HLTC22H3 Chapter : Health and Aging reading notes chapter

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31 Oct 2010
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Through the neuroendocrine system, psychosocial stress can have affects on the cardiovascular and immune system. Older adults are more vulnerable to physical stress. Stress can have a toughening effect on everything from heart shock proteins to social ties. Three ways to define stress: physiological state of the organism (strain, characteristic of the environment (stressor, view stress as a transaction between the person and the environment. Cannon was the first physiologist to systematically describe the physiological effects of stress. Posited that the perception of a threat activated the sympathetic nervous system (sns) Sns reacts to stress in 2 ways: sympathetic nerves originate in the spinal column and radiate to the target organs. The sympathetic nerves directly enervate the heart, the bronchi in the lungs, the gut, and the kidney; they also influence the blood vessels, sweat glands, and piloerector muscles in the skin.