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Can changing how you think about stress make you healthier? And here the science says yes. When you change your mind about stress, you can change your body’s response to stress. Now to explain how this works, I want you all to pretend that you are participants in a study designed to stress you out. It’s called the social stress test. You come into the laboratory, and you’re told you have to give a five-minute impromptu speech on your personal weaknesses to a panel of expert evaluators sitting right in front of you, and to make sure you feel the pressure, there are bright lights and a camera in your face, kind of like this. And the evaluators have been trained to give you discouraging, non-verbal feedback like this. Now that you’re sufficiently demoralized, time for part two: a math test. And unbeknownst to you, the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it. Now we’re going to all do this together. It’s going to be fun. For me. Okay. I want you all to count backwards from 996 in increments of seven. You’re going to do this out loud as fast as you can, starting with 996. Go! Go faster. Faster please. You’re going too slow. Stop. Stop, stop, stop. That guy made a mistake. We are going to have to start all over again.

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Can changing how you think about stress / make you healthier? // And here / the science says / yes. // When you change your mind about stress, / you can change your body’s response to stress. // Now / to explain how this works, / I want you all to pretend / that you are participants in a study / designed to stress you out. // It’s called the social stress test. // You come into the laboratory, / and you’re told / you have to give a five-minute impromptu speech / on your personal weaknesses / to a panel of expert evaluators sitting right in front of you, / and to make sure you feel the pressure, / there are bright lights / and a camera in your face, / kind of like this. // And the evaluators / have been trained to give you discouraging, / non-verbal feedback like this. // Now that you’re sufficiently demoralized, / time for part two: / a math test. // And unbeknownst to you, / the experimenter has been trained to harass you during it. // Now / we’re going to all do this together. // It’s going to be fun. // For me. // Okay. // I want you all / to count backwards / from 996 in increments of seven. // You’re going to do this out loud / as fast as you can, / starting with 996. // Go! // Go faster. // Faster please. // You’re going too slow. // Stop. // Stop, stop, stop. // That guy made a mistake. // We are going to have to start all over again. //

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You’re not very good at this, are you? Okay, so you get the idea. Now, if you were actually in this study, you’d probably be a little stressed out. Your heart might be pounding, you might be breathing faster, maybe breaking out into a sweat. And normally, we interpret these physical changes as anxiety or signs that we aren’t coping very well with the pressure. But what if you viewed them instead as signs that your body was energized, was preparing you to meet this challenge? Now that is exactly what participants were told in a study conducted at Harvard University. Before they went through the social stress test, they were taught to rethink their stress response as helpful. That pounding heart is preparing you for action. If you’re breathing faster, it’s no problem. It’s getting more oxygen to your brain. And participants who learned to view the stress response as helpful for their performance, well, they were less stressed out, less anxious, more confident, but the most fascinating finding to me was how their physical stress response changed. Now, in a typical stress response, your heart rate goes up, and your blood vessels constrict like this. And this is one of the reasons that chronic stress is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease. It’s not really healthy to be in this state all the time. But in the study, when participants viewed their stress response as helpful, their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this. Their heart was still pounding, but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile. It actually looks a lot like what happens in moments of joy and courage.

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You’re not very good at this, / are you? // Okay, / so / you get the idea. // Now, / if you were actually in this study, / you’d probably be a little stressed out. // Your heart might be pounding, / you might be breathing faster, / maybe breaking out into a sweat. // And normally, / we interpret these physical changes as anxiety / or signs that / we aren’t coping very well with the pressure. // But / what if you viewed them instead as signs / that your body was energized, / was preparing you to meet this challenge? // Now / that is exactly what participants were told in a study / conducted at Harvard University. // Before they went through the social stress test, / they were taught to rethink their stress response / as helpful. // That pounding heart / is preparing you for action. // If you’re breathing faster, / it’s no problem. // It’s getting more oxygen to your brain. // And participants / who learned to view the stress response as helpful for their performance, / well, / they were less stressed out, / less anxious, / more confident, / but the most fascinating finding to me was / how their physical stress response changed. // Now, / in a typical stress response, / your heart rate goes up, / and your blood vessels constrict like this. // And / this is one of the reasons / that chronic stress / is sometimes associated with cardiovascular disease. // It’s not really healthy to be in this state all the time. // But in the study, / when participants viewed their stress response as helpful, / their blood vessels stayed relaxed like this. // Their heart was still pounding, / but this is a much healthier cardiovascular profile. // It actually looks a lot / like what happens in moments of joy and courage. //