HLTC22H3 Chapter : Health and Aging reading notes chapter
Document Summary
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.