department where I worked. I can remember feeling a little in awe, and quite intimidated, of someone who had won the prestigious MacArthur fellowship and who was now a young Stanford professor. I had some trouble reconciling that with the bushy haired guy I often saw flitting about on his bicycle.

That was put to rest after getting to know him however, as he is one of the most down to earth and likable people I've ever met. One of my first memories was coming to his book signing when Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers came out. My partner Steve and I had known Robert for a while, but when we approached him at the book signing he had the most frightful "deer in the headlights" look I had ever seen, and we were puzzled. He froze, as if he wasn't sure who we were, but talked to us as he normally would. When we checked the signature on the book, we realized he had totally freaked because he couldn't remember Steve's name. He was so stressed out that he wrote "Sandy" instead. (And was very embarrased later) Not a really exciting story, but it illustrates that just because you study something, it doesn't make you immune to it!

Robert has been very kind to review my lens Stress Reduction Simplified, as well as my Newsletter of stress reduction tips, and has wholeheartedly approved my efforts to not only help bring attention to the problems people may encounter by ignoring excess stress, but for providing simple solutions for quick results.

Take the National Geographic Stress Quiz. The answers may surprise you.

According to Dr. Sapolsky, continuous stress hormone levels brought on by imaginary emergencies may contribute to many diseases and mental disorders, so it's important we pay attention and do something about them.

One of the systems these hormones shut down is the digestive system. If your digestion is shut down continuously, this means your body won't get the nutrients it needs to function properly and repair itself, and your brain won't get the nutrients it needs to think in a collected manner-chances are you will worry and fret all the more-creating a negative feedback loop that I refer to the Stress Cycle.

... you'll automatically be making a donation to The Acumen Fund, working to solve global poverty.

Doesn't that feel good?