Abstract
Our group has proposed that in contrast to chronic stress that can have harmful effects, the short-term (fight-or-flight) stress response (lasting for minutes to hours) is nature's fundamental survival mechanism that enhances protection and performance under conditions involving threat/challenge/opportunity. Short-term stress enhances innate/primary, adaptive/secondary, vaccine-induced, and anti-tumor immune responses, and post-surgical recovery. Mechanisms and mediators include stress hormones, dendritic cell, neutrophil, macrophage, and lymphocyte trafficking/function and local/systemic chemokine and cytokine production. Short-term stress may also enhance mental/cognitive and physical performance through effects on brain, musculo-skeletal, and cardiovascular function, reappraisal of threat/anxiety, and training-induced stress-optimization. Therefore, short-term stress psychology/physiology could be harnessed to enhance immuno-protection, as well as mental and physical performance. This review aims to provide a conceptual framework and targets for further investigation of mechanisms and conditions under which the protective/adaptive aspects of short-term stress/exercise can be optimized/harnessed, and for developing pharmacological/biobehavioral interventions to enhance health/healing, and mental/cognitive/physical performance.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 175-192 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology |
| Volume | 49 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2018 |
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Keywords
- Amateur/elite athletes
- Armed forces/special operations forces
- Eustress/distress
- Infection/autoimmune disease/cancer
- Performers/entertainers
- Psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology
- Sleep
- Stress optimization
- Stress reduction
- Wound healing
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
Cite this
The short-term stress response – Mother nature's mechanism for enhancing protection and performance under conditions of threat, challenge, and opportunity. / Dhabhar, Firdaus.
In: Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology, Vol. 49, 01.04.2018, p. 175-192.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - The short-term stress response – Mother nature's mechanism for enhancing protection and performance under conditions of threat, challenge, and opportunity
AU - Dhabhar, Firdaus
PY - 2018/4/1
Y1 - 2018/4/1
N2 - Our group has proposed that in contrast to chronic stress that can have harmful effects, the short-term (fight-or-flight) stress response (lasting for minutes to hours) is nature's fundamental survival mechanism that enhances protection and performance under conditions involving threat/challenge/opportunity. Short-term stress enhances innate/primary, adaptive/secondary, vaccine-induced, and anti-tumor immune responses, and post-surgical recovery. Mechanisms and mediators include stress hormones, dendritic cell, neutrophil, macrophage, and lymphocyte trafficking/function and local/systemic chemokine and cytokine production. Short-term stress may also enhance mental/cognitive and physical performance through effects on brain, musculo-skeletal, and cardiovascular function, reappraisal of threat/anxiety, and training-induced stress-optimization. Therefore, short-term stress psychology/physiology could be harnessed to enhance immuno-protection, as well as mental and physical performance. This review aims to provide a conceptual framework and targets for further investigation of mechanisms and conditions under which the protective/adaptive aspects of short-term stress/exercise can be optimized/harnessed, and for developing pharmacological/biobehavioral interventions to enhance health/healing, and mental/cognitive/physical performance.
AB - Our group has proposed that in contrast to chronic stress that can have harmful effects, the short-term (fight-or-flight) stress response (lasting for minutes to hours) is nature's fundamental survival mechanism that enhances protection and performance under conditions involving threat/challenge/opportunity. Short-term stress enhances innate/primary, adaptive/secondary, vaccine-induced, and anti-tumor immune responses, and post-surgical recovery. Mechanisms and mediators include stress hormones, dendritic cell, neutrophil, macrophage, and lymphocyte trafficking/function and local/systemic chemokine and cytokine production. Short-term stress may also enhance mental/cognitive and physical performance through effects on brain, musculo-skeletal, and cardiovascular function, reappraisal of threat/anxiety, and training-induced stress-optimization. Therefore, short-term stress psychology/physiology could be harnessed to enhance immuno-protection, as well as mental and physical performance. This review aims to provide a conceptual framework and targets for further investigation of mechanisms and conditions under which the protective/adaptive aspects of short-term stress/exercise can be optimized/harnessed, and for developing pharmacological/biobehavioral interventions to enhance health/healing, and mental/cognitive/physical performance.
KW - Amateur/elite athletes
KW - Armed forces/special operations forces
KW - Eustress/distress
KW - Infection/autoimmune disease/cancer
KW - Performers/entertainers
KW - Psycho-neuro-endocrine-immunology
KW - Sleep
KW - Stress optimization
KW - Stress reduction
KW - Wound healing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85044724495&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85044724495&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.004
DO - 10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.004
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29596867
AN - SCOPUS:85044724495
VL - 49
SP - 175
EP - 192
JO - Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
JF - Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology
SN - 0091-3022
ER -