a grizzly bear with the head of a great white shark and cobras for arms,

有鯊魚頭和響尾蛇臂的灰色大熊

your body would start releasing adrenaline and norepinephrine within seconds

你的身體會在幾秒內開始釋放腎上腺素還有去甲腎上腺素

to prepare you to fight… Or more likely, to take flight.

好讓你應付... 或者更可能是應聲而逃

After a minute or two your body would be flooded with cortisol.

一兩分鐘之後你的身體會充滿皮質醇

Cortisol is vital in keeping you healthy in tense situations.

皮質醇是讓你在危急的狀況之中保持健康的關鍵

But when you stay stressed for too long

但當你處於壓力之中太久

it can have the opposite effect.

皮質醇就會有相反的作用

Cortisol's job is to restore some order to your body.

皮質醇的工作是讓身體中一些運作恢復正常

It puts more glucose into your bloodstream

在血液中加入一些葡萄糖

so you don't crash when the adrenaline is gone.

避免你在腎上腺素消退的時候反應太大

It also kicks your liver into gear,

還有讓你的肝臟繼續工作

pumping out the extra glucose that's now sloshing around inside you.

抽出充滿你體內的多餘的葡萄糖

Our bodies' hormone responses might have evolved when we were battling for survival against predators like bear-snake-sharks.

我們的體內賀爾蒙反應可能會在我們面對鯊蛇熊這種勁敵時產生變化

These days, sources of stress are much different:

但現在，我們的壓力來源大有不同：

dwindling bank accounts, overdue assignments, too much e-mail.

理財如履薄冰、工作推積如山或者太多電子郵件

That kind of stress tends not to go away,

這種壓力沒有辦法輕易甩開

which means cortisol levels can stay elevated.

也就是說皮質醇的含量會持續處於過高的狀態

And that can lead to health problems.

而這會造成健康問題

Cortisol inhibits some of your immune responses,

皮質醇會抑制一些免疫反應

meaning you're more likely to get sick and it can take longer for wounds to heal.

也就是說你生病的機率會增加，而且傷口也會更慢痊癒

Cortisol also slows bone growth, meaning sustained levels can lead to weaker, more fragile bones.

皮質醇還會阻礙骨骼生長，也就是會導致骨骼變得脆弱

And because cortisol acts on parts of your brain that control appetite,

因為皮質醇活動於大腦中控制食慾的部分，

it also increases your desire for fatty and sugary foods.

所以也會增加你想吃高油高糖食物的慾望

Stress eating is real, people!

因壓力而暴飲暴食是真的！

Here's a weird plot twist for cortisol, though.

然而，這裡也有一點可以為皮質醇平反

That lowered immune response can actually be beneficial.

較低的免疫反應其實反而是好的

In its medical form, cortisol is called hydrocortisone.

在醫學領域，皮質醇稱為氫皮質酮

You may have applied it to a rash or a bug bite,

當你起疹子或是被蟲咬的時候可能會塗上它

because it helps reduce swelling and itching –

因為它能減緩紅腫和搔癢，

which is how our immune system responds to certain threats.

也就是我們的免疫系統對特定外來物的反應

So at least you won't have to stress out about that weird rash, which you should probably get looked at. Seriously.

所以至少你就不用因為奇怪的疹子而壓力過大，但你還是去看個醫生比較好，真的

But before you do that.

但在你去之前

Hit that subscribe button.

點一下訂閱按鈕吧

Want to beat stress?

想要趕走壓力嗎？

Then eat healthy food, get exercise, get more sleep.

只需要健康飲食、適度運動、充足睡眠

But definitely subscribe.

但絕對要訂閱我們

Thanks to CAS (Chemical Abstract Service) for sponsoring this video.

感謝化學文摘社 CAS 贊助這部影片

And hey, if you‚ are really into molecules,

還有如果你真的對分子很有興趣

check out the Scifinder Future Leaders in Chemistry Program.

那你一定要看看化學計畫裡的科學創造未來領袖 (Scifinder Future Leaders)

Ph.D. students and postdocs like me from around the world

來自世界各地的博士生還有像我一樣的博士後研究員

are brought in to share their insights and go behind the scenes with Scifinder.

都集聚一堂分享他們的見解並組成 Scifinder 研究團隊

It's an all-expense-paid trip where you can get to see firsthand

這是一項全額贊助的計畫，你可以直接了解

how CAS builds and maintains the world most authoritative chemistry databases.

CAS 如何建立並維護世界最具權威性的化學資料庫

You'll also get to travel to the American Chemical Society's National Meeting Exposition.

你也能參觀美國科學展覽大會

For details, please visit CAS.ORG/FUTURELEADERS.

如果想知道更多資訊，請上 CAS.ORG/FUTURELEADERS