Midlothian Science Festival 2017

Brunton, P. (Speaker)

Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Public Engagement – Public lecture/debate/seminar

Description

Making Sense of Stress

Period	10 Oct 2017
Event type	Other
Degree of Recognition	Regional

Documents & Links

We all experience stress. Stress triggers a primitive response which is a vital survival mechanism, helping us to cope with stressful situations. Unfortunately, some people overreact to stressors that are not life-threatening and repeated activation of the stress response takes a toll on the body, increasing the risk of mental health disorders and other diseases. We know that our genes, childhood experiences and lifestyle choices can impact upon how we respond to stress, but there’s another important factor ─the 9 months before we are born. This event will consider how our body responds to stress and the role of stress hormones in coping with stressful situations. We will then focus on how the mother’s body endeavours to protect the unborn baby from her experience of stress, before discussing how, when these safety barriers are breached, our mother’s diet or exposure to stress can influence how we respond to stress, as well as impacting our behaviour, intelligence and susceptibility to develop disease in later life.