Stress as an ally
Stress has a bad reputation, on closer look unfairly. In moderation the stress response is an ancient, useful program: it briefly provides energy and concentration. It only becomes difficult when it lasts and recovery is missing.The good side of tensionBefore an exam, a competition, an important talk, a surge of…
Sleeping better when the mind won’t switch off
You’re tired, lying in bed, and the mind ramps up. Appointments, worries, to-dos. Sleep can’t be forced, but you can create good conditions under which it comes by itself. It’s less about willpower than about routine and unburdening the mind.Why the mind gets loud at nightBy day we’re distracted. In…
Coping: the two ways to handle stress
Two people, the same difficult situation, one stays calm, the other panics. Why? Stress research answers clearly: how we appraise a situation decides the stress it triggers. That is exactly where you can begin.Stress arises in the appraisalThe psychologist Richard Lazarus described stress as a mismatch: we feel it when…