We know already support from family and friends can reduce stress resulting in better health. Researchers want to know why. (Science Daily: Support from family, friends significantly reduces stress in wild chimpanzees)
In humans and other social animals stress is associated with poor health and high mortality. These negative effects can be buffered by receiving social support from relatives or friends. However, the mechanisms responsible for this effect remain largely unknown. A team led by Roman Wittig, Catherine Crockford and Tobias Deschner from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has studied how wild chimpanzees cope with stressful and non-stressful situations when a close bond partner is present or absent. They measured the animals' urinary stress hormone levels during episodes of intergroup conflict, grooming and resting and found that the support of a friend significantly reduced the chimpanzees' stress hormone levels, especially in situations of conflict. But even during affiliative activities with the bond partner stress levels were generally lower. Daily supportive actions by friends and family maybe key to regulating stress hormone activity, and thus the negative effects of stress, a finding with potential medical implications for humans.
- Science Daily
Understand the Rockhouse has a long-held position that the city and modern society engender substantial dysfunction in family / friends relationships and there's ineffective compensation when they try instead by friending a thousand people in some social network.
Chimps give us the closest look at ourselves in a native state and how we would react without confounding influences. Gorillas aren't predators but chimps are, just like we. Previous articles have raved about their incredible intelligence and organizational skills. If you ever have to face a chimp hunting party, you will be in some seriously deep trouble. They have an uncanny resemblance to us.
The interaction of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands (HPA axis) regulates the body's response to stress as well as many other processes, including digestion, the immune system, moods and emotions. Stress-induced imbalances of the HPA axis may thus lead to poor physical and mental health.
In humans and other social animals stress is associated with poor health and high mortality. These negative effects can be buffered by receiving social support from relatives or friends. However, the mechanisms responsible for this effect remain largely unknown. A team led by Roman Wittig, Catherine Crockford and Tobias Deschner from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, has studied how wild chimpanzees cope with stressful and non-stressful situations when a close bond partner is present or absent. They measured the animals' urinary stress hormone levels during episodes of intergroup conflict, grooming and resting and found that the support of a friend significantly reduced the chimpanzees' stress hormone levels, especially in situations of conflict. But even during affiliative activities with the bond partner stress levels were generally lower. Daily supportive actions by friends and family maybe key to regulating stress hormone activity, and thus the negative effects of stress, a finding with potential medical implications for humans.
- Science Daily
Understand the Rockhouse has a long-held position that the city and modern society engender substantial dysfunction in family / friends relationships and there's ineffective compensation when they try instead by friending a thousand people in some social network.
Chimps give us the closest look at ourselves in a native state and how we would react without confounding influences. Gorillas aren't predators but chimps are, just like we. Previous articles have raved about their incredible intelligence and organizational skills. If you ever have to face a chimp hunting party, you will be in some seriously deep trouble. They have an uncanny resemblance to us.
The interaction of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal glands (HPA axis) regulates the body's response to stress as well as many other processes, including digestion, the immune system, moods and emotions. Stress-induced imbalances of the HPA axis may thus lead to poor physical and mental health.
- See article for detail of research protocol -
The social support of bond partners, no matter of which sex, is highly beneficial for regulating the HPA axis and maintaining a healthy equilibrium. "In chimpanzees social support from bond partners seems to have more pronounced effects not only on urinary stress hormone levels but also on urinary oxytocin levels, as we have found in other studies," says Wittig. "The neuropeptide oxytocin is thought to facilitate the down-regulation of the HPA axis. Given that oxytocin is associated with affiliative interactions between adult chimpanzee friends, it may be that stress buffering provided by chimpanzee friends in this study may in part be mediated by oxytocin."
- Science Daily
The research confirms something you knew anyway, that support from family and friends is good for you, but the result of the research shows you why.
- Insert obvious editorial about how modern life scatters families and tribes which results in large-scale confusion and dysfunction -
The most blazing example of the dysfunction just now is in the Trump Republicans and the Clinton Republicans screaming about who got screwed worst by the Left who actually sat out the recent debacle. They have no idea where their tribes went and hippies / freaks in the background scratch our heads and wonder, why the fuck don't they wake up.
Not enough oxytocin, apparently.
The social support of bond partners, no matter of which sex, is highly beneficial for regulating the HPA axis and maintaining a healthy equilibrium. "In chimpanzees social support from bond partners seems to have more pronounced effects not only on urinary stress hormone levels but also on urinary oxytocin levels, as we have found in other studies," says Wittig. "The neuropeptide oxytocin is thought to facilitate the down-regulation of the HPA axis. Given that oxytocin is associated with affiliative interactions between adult chimpanzee friends, it may be that stress buffering provided by chimpanzee friends in this study may in part be mediated by oxytocin."
- Science Daily
The research confirms something you knew anyway, that support from family and friends is good for you, but the result of the research shows you why.
- Insert obvious editorial about how modern life scatters families and tribes which results in large-scale confusion and dysfunction -
The most blazing example of the dysfunction just now is in the Trump Republicans and the Clinton Republicans screaming about who got screwed worst by the Left who actually sat out the recent debacle. They have no idea where their tribes went and hippies / freaks in the background scratch our heads and wonder, why the fuck don't they wake up.
Not enough oxytocin, apparently.
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