Real interesting cover story on Good Stress in Newsweek. Many quotes from Robert Sapolsky from his Baboon studies. From Stanford Magazine:
"To measure the effects of social stress, Sapolsky observes the baboons’ interactions, then takes blood samples to record how stress-hormone levels correlate with various behaviors. Tranquilizing the baboons to draw blood is more difficult than it sounds. Sapolsky uses a blowgun—a metal and plastic tube that he loads with an anesthetic dart, aims and blows through—because, he says, it is more mechanically reliable than an air rifle. Its range is about 30 feet, barring wind, so he has to get quite close to the selected target. (Sapolsky darts only males, because females are most often pregnant or caring for their young.) The darting must take place at the same time each day to allow for daily cycles in stress hormones, and the subject mustn’t know what’s coming because that in itself would raise stress levels. "
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